Rungesommer 2027 – 250 years of Philipp Otto Runge in Wolgast

Wolgast. Morgen der Romantik · May to October 2027 · Wolgast and partner venues

Philipp Otto Runge made visible what has no form: colour as a body, time as an image, the world as a whole. In 2027 Wolgast, his place of birth, carries that work forward. Philipp Otto Runge was born on 23 July 1777. Wolgast is therefore staging the 250th anniversary as the Rungesommer (the Runge summer), with the official ceremony on his birthday at its centre.

The year at a glance

• 2 May to October – Exhibitions. New permanent exhibition at the Rungehaus, the digital town trail “Buntes Band”, temporary exhibitions, the 37th Landeskunstschau (art exhibition of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) and the three-part special exhibition “Der Traum vom Ganzen – Philipp Otto Runge in Wolgast” (The Dream of Wholeness).
• 26/27 June – 1st Festival Weekend. Children’s programme, music, dance and theatre on Runge Square, at the Town Harbour, at the Rungehaus and the Museum of Town History, in the old town and at Am Fischmarkt.
• 23 to 25 July – 2nd Festival Weekend. The 250th birthday of Philipp Otto Runge, with the official ceremony, a festive public dinner, a symphonic ballet and the Wolgaster Kulturnacht (Culture Night) on 24 July.
• 21/22 August – 3rd Festival Weekend. Children’s programme, Robert Lillinger’s composition for string quartet inspired by Runge’s “Zeiten” cycle, literature and live bands.
• September to October – Drawing to a close. A concert as part of the Usedom Music Festival, a children’s festival, the 6th Manufakturtag (Crafts Day), the Wolgast Symposium “Romantik : Religion : Revolution” and the theatre performance “Von dem Machandelboom” (The Juniper Tree) at Halloween.

The birthplace: the Rungehaus

On 2 May 2027 the Rungehaus, Runge’s birthplace on Kronwiekstraße, opens new perspectives on the life and work of the early Romantic painter with its new permanent exhibition. In thematically arranged rooms, the former family home offers insights into the output of this universal artist and visionary in the very house where 13 Runges once lived at the same time.

Why Wolgast

• Runge’s home town. The port town on the Peenestrom shaped his childhood and youth. His teacher at the town school was the poet and preacher Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten.
• 330 years as a ducal seat. From 1295 to 1625 the Dukes of Pomerania-Wolgast resided here. The ducal crypt beneath St Peter’s Church is the oldest ducal crypt in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
• Cultural heritage. The Museum of Town History on Town Hall Square – the “Kaffeemühle” – holds an extensive collection of Pomeranian fishermen’s rugs, listed since 2023 in the Nationwide Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• The town as exhibition. Five colour-coded routes of the “Buntes Band” run through the old town. All routes start at the Stadtinformation (tourist information), are free of charge and can be walked at any time.

Plan your visit

Rungehaus · Kronwiekstraße 45 · 17438 Wolgast
Current season: May to October, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. Opening hours for 2027 will be published with the new permanent exhibition.

Stadtinformation (tourist information) · Kronwiekstraße 3 · 17438 Wolgast · +49 3836 600118 · stadtinfo@wolgast.de

Press enquiries: all English documents are available on the press page.

Published by the Town of Wolgast and the Wolgaster Kulturgesellschaft gGmbH. Most of this website is in German. Zur deutschen Startseite