Störtebeker Festival

It is based on stories around the medieval German privateer Klaus Störtebeker and his Victual Brothers, who later turned to pirates.

Founded in 1959, as part of an East German cultural initiative, the festival has become Germany's most successful open-air theatre event, and is broadcast by public television network NDR.

However, this record was broken again in 2009, with a total of 394,766 spectators attending the most successful open-air theatre in Germany this year.

The Störtebeker Festival employs more than 140 extras, 20 actors, 30 horses, four ships with skippers, and other behind-the-scenes staff.

In 2006, there was a small decrease in the number of visitors, which was also in line with the general trend in tourism figures on the island of Rügen and was due to the bad weather and the economic situation in Germany.

Störtebeker Festspiele GmbH & Co. KG is a private family business that does not receive government subsidies and is co-financed by sponsors.