Discover Tønder: Old Town, Museums and Music

Tønder combines a distinctive historic urban layout with museums, regional cultural history and an annual music festival. When planning your trip, it is worth first considering the occasion and the time of year you would like to visit: the festival takes place on the last weekend of August, while the city’s history is also a theme of many attractions outside that period.

Music at the Tønder Festival

Musically, the Tønder Festival spans folk, roots rock, country and blues, as well as Cajun, world music and related styles. It takes place every year on the last weekend of August. The festival site is close to the city centre and has eight stages, including the large open-air stage and the cosy Front Porch.

Medieval layout and distinctive architectural features

The street layout and building pattern in the town centre still retain the character of a medieval layout. Green spaces dating from around 1800 surround the centre. Uldgade is one example of the city’s distinctive architecture: this cobbled street is lined with houses featuring gabled facades and unusual bay windows. Tønder Kristkirke also offers cultural and historical points of interest. Wealthy citizens of the town commissioned its historic epitaphs, and the pulpit dates from 1586. The first hymnbook was published in the church in 1732.

Museums and crafts

Drøhse’s House is a small museum in a well-preserved historic house in the heart of Tønder. The Baroque building was constructed in 1672; many original architectural details and examples of fine craftsmanship have been preserved. The house features traditional bobbin lace-making, as well as small temporary exhibitions of local art and crafts. After extensive restoration work, Drøhse’s House received an award from Europa Nostra in 1985.

The Museum Cultural History Tønder displays, among other things, Tønder silver, a furniture collection, Tønder lace, Schleswig-Holstein faience and Dutch tiles. The museum’s water tower offers panoramic views of the city and the marshland. The 40-metre-high tower was built in 1902 and inaugurated as the Wegner Museum in 1995. In Tønder, craftsmanship and design meet the history of architecture and the cityscape.

More places with a story of their own

Bachmanns Vandmølle, also known as Visemøllen, is a historic watermill in Tønder. It was originally built in 1598 as part of Tønder Slot and is used for musical events in connection with the Tønder Festival. On Slotsbanken, trimmed beech hedges mark the castle’s foundations. The grounds are open to everyone and can be used for picnics and play.

The Zeppelin & Garrison Museum Tønder has an extensive collection of photographs and objects from the period when the Zeppelin base was here. These include original airship propellers, uniforms and weapons. Guided tours of the former Zeppelin site in Soldaterskoven, lasting around two hours, are available for groups. Booking at least three weeks in advance is required; confirm this requirement before planning your visit. The original cells have been preserved in Tønder’s former town prisons; the panels bear graffiti carved by prisoners.

Walking in Tøndermarsk

If you would also like to go walking during your trip, the 54-kilometre Marskstien trail takes you through the nature and culture of Tøndermarsken. The route passes through Højer, Rudbøl, Tønder and Møgeltønder. It therefore links several places and themes of the marshland; its scope is quite different from a single visit to the town centre.

Discover more destinations: Sønder Sejerslev, Buntje-Ballum, Skærbæk, Østerby, Toftlund, Løgumkloster, Ballum, Brøns.

Return to the main travel overview: Tønder Municipality.