The Baltic Sea watchtower (german: Ostsee-Grenzturm) in Börgerende is an old watchtower that belonged to the Coastal Brigade (''Grenzbrigade Küste'') of the

East German Border Troops The Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic (german: Grenztruppen der DDR) was the border guard of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1946 to 1990. The were the primary force guarding the Berlin Wall and the Inner German border, ...

. As a maritime border observation tower (of type BT 11) it belonged to a series of originally 27 towers of this type on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

coast of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, of which two have survived. The other remaining tower is in

Kühlungsborn Kühlungsborn () is a ''Seebad'' (seaside resort) town in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, 11 km northwest of Bad Doberan, and 25 km northwest of Rostock. The town has an ...

. The tower is located right next to the beach. The East German border soldiers had the mission of observing shipping movements on the Baltic Sea and identifying escape attempts. By means of a fixed telescope with high magnification the four man crew could observe a wide area of up to 12 nautical miles distance from the observation platform. The tower is recorded in the List of heritage monuments in Börgerende. The tower is accessible using a ladder on the inside. It is currently being restored.

References

External links

Strassenkatalog.de

nva-forum

GDR Border Troops Watchtowers in Germany Heritage sites in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Military of East Germany Buildings and structures in Rostock (district) {{Rostock-geo-stub