Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

is an important economic factor for Germany's northernmost state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. Thanks to its

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

s on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

in the west and

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

in the east, Schleswig-Holstein has a great variety of

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es and water sports facilities. Due to its geographical location on the way to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

it is also a transit area for tourists from all over Europe.

Important tourist resorts

Statistics

In 2002 there were a total of 176,198 guest beds in Schleswig-Holstein, which were used that year by 2,968,406 visitors for 15,429,614 overnight stays. 278,786 der visitors came from abroad, which represents about 8.6% of all overnighting guests. The bathing resorts on the

had somewhat more visitors (720,115) than those on the

(604,548), but on average the North Sea guests stayed longer, so that the total of overnight stays was greater (5,122,549) than on the Baltic Sea. Less important to tourism were the climatic spas (153,538 visitors with 592,705 overnight stays) and health spas (132,337 visitors with 755,153 overnight stays). The most important destinations for tourists were, in order of the number of overnight stays: StPeter

Sankt Peter-Ording Sankt Peter-Ording () is a popular German seaside spa and a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the only German seaside resort that has a sulphur spring and thus terms itself "North Sea spa and sul ...

, North Sea: 909,920 overnight stays, 101,607 visitors of whom 408 (0.4%) from abroad, 8,991 guest beds. * Westerland, Sylt, North Sea: 819,935 overnight stays, 96,120 visitors of whom 271 (0.28%) from abroad, 9,159 guest beds. * Grömitz, Baltic Sea: 714,188 overnight stays, 96,116 visitors of whom 413 (0.43%) from abroad, 8,305 guest beds. *

Timmendorfer Strand Timmendorfer Strand (Timmendorf Beach) is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Bay of Lübeck (Baltic Sea), approximately northwest of Lübeck, and southeast of Eutin. Notable Pe ...

, Baltic Sea: 676,510 overnight stays, 124,761 visitors of whom 2,567 (2.0%) from abroad, 6,771 guest beds. * Büsum, North Sea: 658,723, 83,295 visitors, of whom 480 (0.57%) from abroad, 6,846 guest beds. *

Wyk auf Föhr (Fering, ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Wik'', ''a Wik'', or ''Bi a Wik''; da, Vyk på Før) is the only town on Föhr, the second largest of the North Frisian Islands on the Germany, German coast of the North Sea. Like the entire island it belongs ...

, North Sea: 492,041 overnight stays, 46,368 visitors, of whom 325 (0.70%) from abroad, 4,733 guest beds. * Burg auf Fehmarn, Baltic Sea: 312,115 overnight stays, 47,704 visitors, of whom 1,476 (3.0%) from abroad, 3 364 guest beds. *

Scharbeutz Scharbeutz (, Polabian ''Scorbuze'') is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Bay of Lübeck (Baltic Sea), approx. 20 km north of Lübeck, and 15 km southeast of Eutin Euti ...

, Baltic Sea: 292,468 overnight stays, 45,314 visitors, of whom 1,366 (2.92%) from abroad, 3,940 guest beds. * Norddorf,

Amrum Amrum (; Öömrang, ''Öömrang'' North Frisian: ''Oomram'') is one of the North Frisian Islands on the Germany, German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-H ...

, North Sea: 276,978 overnight stays, 25,098 visitors, of whom 576 (2.24%) from abroad, 2,162 guest beds. *

Wenningstedt Wenningstedt-Braderup (Söl'ring: Woningstair-Brääderep, da, Venningsted-Brarup) is a municipality and seaside resort on the island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located north of the town of ...

, Sylt, North Sea: 276,344 overnight stays, 36,775 visitors, of whom 570 (1.53%) from abroad, 2,650 guest beds. The most important health spa was Malente with 232,000 overnight stays, most important climatic spa was Plön with 132,000 overnight stays.

Regions

* Angeln *

Bungsberg The Bungsberg () is the highest point in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein (elevation: ). It lies in the region known as Holstein Switzerland in the municipality of Schönwalde am Bungsberg between Scheelholz and Mönchsneversdorf. T ...

Danish Wahld The Danish Wahld (, ) is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located between Eckernförde Bay in the north and Kiel Fjord in the south. The ''Amt'' of " Dänischer Wohld" in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde is named after the ...

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, Northern Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; da, Ditmarsken; la, label=Medieval Latin, Tedmarsgo) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of ...

Eiderstedt Eiderstedt (german: Eiderstedt, ; da, Ejdersted; North Frisian: ''Ääderstää'') is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Overview It is approximately 30 km in length and 15&nbs ...

