About NORDEN Festival
» ABOUT US
From the idea to the festival
On a trip along the Baltic Sea to the Baltic States, the idea of celebrating the "North" was born. That was in 2016, after which the idea of atmospherically capturing the North and translating it into an event became more and more concrete - and so the NORDEN Festival was born. A unique cultural festival in the heart of Schleswig-Holstein, dedicated to the cultural diversity of the northern European countries: the nordic arts festival.
This original idea has been developed and expanded in recent years by a team of culture enthusiasts around the festival directors Manfred Pakusius and Marno Happ. The NORDEN team consists of people with a passion for NORDEN and its culture. And this shows in the finely curated sections with a selection of the most interesting and impressive artists inside.
We are a small crew of enthusiasts who spend the whole year organizing and programming the NORDEN Festival in an office in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel. In the six weeks surrounding the festival, the team from Hamburg grows together with the one from Schleswig-Holstein into one big family that gets bigger with each year. People who provide the special atmosphere at NORDEN with a love of detail.
We also receive valuable support from many other people and organizations. For example from our NORDLICHTERN, especially active fans, who made the festival known in the region from the beginning. As well as many regional companies and actors - thank you!
Come together and celebrate diversity: the NORDEN team is looking forward to seeing you!
On a trip along the Baltic Sea to the Baltic States, the idea of celebrating the "North" was born. That was in 2016, after which the idea of atmospherically capturing the North and translating it into an event became more and more concrete - and so the NORDEN Festival was born. A unique cultural festival in the heart of Schleswig-Holstein, dedicated to the cultural diversity of the northern European countries: the nordic arts festival.
This original idea has been developed and expanded in recent years by a team of culture enthusiasts around the festival directors Manfred Pakusius and Marno Happ. The NORDEN team consists of people with a passion for NORDEN and its culture. And this shows in the finely curated sections with a selection of the most interesting and impressive artists inside.
We are a small crew of enthusiasts who spend the whole year organizing and programming the NORDEN Festival in an office in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel. In the six weeks surrounding the festival, the team from Hamburg grows together with the one from Schleswig-Holstein into one big family that gets bigger with each year. People who provide the special atmosphere at NORDEN with a love of detail.
We also receive valuable support from many other people and organizations. For example from our NORDLICHTERN, especially active fans, who made the festival known in the region from the beginning. As well as many regional companies and actors - thank you!
Come together and celebrate diversity: the NORDEN team is looking forward to seeing you!
» ARRIVAL
NORDEN is sustainable and we support guests who travel by public transport (NAH.SH) or by bike. You can find different ways to get to us here.
Das NORDEN - The Nordic Arts Festival takes place at:
Stadtpark Königswiesen
24837 Schleswig
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ARRIVAL BY TRAIN: There are many bus lines from Schleswig train station to the festival area: You can find all departure info in the NAH.SH app or on the website www.nah.sh. Destination stops that are within walking distance of the festival grounds: Domschule or Strandweg Please note: Festival visitors with a train ticket in the Schleswig-Holstein-Tarif (NAH.SH) will receive a discount of 5 Euro when presenting their ticket. IC, EC and ICE are excluded. |
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ARRIVAL BY BIKE: Bicycle parking near the ticket offices (Strandweg / Luisenbad). |
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ARRIVAL BY BUS: Various bus lines to the ZOB Schleswig: See line network Schleswig and the timetable line buses Schleswig. |
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ARRIVAL BY CAR: Parking spaces can be found in the city area. Parking for people with mobility impairments can be found in Strandweg.
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Das NORDEN - The Nordic Arts Festival takes place at:
Stadtpark Königswiesen
24837 Schleswig
» OVERNIGHT STAYS
For overnight stays in Schleswig, we recommend our NORDEN partner hotels:
» ACCESSIBILITY
The NORDEN Festival should be accessible for all people and so our team is gradually working on the implementation of barrier-free measures on the Königswiesen.
Info booth and inclusion team
You can always contact our team at the info booth at the entrance of the festival area as soon as you have questions or need support. Our team is trained and can help you in different situations. Additionally, Philine, our accessibility and inclusion officer, can be reached by phone and WhatsApp at any time on +49 (0) 176 800 24 94 13. Philine also speaks German sign language.
Arrival
You have several possibilities to arrive barrier-free to the NORDEN Festival.
The regional trains of our partner NAH.SH are equipped with ramps and the train station in Schleswig is also barrier-free. From here you have the possibility to take a cab or to drive to the festival area on your own. The 2.5 km long path along the beautiful Baltic Sea fjord Schlei is also accessible for wheelchairs, although there is a slight downhill shortly after the station.
