The Laboe Naval Memorial (a.k.a. ''Laboe Tower,'' German: ''Marine-Ehrenmal Laboe'') is a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

located in

Laboe Laboe () is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, approximately 10 km northeast of Kiel. The Laboe Naval Memorial is located within the municipality, as is the U-boa ...

, near

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 ...

, 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 ...

. Started in 1927 and completed in 1936, the monument originally memorialized the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

war dead of the

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

, with the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

dead of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

being added after 1945. In 1954 it was rededicated as a memorial for the sailors of all nationalities who were lost at sea and at the same time a memorial for peaceful sailing in open seas. The monument consists of a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

topped by an

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclos ...

. The deck stands a total above sea level. A hall of remembrance and World War II-era German submarine ''U-995'', which houses a technical museum, both sit near the foot of the monument, and the site is a popular tourist venue. ''U-995'' is the world's only remaining

Type VII U-boat Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. 703 boats were built by the end of the war. The lone surviving example, , is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial located in Laboe, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Co ...

. The tower was designed by architect Gustav August Munzer, who stated that the form was not meant to represent anything specific but was to inspire positive feelings in those who look at it. It has been associated by some with the stem of a

viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

ship or the conning tower of a submarine.

Gallery

Image:Ehrenmal und Uboot Laboe.jpg, Laboe Tower seen from water with submarine museum

U-995 German submarine ''U-995'' is a Type VIIC/41 U-boat of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' and the only one of its class still in existence. She was laid down on 25 November 1942 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany, and commissioned on 16 Septem ...

at beach File:Laboe U995.JPG, Laboe Memorial and submarine museum U 995. Image:Marineehrenmal Laboe 1.jpg, Memorial Square Image:Still_On_Patrol.jpg, Plaque memorializing fallen U.S. submariners. Image:U-995 Marineehrenmal Laboe.jpg, ''U-995'', photographed from top of the memorial tower Image:Prinz_Eugen_Schraube_1.jpg, Propeller of heavy cruiser '' Prinz Eugen''

References

External links

Deutscher Marinebund e.V.
* Kiel World War I memorials in Germany Buildings and structures in Plön (district) Museums in Schleswig-Holstein Maritime museums in Germany Military and war museums in Germany Naval monuments and memorials {{SchleswigHolstein-struct-stub