* Elbe Marshes *

Mittelholstein Mittelholstein ("central Holstein") is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2012 from the three former ''Ämter'' Aukrug, Hanerau-Hademarschen ...

with the

Aukrug Nature Park The Aukrug Nature Park (german: Naturpark Aukrug) is a nature park in north Germany with an area of . It lies in the centre of the state of Schleswig-Holstein in the region of Holstein (districts of Rendsburg-Eckernförde and Steinburg). It is spo ...

and the Westensee Nature Park * Holstein Switzerland Nature Park, (

Schleswig-Holstein Uplands The Schleswig-Holstein Uplands or Schleswig-Holstein Morainic Uplands Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen. . (German: ''Schleswig-Holsteinisches Hügelland'') is one of the three l ...

) the heart region of

Wagria WagriaArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 156. . (german: Wagrien, ''Waierland'' or ''Wagerland'') is the northeastern part of Holstein in the German state ...

with the Plöner See * Hüttener Berge Nature Park *

Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park The Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park (german: Naturpark Lauenburgische Seen)

* North Frisia *

Probstei Probstei () is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated around Schönberg, which is the seat of the ''Amt''. Subdivision The ''Amt'' Probstei consists of the following munici ...

* Sachsenwald, the largest forest in Schleswig-Holstein, owned by the Bismarck family *

Schleswig Geest The Schleswig Geest (german: Schleswigsche Geest, da, Slesvigsk Gest, Midtslesvig or Midtsletten) lies between the North Frisian Marsh and Schleswig-Holstein Uplands in the north of Schleswig-Holstein (Southern Schleswig) in Germany. To the south ...

, large pine forests * Schwansen *

North Sea coast

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

, Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park,

mudflat hiking Mudflat hiking ( da, Vadehavsvandring, nl, Wadlopen, West Frisian: ''Waadrinnen'', german: Wattwandern) is a recreation enjoyed in the Netherlands, northwest Germany, Denmark, England and France. Mudflat hikers are people who, with the aid of a ...

* Föhr *

Helgoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

Pellworm ( da, Pelvorm; North Frisian ''Polweerm'') is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The municipality is located on the island of Pellworm – one of the North Frisian Islands on the North Sea coast of ...

* Sylt * The Halligen * North Frisia *

Bay of Husum The Bay of Husum, Husum Bight or Husum Bay (german: Husumer Bucht) is a bay on the North Sea coast of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its German name is used for the marketing the holiday region around the town of Husum. The bight is part ...

Baltic Sea coast

* Island of

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

Eckernförde Bay Eckernförde Bay (german: Eckernförder Bucht; da, Egernførde Fjord or Egernfjord) is a firth and a branch of the Bay of Kiel between the Danish Wahld peninsula in the south and the Schwansen peninsula in the north in the Baltic Sea off the lan ...

Flensburg Fjord Flensburg Firth or Flensborg Fjord (german: Flensburger Förde; da, Flensborg Fjord) is the westernmost inlet of the Baltic Sea. It forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north, on the eastern side of Schleswig ...

* Damp * Grömitz *

Heiligenhafen Heiligenhafen (; Holsatian: ''Hilligenhaven'') is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, opposite the island Fehmarn, approx. 60 km northeast of Lübeck, and 55 km e ...

* Kiel Fjord * Baltic Seaside Resort of Laboe * Lübeck Bay * Neustadt in Holstein *

* Schlei *

Sierksdorf Sierksdorf is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, situated on the Bay of Lübeck. The Hansa Park amusement park is located in Sierksdorf. References External links Internet presence of Sierksdorfon t ...

Travemünde Travemünde () is a borough of Lübeck, Germany, located at the mouth of the river Trave in Bay of Lübeck, Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, an ...

and the Priwall

Towns

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Ostholstein, Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. I ...

(

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

) *

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Du ...

Glücksburg Glücksburg (; da, Lyksborg) is a small town northeast of Flensburg in the district Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and is the northernmost town in Germany. It is situated on the south side of the Flensborg Fjord, an inlet ...

(

water castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle st ...

) *

Husum Husum (, frr, Hüsem) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of ...

* State capital of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Hanseatic city The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German tow ...

of Lübeck (

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

) * Plön * Shoemakers' town of Preetz * Island town of

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

* Schleswig ( Gottorf Castle)

International events

Gbr52 americascupclass kiel160605 pischdi

* Kiel Week, biggest sailing

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

in the world and biggest summer festival in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

Travemünde Week Barque ''Passat'' in Travemünde The Travemünder Woche (engl. ''Travemünde Week'') is the second largest annual race week in sailing in Germany (after Kiel Week). It is held since 1892 by the end of July at the traditional seaside resort Travem ...

