Heiligendamm () is a German seaside resort founded in 1793. It is the oldest seaside spa in continental Europe. Heiligendamm is part of the town

Bad Doberan Bad Doberan () is a town in the district of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Bad Doberan. In 2012, its population was 11,427. Geography Bad Doberan is situated just west of Rostock's city c ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

and historically belongs to

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

. The cluster of resort architecture mansions and spa buildings at the seafront are reminders of the glory days when this part of the

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 ...

was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy.Bradley, Kimberly
"A Spa Town Reclaims Its Glory,"
''New York Times.'' June 3, 2007. Due to the classicist white buildings lining the beach promenade, the town is also known as the "White Pearl" () or the "White Town by the Sea" (). Today, the area by the sea is occupied by a five-star hotel, the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. A

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

steam railway, known as the "

Molli The Molli (''German: Mecklenburgische Bäderbahn "Molli"''; short: MBB; also: Molli Bahn or Mollibahn) is a narrow-gauge steam-powered railway in Mecklenburg, Germany, running on gauge track. It operates between Bad Doberan, Heiligendamm and K ...

", links Heiligendamm with Kühlungsborn and Bad Doberan.

History

Heiligendamm was developed as an elegant meeting place for the nobility and high society. Among its most prominent guests were the

German Emperors 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 ...

. Its founder and first guest in 1793 was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Friedrich Franz I; he made the resort fashionable. Between 1793 and 1870, Johann Christoph, Heinrich von Seydwitz,

Carl Theodor Severin Carl Theodor Severin (13 September 1763, Mengeringhausen – 20 February 1836, Bad Doberan, Germany) was a German architect. He is regarded as one of the most important representatives of classicism in Mecklenburg. Life Severin was born the fir ...

, and Gustav Adolph Demmler created a veritable

Gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...

for bathing and lodging. Heiligendamm was always regarded as the most elegant seaside resort in Germany. Nobility from throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

used it as a summer getaway well into the 20th century. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the buildings of Heiligendamm were used as sanatoria and recovery ward. When

became part of the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

GDR, some of Heiligendamm's famous buildings were demolished and replaced by more utilitarian structures. After the

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1989/1990, a group of investors bought most of the buildings and undertook a major programme of refurbishment. A new company, the Kempinski Grand Hotel, opened in spring of 2003 – it used six historical buildings including the historical ''Kurhaus'' at the beach of Heiligendamm. The development has led to some conflict with residents, as main streets and cycle paths have been removed or rerouted. Also again a famous building of the ensemble was demolished. The mansion next to the Grand Hotel was reconstructed until 2011, though. Renovations of other mansions are undergoing or planned. On July 13, 2006, United States President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

stayed at Heiligendamm while on a state visit to see German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

. On June 6 to 8, 2007, Heiligendamm's Grand Hotel hosted the 33rd summit of G8 leaders. During this time, thousands of

anticapitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternative ...

activists from around the world blocked the roads to Heiligendamm and an estimated 25,000

anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist ...

protesters demonstrated in nearby

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. In July 2013, the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm was bought by

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

-based accountant Paul Morzynski, who intends to carefully extend and reorganize the hotel.

Sights

The

resort architecture Resort architecture () is an architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, plan ...

near the beaches of Heiligendamm, consisting of

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

mansions and spa buildings, is part of a unique heritage, as the first such buildings of the European continent can be seen here. The area of the Grand Hotel is partly accessible to visitors, but should be experienced respectfully to not disturb the hotel guests. The narrow gauge railway known as '' Bäderbahn Molli'' ("Molli Resort Railway") runs through Heiligendamm from Kühlungsborn to Bad Doberan. The line between Bad Doberan and Heiligendamm was built in 1886. The ''Protestant Forest Church'' (''Evangelische Waldkirche'') was renovated after

die Wende The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

, the ''Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart'' (''Herz-Jesu-Kapelle'') is close by. Heiligendamm also has a 200-metre-long pier into the Baltic Sea that allows great views of the ''White Pearl Mansions'' at the beach.Ostsee-Zeitung
''Seebrücke in Heiligendamm wieder begehbar''
/ref>

Images

Image:Heiligendamm_Gedenkstein.jpg, Foundation memorial stone Image:Kurhaus, Heiligendamm.jpg, The ''Kurhaus'', earliest example of

, part of the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm Image:Heiligendamm Beach Villas Panorama 2.jpg, Beach villas at Heiligendamm, the so-called ''Perlenkette''. File:Heiligendamm Villa Großfürstin Marie - Perle.jpg, Reconstructed ''Villa Perle'' in 2013 (formerly demolished in 2007 for the G8 summit) File:Heiligendamm Alexandrinen-Cottage 2010-05-17 076.jpg, ''Alexandrinen-Cottage'', a noble mansion next to the Grand Hotel File:Heiligendamm May 2007 019.jpg, The narrow gauge line ''Bäderbahn Molli'' in Heiligendamm station File:Heiligendamm Waldkapelle 2010-05-17 045 detail.jpg, Catholic forest chapel of 1888

Literature

;in English language * Charles James Apperley: ''"Nimrods German Tour"'' – a travel through northern Germany, especially to Heiligendamm in 1828. Publishing company: Godewind Verlag, Germany 2006. ;in German language * Hans Thielcke: ''Die Bauten des Seebades Doberan - Heiligendamm um 1800 und Ihr Baumeister Severin''. Godewind Verlag, 2004 . (Reprint d. Originalausgabe von 1917) * Friedrich Compart: ''Geschichte des Klosters Doberan''. Godewind Verlag, 2004. . (Reprint der Originalausgabe von 1872) * Heinrich Hesse: ''Die Geschichte von Doberan-Heiligendamm''. Godewind Verlag, Wismar 2004, . (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1838) * Adolf Nizze: ''Doberan-Heiligendamm: Geschichte des ersten deutschen Seebades''. Godewind Verlag, Wismar 2004, . (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1823) * ''Die Reise eines Gesunden in die Seebäder Swinemünde, Putbus und Doberan''. Godewind Verlag, Wismar 2005, . (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1823) * Hans-Jürgen Herbst: ''Kalender 2007, Doberan & Heiligendamm, erstes deutsches Seebad''. Godewind Verlag, 2007, . * Samuel G. Vogel: ''Allgemeine Baderegeln zum Gebrauche für Badelustige überhaupt und diejenigen insbesondere, welche sich des Seebades in Doberan bedienen''. Godewind Verlag, 2004, . (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1817)

References

External links