［CITY］
Usedom … Germany
［SCHEDULE］
2026：9.19 … 10.10
To the festival site ▷
The island of Usedom is located in the Baltic Sea. It is the second largest island in Germany with beautiful white, 42 km long sandy beaches and has been known as a resort since the Prussian Empire for its thermal springs.
After the Second World War, 373 square kilometers of the western part of the island was divided into East German territory and 72 square kilometers of the eastern part was divided into Polish territory. The festival was established in 1994 after the reunification of Germany and is held annually for three weeks from the end of September to the beginning of October.
The island is actually known for one event. During the last war, the village of Peenemünde was the site of Nazi Germany’s rocket laboratory, where the German Army established a long-range weapons test range in 1936 and the Luftwaffe in 1938. It was here that new weapons were developed, including the V1 flying bomb and the V2 rocket, which were used to attack London. The facility from that time is still preserved as a museum.
In 2002, the turbine hall at the power station in Peenemünde was renovated and used as a new concert hall. The first concert was Britten’s “War Requiem”, performed by more than 250 musicians under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich.
Many big name conductors have made guest appearances, including Kurt Masur, Krzysztof Penderecki, Christoph von Dohnányi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, Andris Nelsons, Christoph Eschenbach, Paavo Järvi and Némé Järvi. There were also notable visits of dignitaries from the Baltic Sea surrounding areas.
The Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, founded as a resident orchestra by Christian Järvi in 2016, brings together orchestras from around the Baltic Sea, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden. It brings together members of orchestras from ten countries.
