Summer Music in the Bismarck Houses Schönhausen — Altmark Festival

Altmark Festival 2026 — “Echo of Happiness”

The Altmark Festival is one of the most important chamber music and cultural festivals in northern Saxony-Anhalt. In 2026, it runs from May 16 to September 5 under the motto “Echo of Happiness,” distributing around 29 concerts across 18 venues – castles, manor houses, village churches, and historic courtyards in the Altmark region. The festival is organized by a supra-regional consortium, with artistic direction led for years by conductor and composer Reinhard Seehafer.

Schönhausen — Birthplace of Otto von Bismarck

Schönhausen an der Elbe is part of the Stendal district in the northern Altmark region of Saxony-Anhalt and is historically significant as the birthplace of Otto von Bismarck (1815). The "Bismarck Houses" – the palace and the future Reich Chancellor's birthplace – are now a museum and memorial site. In close proximity stands the medieval St. Marien-und-Willebrord Church, one of the oldest churches in the northwestern Altmark and an acoustically excellent concert hall.

Program on August 1, 2026

The chamber concert brings together three prominent artists. Jiří Houdek is the principal trumpet of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and, since 2008, also principal trumpet of the National Theatre Orchestra in Prague. Aleš Bárta is an award-winning organist, winner of the International Anton Bruckner Organ Competition in Linz, and laureate of the International Franz Liszt Organ Competition in Budapest. Actor Max Urlacher will read texts by Rainer Maria Rilke, Franz Kafka, and Egon Erwin Kisch – voices of literary modernism that explore happiness, longing, and the human condition.

A Concert Series in Special Locations

The Summer Music in the Bismarck Houses is part of the “Culture in Special Locations” concept, which has been the driving force behind the Altmark Festival since its inception. Instead of classical concert halls, they utilize the architecture of the Altmark's manor houses, castles, and churches – creating sound and meeting spaces that are unique in Germany.