, the second biggest regatta in the world * North Sea Week, biggest German regatta for touring sailors on the

off

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

* Robbe & Berking Classic Week,

, biggest German regatta series for classic yachts (built before 1969, no yachts built with man-made materials) * Rum Regatta, biggest gaff rig sailing event in

Lübeck Nordic Film Days The Lübeck Nordic Film Days _(german:_Nordische_Filmtage_Lübeck)_is_a_ _(german:_Nordische_Filmtage_Lübeck)_is_a_film_festival">/ref>_(german:_Nordische_Filmtage_Lübeck)_is_a_film_festival_for_movies_from_the_Nordic_countries.html" ;"title="fil ...

* Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, one of the most important music festivals in Europe *

Jazz Baltica Jazz Baltica is a jazz festival which was started in 1990. Up until 2011 it was held every summer in Schloss Salzau (Salzau Palace) near Kiel, Germany, and the coast of the Baltic Sea. In 2009 the festival was directed by Bengt-Arne Wallin and in ...

, international jazz festival * Folk Baltica, international folk festival * Karl May Festival in

Bad Segeberg Bad Segeberg (; Low German: Sebarg) is a German town of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district (Kreis) Segeberg. It is situated approximately northeast of Hamburg, and west of Lübeck. It is famo ...

* Harbour Days (''Hafentage'') in

, biggest maritime town event on the west coast * Rarities of Piano Music in

, internationally renowned piano festival at Husum Castle * International Puppet Theatre Festival "Pole Poppenspäler Tage" in

Important museums

* Schleswig-Holstein Open Air Museum in Molfsee near

* Museumsberg (in

) *

Kunsthalle Kiel The Kunsthalle zu Kiel is an art museum in the German city of Kiel. With 2,000 m2 of display space, it is the largest museum in the city. It is north of the city centre on Düsternbrooker Weg. It has a lecture hall, a small cafe and a sculptur ...

* Behnhaus (in Lübeck) * St. Anne's Museum Quarter (in Lübeck) *

Holstentor The Holsten Gate (Low German and German: ''Holstentor'') is a city gate marking off the western boundary of the old center of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. Built in 1464, the Brick Gothic construction is one of the relics of Lübeck's medieval ci ...

(in Lübeck) *

Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets The Lübeck Museum of Theatre Puppets (in German: ''TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck'') is a museum of international puppetry in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, Germany. Collection Fritz Fey Jr's private ''TheaterFigurenMuseum Lübeck'' is located ...

* Buddenbrookhaus (in Lübeck) * Gottorf Castle (in Schleswig) * Danewerk Museum (near Schleswig) * Haithabu Viking Museum (near Schleswig) * Theodor Storm Centre (in

) * Husum North Sea Museum / Nissenhaus (in

) * Husum Castle (in

) * Laboe Naval Memorial and U 995 (in Laboe)

Cycleways and footpaths

* Old Salt Road between Lübeck and Lüneburg * Monks Way (''Mönchsweg'') *

North Sea Cycle Route EuroVelo 12 (EV12), the North Sea Cycle Route, is a long-distance cycling route circuit around the coastlines of the countries that border the North Sea: these countries are (going clockwise from an arbitrary starting point of Harwich in Essex ...

* Eider-Treene-Sorge Cycleway * Baltic Sea Coast Cycleway * Ox Road (''Ochsenweg'') * Viking-Frisian Way

Important leisure facilities

* The

Hansa Park Hansa-Park is a seasonal amusement park in Sierksdorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany off the Baltic Sea. It was opened on May 15, 1977 under the name Hansaland and renamed Hansa-Park in 1987. It currently spans and includes more than 125 attractio ...

on Lübeck Bay * Ellerhoop-Thiensen Arboretum * Tolk-Schau Leisure Park

Most beautiful holiday destinations

A viewers' poll on holiday destinations in the

NDR NDR may refer to: Computing * Non delivery report, a return email message to a sender indicating failed message delivery * Network Data Representation, an implementation of the OSI model presentation layer Science and technology * Negative differ ...

transmission area, that was carried out in 2007 for the NDR television with the title "The most beautiful holiday destinations in North Germany", resulted in the following rankings within Schleswig-Holstein: * 7: Sylt, * 11: Amrum, * 12: St. Peter Ording, * 13: Holstein Switzerland, * 14: Fehmarn, * 15: Helgoland, * 18: Schleiregion, * 19: Lübeck Bay, * 20: Büsum, * 21: Lübeck, * 22: Hallig Hooge, * 24: Kiel Canal Region, * 27: Kiel, * 31: Flensburg, (The remaining places were won by other places and regions in the rest of NDR's catchment area.)

External links

Holidays in Schleswig-Holstein

Reiseziel Schleswig-Holstein
(pdf file; 1,84 MB)
Youth tourism in Schleswig-Holstein
{{Portal bar, Germany Tourist attractions in Schleswig-Holstein Economy of Schleswig-Holstein