Sacred Sites of the Sámi – Cults and Rituals of an Indigenous Culture

Ever since the United Nations (UN) declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), it has been known that around 400 million people worldwide work as herders!
For over 90 years, the German Shepherds’ Museum has focused on these diverse guardians of animals and the land.
This year’s special exhibition, ‘Sacred Places of the Sámi’, turns its gaze far to the north of Europe and showcases the poetic works of photographer Monika Belting from Münster.
She has travelled regularly to Sámi lands over many years, documenting sacred sites there and capturing her fascination with this culture in stunning photographs.
The exhibition features landscape photographs, objects and artefacts, as well as taxidermied specimens of the typical animals of this Nordic environment, on loan from the Coburg Natural History Museum, thereby providing a comprehensive yet sensitive insight into the way of life and rituals of the reindeer herders from the far north – Europe’s last indigenous people – are presented comprehensively yet sensitively.

Last edited on 02.07.2026