If you arrive by car, there are handicapped parking spaces directly at the festival area as well as in the nearby parking garage.
Barrier-free access to the festival area
The entire festival area is almost completely barrier-free and accessible for people in wheelchairs. There are ramps in the entrance area to overcome thresholds and the individual cultural venues can also be reached via ramps. Only the garden stage is located on a slope. Here other people can help you to stand directly in front of the stage or you can watch from the side - there you have a great view of the water at the same time.
If the lawn is too soft for wheelchair access due to heavy rainfall, we will try to lay out asap paving slabs to allow you access to the Cultural Tent, Atrium and Manege in the Park.
Barrier-free toilet
There is a barrier-free toilet on the festival grounds. This is integrated in the Luisenbad (blockhouse between the beach and the Königswiese) and can be reached via a ramp.
Mobile induction loop
In the culture tent as well as in the atrium and in the cinema we have installed a mobile induction loop. You can borrow a receiver from the information desk so that you can follow the readings and other events more easily. Our team can help you with the mobile induction loops and answer your questions.
German Sign Language
We try to have as many events as possible, especially the readings in the kulturzelt, accompanied for you in German Sign Language (GSL). We will inform you in the timetable which events will be accompanied in GSL. If you are particularly interested in an event, please send a message to Philine at +49 (0) 176 800 24 94 13 or to pb@hejnorden.com. We will try to book a sign language interpreter for exactly this event.
Subtitles
Some short films in the cinema tent have subtitles. Unfortunately, we can only tell you exactly which films are subtitled shortly beforehand, once we have the films.
For questions and suggestions regarding accessibility and inclusion at NORDEN, please contact Philine at pb@hejnorden.com.
Info booth and inclusion team
You can always contact our team at the info booth at the entrance of the festival area as soon as you have questions or need support. Our team is trained and can help you in different situations. Additionally, Philine, our accessibility and inclusion officer, can be reached by phone and WhatsApp at any time on +49 (0) 176 800 24 94 13. Philine also speaks German sign language.
Arrival
You have several possibilities to arrive barrier-free to the NORDEN Festival.
The regional trains of our partner NAH.SH are equipped with ramps and the train station in Schleswig is also barrier-free. From here you have the possibility to take a cab or to drive to the festival area on your own. The 2.5 km long path along the beautiful Baltic Sea fjord Schlei is also accessible for wheelchairs, although there is a slight downhill shortly after the station.
If you arrive by car, there are handicapped parking spaces directly at the festival area as well as in the nearby parking garage.
Barrier-free access to the festival area
The entire festival area is almost completely barrier-free and accessible for people in wheelchairs. There are ramps in the entrance area to overcome thresholds and the individual cultural venues can also be reached via ramps. Only the garden stage is located on a slope. Here other people can help you to stand directly in front of the stage or you can watch from the side - there you have a great view of the water at the same time.
If the lawn is too soft for wheelchair access due to heavy rainfall, we will try to lay out asap paving slabs to allow you access to the Cultural Tent, Atrium and Manege in the Park.
Barrier-free toilet
There is a barrier-free toilet on the festival grounds. This is integrated in the Luisenbad (blockhouse between the beach and the Königswiese) and can be reached via a ramp.
Mobile induction loop
In the culture tent as well as in the atrium and in the cinema we have installed a mobile induction loop. You can borrow a receiver from the information desk so that you can follow the readings and other events more easily. Our team can help you with the mobile induction loops and answer your questions.
German Sign Language
We try to have as many events as possible, especially the readings in the kulturzelt, accompanied for you in German Sign Language (GSL). We will inform you in the timetable which events will be accompanied in GSL. If you are particularly interested in an event, please send a message to Philine at +49 (0) 176 800 24 94 13 or to pb@hejnorden.com. We will try to book a sign language interpreter for exactly this event.
Subtitles
Some short films in the cinema tent have subtitles. Unfortunately, we can only tell you exactly which films are subtitled shortly beforehand, once we have the films.
For questions and suggestions regarding accessibility and inclusion at NORDEN, please contact Philine at pb@hejnorden.com.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club Schleswig-Gottorf and Aktion Mensch.
» SAFETY
In consultation with the relevant authorities, we have drawn up a security concept to ensure the best possible safety for our visitors, artists and staff.
This includes an elaborated hygiene concept for maximum protection against infection, a trained security team consisting of security guards and paramedics, as well as an escape route plan with 4 emergency exits. Furthermore, we maximize our number of visitors, with exact adjustment on the festival area.
