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Classical
Arts and High-Class Sports: Neustadt Presents
European Culture and International Sailing
August
3, 2007
Neustadt located in Holstein,
Germany, on the sheltered western side of the
Bay of Luebeck is more than a renowned sailing
centre. Set picturesquely at the end of a fiord-like
harbour on Schleswig-Holstein's Baltic coast,
the town will host the 4th edition of the Rolex
Baltic Week from 17 to 23 August.
 Cultural
variety is a key value for Neustadt, and this
European town in the Holstein region will welcome
visitors from all over the world with high-class
music, arts and sports. The Schleswig-Holstein
Music Festival concerts, opera performances in
Eutin's castle park and an arts and crafts fair
in Cismar's cloister, the European Folklore Festival,
the Europe running contest, and of course international
sailing regattas such as the European Championships
of the international Melges 24 class and the final
series of the Farr 40's European Circuit at the
2007 Rolex Baltic Week.
Since 1986, the surroundings of Neustadt have
hosted the renowned Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival
(SHMF) every year. This year's SHMF focuses on
Hungary , and the festival will once again attract
a number of international artists to the East
Holstein district (Ostholstein). From 14 July
to 2 September, more than 135 concerts, six music
festivals in the country-side and two children's
music festivals will take place at 75 attractive
venues between the North Sea and Baltic coasts.
Among these SHMF locations are the manor and
barn of the Gut Hasselburg estate near the Bay
of Neustadt , the sailing area of the Rolex Baltic
Week. The Hasselburg estate is an outstanding
example of a complete and excellently restored
18th century building. Its gate-house is the biggest
and most elegant of its kind in Schleswig-Holstein.
Guided tours of the manor and the private collection
of historic keyboard instruments from the 17th
and 18th century can be attended during cultural
events at Hasselburg.
 Every
three years over the past 50 years, the market
place of Neustadt sees an international gathering
of folklore fans at the Week of Traditional Dresses
(Trachtenwoche). Neustadt's European outlook is
rooted in this event, which has brought the town
and its citizens much acclaim in Germany and abroad.
The festival takes place from 28 July to 4 August
this year. And there is also the Europe running
contest, near the time of the Rolex Baltic Week
in August.
There are plenty of events to enjoy with all
senses: In July and August, the opera festival
attracts more than 40,000 visitors to the tranquil
"city of roses" of Eutin. The capital
of the Ostholstein district is only 20 minutes
by car from Neustadt, so attending great opera
performances such as this season's "Aida"
by Verdi, or operettas such as Strauß' "A
Night in Venice", as well as gala performances
of beautiful voices, are all within easy reach
to visitors in Neustadt. The open air performances
on the "green hill" near the ducal castle
on the lake shore do not need acoustic amplifiers.
This image has brought much acclaim to the "Opera
in the Castle Park " festival (Oper im Schloßpark),
which was founded in 1951 in honour of one of
the city's great sons, composer Carl Maria von
Weber.
In the 18th century, the castle park had been
one of the most extensive baroque gardens in Schleswig-Holstein.
The Eutin castle was re-opened to the public after
lavish restorations a few years ago. Its' four
red-brick wings with baroque windows and two balconies
enclose a Mediterranean-style courtyard.
The venerable brick cloister Cismar, a few miles
northeast towards the seaside resort of Groemitz,
is an important cultural centre. In the summer,
the cloister presents high-class art exhibitions.
The Cloister Festival Cismar is known well beyond
Schleswig-Holstein as a high-level nostalgic arts
and crafts market. On the second weekend of August,
about 150 stalls lure up to 80,000 visitors to
Cismar.
But the surrounds of Neustadt also offer glimpses
of quite a different lifestyle. Timmendorfer Strand,
only a few kilometres down the coast towards Luebeck,
is the jet-set refuge and definitely worth a visit.
To see and to be seen is the motto at the so-called
"Café Important", officially named "Engelseck",
right in the centre of the trendy resort. Leaning
back with a coffee latte, guests may watch extravagant
cars of all kinds and from all over. Of course
there is shopping too. High-end brands abound
in the shops lining Timmendorf's fashionable pedestrian
zone.
 Last
but not least, Neustadt would not be hosting the
renowned race week of the Norddeutscher Regatta
Verein (NRV) Hamburg , if it were not a true sailing
paradise. The town harbour at the end of the fiord-like
sea arm with the ancora Marina at its entrance
is a popular water sports base and logistics centre.
Sailors find all they need here from general equipment
to specialty yachting accessories, including a
sail-maker's shop. With 1,400 berths, yachts up
to 35 metres can visit the Rolex Baltic Week from
the sea. The Marina has been received several
awards for its ecological design.
Ten kilometres of fine white sand and shallow
waters make the Bay near Neustadt a Mecca for
windsurfers. For several years, the area has also
become very popular with kite-surfers, who indulge
in their spectacular and very "hip"
sport in front of awed onlookers. But with a long
southward facing beach, a true rarity on the German
Baltic coast, everyone will find a perfect spot
to simply enjoy the wind, the water and the waves.
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