SHMF Music Festival “A Weekend in the Countryside" — Gut Emkendorf

Gut Emkendorf — Festival Venue in a Landscape Garden

Gut Emkendorf is one of Schleswig-Holstein's most renowned stately manor estates. The estate near Bordesholm in the Rendsburg-Eckernförde district has a history spanning over 700 years and was redesigned in the late 18th century by Friedrich and Julia Reventlow into a landscape garden based on the English model. Today, Gut Emkendorf is one of the most unusual festival venues of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

“A Weekend in the Countryside" — The Trademark

The festival weekend at Gut Emkendorf is part of the traditional SHMF series of Music Festivals in the Countryside. Concerts take place in the large barn from 1745 — a listed timber-framed barn with unusual acoustics. Opposite, in the old cowshed from 1730, food and drinks are served between concerts. The concept: three one-hour concerts on Saturday (1 p.m. – 6 p.m., “Block A"), a 90-minute main concert on Saturday evening (8 p.m., “Block B"), and three one-hour concerts on Sunday (11 a.m. – 4 p.m., “Block C").

Highlight 2026: quinTTTonic

The musical focus in 2026 is set by the wind quintet quinTTTonic. The five musicians take the audience on a musical journey through classical music, big band sound, and Austropop — a crossover program typical for the SHMF music festivals. The concert takes place in Block B (Saturday, July 18, 8 p.m.) in the large barn.

Walking Acts and Picnic Boxes

The trademark of the SHMF music festivals are the Walking Acts: A mime gardener transforms the paths into a silent performance, saxophone-playing “chickens" appear unexpectedly among the guests, and a caricaturist draws live portraits under the old oak tree. Additionally, there are specially assembled picnic boxes with regional specialties — a Schleswig-Holstein liaison of smoked fish, Holstein cheese, Holstein cherries, and apple cake.

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, founded in 1986 by Justus Frantz, is one of Germany's most important classical festivals and the largest festival in Schleswig-Holstein. With over 200 concerts at more than 100 venues across the state — from country estates like Emkendorf to riding halls, churches, shipyards, and industrial monuments — the SHMF brings classical music to places that would otherwise not be festival halls. The Music Festivals in the Countryside are part of the DNA of this concept.