Heringsdorf is a semi-urban

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and a popular

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

Usedom Island Usedom ( , ) 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 lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania, also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania, Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania (; ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania, located mostly in north-eastern Germany, with a small portion in no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is also known by the name Kaiserbad ('). The municipality was formed in January 2005 out of the former municipalities of Heringsdorf,

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, next to ...

and

Bansin Bansin forms the westernmost part of the seaside resort town of Heringsdorf in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, on the east coast of Usedom island, about five miles by rail northwest of Świnoujście. Bansin is one of the most popular resort ...

. Until January 2006, the municipality was called ''Dreikaiserbäder'', literally meaning ''Three Imperial Spas'', a reference to several vacation visits of the

German emperor Wilhelm II German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

until 1918. For the same reason, the fine sandy beach stretching about from

over Heringsdorf to

and Swinemünde (nowadays a Polish spa), is also called ''Kaiserstrand'' (Imperial Beach). The continuous

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

beach of

has an overall length of exactly and an average width of .

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is the dominant economic sector of the Imperial Spas, with an increasing number of hotels and

vacation homes A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

every year.

Overview

Heringsdorf is located on the

coast of the island of

Usedom Usedom ( , ) 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 lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

, about 10 km as the crow flies northwest of

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; ; ; meaning " Świna ivermouth"; ) is a city in Western Pomerania and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, in the extreme north-west of Poland, mainly on the islands of Usedom and Wolin, and Karsibór island, once ...

. Heringsdorf has been one of the most popular resorts on the German Baltic shore since its foundation. It consists of three parts:

on the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

border, Heringsdorf proper (central part) and

in the west. These three ''Kaiserbäder'' were the favourite spas of the

German Emperor The German Emperor (, ) was the official title of the head of state and Hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdicati ...

s, and also called the ''bathtub of Berlin''. They feature clean beaches and numerous scenic houses and mansions in the distinct style of '' Bäderarchitektur'' (resort architecture).

Partner municipalities

Heringsdorf is partnered with other towns and municipalities, namely Beckum in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

(Germany),

Folgaria Folgaria (''Fólgaria'' in Trentino Dialect, ''Folgrait'' in Cimbrian) is an Italian municipality with inhabitants in the Autonomous Province of Trento in Trentino-South Tyrol. Folgaria is historically associated with the municipalities of Sa ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

La Celle-Saint-Cloud La Celle-Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is a western outer suburb of Paris, from its centre, on the departmental border with Hauts-de-Seine. In 2021, it had a popula ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

; as well as

Grodków Grodków (; ; ) is a town in Brzeg County, Opole Voivodeship in Poland, the administrative seat of Gmina Grodków. It is located in the Silesian Lowlands of the Oder basin, in the historic Upper Silesia region, about south of Brzeg. In the nort ...

Tolkmicko Tolkmicko (pronounced , ) is a town in northern Poland, on the Vistula Lagoon, about 20 km northeast of Elbląg. It is located in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in Elbląg County. Its population is 2,766 (2004). History Middle Ages The site ...

and the neighbouring

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In addition, Heringsdorf is in frequent contact with

Djerba Djerba (; , ; ), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. Administratively, it is part of Medenine Governorate. The island h ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and the embassy of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Transportation

The area is served by

Heringsdorf Airport Heringsdorf Airport () is a regional airport located near Garz on the island of Usedom in Germany. It used to be an East German airbase and today features summer leisure routes from cities in Germany and Switzerland as well as general aviation. ...

Heringsdorf Station Heringsdorf is a semi-urban municipality and a popular seaside resort on Usedom Island in Western Pomerania, Germany. It is also known by the name Kaiserbad ('). The municipality was formed in January 2005 out of the former municipalities of H ...

is the hub and headquarters of the

Usedomer Bäderbahn The Usedomer Bäderbahn (UBB) with its head office in Heringsdorf, northeastern Germany, is a 100 percent-owned subsidiary of the German national railway, Deutsche Bahn and the owner and operator of the railway network on the island of Usedom as w ...

Images

Image:Seebruecke Ahlbeck 2.jpg, Ahlbeck pier Image:Usedom-Heringsdorf-Okt2004.jpg, Beach of Heringsdorf Image:Bansin Usedom Seebruecke pier.jpg,

promenade seen from the pier File:Usedom Karte Map Heringsdorf Ahlbeck Bansin Swinemünde.png, Map of Heringsdorf including

and

and neighbouring city of Swinemünde/Świnoujście in Poland

References

External links