The Vineta Festival (German: Vineta-Festspiele) is an annual theatre festival in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

which began in 1997.(in German) The festival takes its name from

Vineta Vineta (sometimes ''Wineta'') is the name of a mythical city at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. The myth evolved around the tradition about the medieval emporium called Jumne, Jomsborg (with which Vineta is sometimes identified), Julin or s ...

, a mythical city said to have been on the southern

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 ...

located on the island of

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczecin ...

. The city is said to have been seen rising from the sea on the beach of

Koserow Koserow is a municipality on Usedom Island, in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. A small coastal bathing resort, Koserow lies on an isthmus on the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, near the border with Pola ...

by a young

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

one

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

morning. A troupe of actors, many of them students at the Theatre Academy of

Zinnowitz Zinnowitz is a semi-urban Spa (resort) municipality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the northern German island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea. The municipality has rail connections to Wolgast and Ahlbeck. Climate Zinnowitz has an oceanic climate th ...

, participate in the yearly festival. The performances incorporate theatre with dance, modern music and

laser light shows A laser lighting display or laser light show involves the use of laser light to entertain an audience. A laser light show may consist only of projected laser light beam, beams set to music, or may accompany another form of entertainment, ty ...

and are given on the beach at Zinnowitz. (in German) The 2015 festival started on 19 June under the artistic directorship of Wolfgang Bordel and the musical directorship of Wolfgang Schmiedt. The opening show attracted approximately 20,000 spectators despite intermittent heavy rain.

References

{{Theatre festivals in Germany Theatre festivals in Germany