Heiligenhafen (;

Holsatian Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost S ...

: ''Hilligenhaven'') is a town in the district of

Ostholstein Ostholstein (; da, Østholsten) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Stormarn, Segeberg and Plön, the Baltic Sea and the city of Lübeck. History The district was es ...

, in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated 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, opposite the island

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

, approx. 60 km northeast of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, and 55 km east of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Geography

The town centre is located on a small bight, the ''binnensee'' (inland lake) from which the west of the town has been separated. Two headlands are located off the coast: ''Steinwarder'' and ''Graswarder'', the latter one is a bird sanctuary.

Economy

A little fishing port and a marina with about 1000 moorings is located at the open part of the bight close to the town centre. Tourism is an important part of the economy of the town. Every summer the main attraction is a 10-day festival called 'Hafenfest Tage' (harbour festival) which attracts visitors from all over the country. The town just celebrated its 250-year anniversary and has kept the charm of the traditional German fishing town though some well designed amendments to the town centre have been made.

Born in Heiligenhafen

Eugen Petersen Eugen Adolf Hermann Petersen (16 August 1836 in Heiligenhafen – 14 December 1919 in Hamburg) was a German classical archaeologist and philologist. He studied classical philology at the universities of Kiel and Bonn, where his influences wer ...

(1836-1919), archaeologist *

Wilhelm Jensen Wilhelm Hermann Jensen (15 February 183724 November 1911) was a German writer and poet. Biography Wilhelm Jensen was born at Heiligenhafen in the Duchy of Holstein (now Germany), the illegitimate son of Swenn Hans Jensen (1795–1855), the May ...

(1837-1911), lyricist and writer

Connected to Heiligenhafen

Theodor Storm Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (; 14 September 18174 July 1888), commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German writer. He is considered to be one of the most important figures of German realism. Life Storm was born in the small town of Husum, on th ...

(1817-1888) jurist and famous writer, was inspired by a stay in Heiligenhafen in 1881 to the novella ''Hans and Heinz Kirch'', whose scene is located here. *

Fritz Graßhoff Fritz Graßhoff (9 December 1913 – 9 February 1997) was a German painter, poet and songwriter. He was known for hits sung by Lale Andersen, Freddy Quinn and Hans Albers. As a painter, he participated in important exhibitions; as a writer, he ...

(1913-1997), draftsman, painter and writer, was interned here after the war and wrote in 1945 the Heiligenhafen Sternsingerspiel (carol singer play) {{Authority control Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Port cities and towns in Germany Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) Ostholstein