Culture in Holstein Switzerland

Wherever you turn, history, culture and an eventful past are ready for little journeys through time in this truly unique region. No wonder: Princes, empresses, bishops, poets and thinkers have all romped along the picturesque lakeside promenades.

Schloss Eutin
© sh-tourismus.de/MOCANOX

Lake views and great culture have been combined at the Eutin Festival since 1951. To this day, tens of thousands of guests enjoy musicals and operas in July and August on the open-air stage in the Schlossgarten, directly on Lake Eutin. Originally, the plays were dedicated to the famous opera composer Carl Maria von Weber, who was born in the regal residence town of Eutin in the 18th century. During this time, the small town on the lake experienced a cultural blossoming that earned it the name “Weimar of the North”. Numerous nobles also settled in the region and built residences both large and small. One of the most famous is Plön Castle with its white facades and grey roofs. Among other things, the ducal residence served as a summer residence for the Danish king, who gave the previously red castle its bright white colour. Another equally snow-white and iconic masterpiece is the five-century-old Panker estate with its extensive gardens and Hessensein lookout tower. Anyone who yearns for the life of a prince or princess while strolling through the gardens of stately homes and the halls of castles should visit the “Bräutigamseiche” or “groom’s oak” in Dodau Forest. The tree hole of the four-hundred-year-old oak is an official postal address for those who are looking for their better half the romantic way. Every day, letters are delivered by the post office, which anyone and everyone may read and answer. Allegedly, over a hundred couples have already owed their happiness to the old tree.