Zinnowitz is a semi-urban
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
(resort)
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...
on the northern
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
island of
Usedom
Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea.
It is north of the Szczecin ...
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 ...
. The municipality has rail connections to
Wolgast
Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast that can be ...
and
Ahlbeck
Ahlbeck is a village (''Ortsteil'') of the Heringsdorf municipality on the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast. It is the easternmost of the so-called ''Kaiserbäder'' ("Imperial Spas") seaside resorts on the German part of the island, situa ...
.
Climate
Zinnowitz has an oceanic climate that is moderated by the Baltic Sea. Extreme temperatures are rare. The municipality has repeatedly scored the highest amount of sunshine in Germany.
History
The settlement of Zinnowitz is first mentioned under the
Slavic name Tzys in 1309 in a deed of donation by
Bogislaw IV, duke of
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
, to the Crumminer monastery. When the monastery was dissolved in 1563, Tzys reverted to Pomerania. At the end of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, in 1648, the island of Usedom on which Zinnowitz is situated fell to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, which changed the municipality's name to Zitz.
In the middle of the 18th century, Zitz became part of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
. In 1751 the municipality was renamed Zinnowitz. When the Prussian state fell into financial need because of the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, it sold Zinnowitz to a businessman, the merchant F. W. Krause of nearby
Swinemünde, who in turn sold it in 32 parcels it to a group of colonists. In June 1851 Zinnowitz was designated an official
spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
.
Josef Alois Kessler
Joseph Aloysius Kessler (german: Josef Alois Kessler, russian: Иосиф Алоиз Кесслер; August 12, 1862 – December 10, 1933) was the last bishop of the Diocese of Tiraspol (Russia) and the last Volga German bishop till Bishop Joseph ...
, the last
Volga German
The Volga Germans (german: Wolgadeutsche, ), russian: поволжские немцы, povolzhskiye nemtsy) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov ...
Bishop, retired and died here.
In
GDR times, Zinnowitz was the most important bathing resort for
Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organisat ...
tourism.
Zinnowitz is one of a couple of possible sites for the mythological sunken medieval city of
Vineta
Vineta (sometimes ''Wineta'') is the name of a mythical city at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. The myth evolved around the tradition about the medieval emporium called Jumne, Jomsborg (with which Vineta is sometimes identified), Julin or s ...
. The legend is played out during the summer on the resort's open-air stage.
In the forest between Zinnowitz and Zempin, some remnants of the launching pads for testing
V1 missiles can still be found. They were used between 1943 and 1945 as part of the nearby
Peenemünde
Peenemünde (, en, "Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The communi ...
rocket testing facilities.
Documentation on rocket launching pads
/ref>
See also
*Vineta Festival
The Vineta Festival (German: Vineta-Festspiele) is an annual theatre festival in Germany which began in 1997.(in German) The festival takes its name from Vineta, a mythical city said to have been on the southern Baltic Sea located on the island o ...
References
External links
The Beach Resort Zinnowitz(in German)
Spa towns in Germany
Seaside resorts in Germany
Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea)
Vorpommern-Greifswald
{{VorpommernGreifswald-geo-stub