» AWARENESS
Awareness means to establish a CARE, VALUE, RESPECT AND RESPONSIBILITY AWARE UMGANG together.
This is very important to us at the NORDEN Festival!
The word Awareness means AWARENESS AND CONSCIOUSNESS.We want our festival to be a safe place for everyone and therefore we have an Awareness Team for all visitors of the NORDEN Festival.
All NORDEN Festival staff, security and bar staff can be approached if they observe or experience offensive, border-crossing and/or discriminatory behavior.
Also discreetly with the codeword "HOW DO I GET TO HELSINKI?" All persons concerned will be referred to the Awareness Team.
The Awareness Team can be reached by phone at +49 (0) 176 802 494 13. Please report all incidents, no matter if you have only observed them or if you are affected yourself!
WATCH OUT FOR EACH OTHER AND FOR YOURSELVES! NO FEELINGS ARE WRONG - COME TO US!
» KIDS & TEENS
Children and adolescents under 16 years of age may enter the festival grounds of NORDEN - The Nordic Arts Festival without the accompaniment of a parent or legal guardian only with written permission and a copy of an ID from a parent or legal guardian.
» PETS
Assistance dogs are excluded from this regulation.
At the NORDEN - The Nordic Arts Festival it can get quite crowded and noisy, so we recommend that you do not bring your four-legged friends to the event. However, if there is no other way, it is compulsory to keep them on a leash. We reserve the right to issue a general ban in the event of excessive crowds and problems relating to safety and contamination.
Assistance dogs are excluded from this regulation.
» FOOD & DRINKS
We offer a wide variety of food options at several stands. Here we pay attention to a regional and sustainable offer as possible, there is a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes.
We offer drinks at several bars. There is a large selection of non-alcoholic beverages and also alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and cocktails. Here, too, we make sure that the range of drinks is as sustainable as possible.
Bringing food and drinks is prohibited! Exceptions: Drinking bottle to fill at our water stations, baby food.
We offer drinks at several bars. There is a large selection of non-alcoholic beverages and also alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and cocktails. Here, too, we make sure that the range of drinks is as sustainable as possible.
Bringing food and drinks is prohibited! Exceptions: Drinking bottle to fill at our water stations, baby food.
» REUSABLE TABLEWARE AND DEPOSIT CUPS
All meals available with us are served on rescued porcelain tableware. After consumption, we collect the used plates and cutlery to clean it at our Spülbar. It then goes back into the cycle.
Our drinks are all served in reusable deposit cups. After they are returned, we rinse them as well to avoid excessive waste production.
» PAYMENT
Both at our admission desk and at the various beverage stands, it is possible to pay in cash or also with the EC card.
» WASTE
On the festival site, we separate our waste with different labeled garbage cans. We separate between packaging waste, residual waste and cardboard and paper. We rely on the ecological understanding of our visitors and therefore ask them to implement the waste separation system.
With our partner of the waste management Schleswig-Flensburg the waste is disposed properly.
» SANITARY
There are sanitary facilities on the whole festival area. Of course, our sanitary facilities are signposted, but you can also take a look at our site plan and find the exact location of the toilets there. A barrier-free toilet can be reached via a ramp in the Luisenbad.
The sanitary facilities are cleaned by our staff at regular intervals.
» LOST & FOUND
Lost and found items can be handed in and collected at the cash desk in front of the festival area. If you notice later that you have lost something, please contact us at
info@norden-festival.com.
» FILM & PHOTO
Cameras and digital cameras are permitted on the festival grounds for private use. Video and sound recordings are prohibited. Professional photo and video equipment may only be carried with an appropriate accreditation.
» WORKSHOPS
There are a variety of workshops at the NORDEN - you can do arts and crafts, try things out and make music: There are no limits to the workshops on offer in the studio and workshop.
Some workshops may incur costs for consumables.
» BATHING SPOTS
Our festival area also includes a larger bathing area on the Schlei. During our opening hours this is supervised by trained DLRG staff.
» NORDEN FREUNDESKREIS E.V.
The NORDEN Freundeskreis e. V. has set itself the goal of promoting current artists and cultural workers from the region and Northern Europe. The association facilitates an exciting cultural program.
Special readings, theater and film performances, art exhibitions and musical events are only made possible by the financial commitment of the Freundeskreis. Members enjoy a number of benefits, such as discounts on the coveted EarlyBird tickets and on selected merchandising items.
