Schleswig Tourist Attractions

In the heart of the old town stands the Gothic Cathedral (Dom) of St Peter, which dates mainly from the 12th-15th centuries, with a 110.50m/363ft high tower built in 1889-94. The most magnificent feature of the richly furnished interior is the Bordesholm Altar (*) by Hans Brüggemann, the great masterpiece of medieval Low German carving, originally made for a house of Augustinian canons at Bordesholm in 1514-21 and installed in the Cathedral in 1666. Carved from oak, it stands almost 16m/52ft high and has no fewer than 392 figures. Other notable features are the massive marble tomb of King Frederick I of Denmark (d. 1533), the wrought-iron choir screen (Late Gothic), a beautiful font of 1418 and 12th and 13th C. wall paintings. On the north side of the church is the cloister, with 14th C. wall paintings.

In the Markt in Schleswig is the neo-classical Town Hall (Rathaus; 1794) and adjoining it the Graukloster, a former Franciscan friary founded in 1234.

North of the Schleswig Markt in Stadtweg is the Präsidentenkloster, founded in 1656 as a poorhouse.

Southeast of the Markt in Schleswig, in the old fishermen's quarter of Holm on the shores of the Schlei, is St John's Convent (St-Johannis-Kloster), a house of Benedictine nuns founded in the 12th C. Late Baroque church; fine 13th C. stalls in the chapterhouse.In the center of Holm is the fishermen's cemetery, surrounded by lime trees.

In the Friedrichsberg district of Schleswig, situated on an island at the tip of the Schlei (which is now cut off from the rest of the inlet), stands Schloss Gottorf (originally 13th C.; in its present form 16th-18th C.), the largest princely palace in Schleswig-Holstein. From the mid 19th C. it was used as a barracks; it now contains two museums.

The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival runs from late June to mid-August and includes almost 200 different events, including large-scale symphonic performances, smaller-scale chamber and choral concerts, piano and vocal recitals and even seminars.The festival was founded in 1986 by pianist Justus Frantz, not only to showcase music, but to celebrate the region's beauty. Under this mandate, the performances at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival take place in remote castles, mansions and historic buildings throughout the region. The music itself is equally varied and includes everything from classical to contemporary.

This series of concerts runs from June to October in the 35 towns throughout the province of Schleswig-Holstein. The concerts showcase the German tradition of organ playing and include organ recitals, chamber concerts featuring organs and even organ groups playing jazz and gospel repertoires. There are performances almost every day, although not usually in the same town.