Travemünde () is a borough of
Lübeck
Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
,
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 ...
, located at the mouth of the river
Trave
The Trave () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde, where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Old ...
in
Lübeck Bay. It began life as a fortress built by
Henry the Lion,
Duke of Saxony, in the 12th century to guard the mouth of the Trave, and the
Danes
Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
History
Early history
Denmark ...
subsequently strengthened it. It became a town in 1317 and in 1329 passed into the possession of the free city of Lübeck, to which it has since belonged. Its
fort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
ifications were demolished in 1807.
Travemünde has been a
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 ...
since 1802, and is
Germany's largest
ferry port on 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 ...
with connections to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
. The
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
is the oldest on the German Baltic coast, dating from 1539. Another attraction of Travemünde is the
Flying P-Liner ''
Passat'', a
museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
anchored in the mouth of the
Trave
The Trave () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde, where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Old ...
.
The annual
Travemünder Woche is a traditional
sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
race week in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
. The annual
Sand festival in Travemünde is known as the
Sand World.
Literature
The 19th century seaside resort was evoked by
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
in ''
Buddenbrooks
''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in th ...
''. In Part II/5-12 the vacation of Antonie Buddenbrook is told, while in Part X/3 one summer of little Hanno. Travemünde is depicted by Mann as a place of freedom, happiness and – in the case of Antonie – love, in contrast with the problems of everyday life.
Photo gallery
File:Kurhaus hotel, Travemünde.jpg, Kurhaus hotel, designed by architect Joseph Christian Lillie
File:Travemuende-Mole.jpg, Mouth of river Trave
The Trave () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde, where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Old ...
File:Travemünde Casino.jpg, Casino building, now Columbia hotel
File:Travemünde Railway Station.jpg, Lübeck-Travemünde Strand station, displaying the time of the next Lübeck train
File:Travemuende-fountain-field.JPG, The fountain field, only 200 meters from the railway station, marks the beginning of the promenade.
File:Travemuende-excursion-boats.JPG, Excursion boats and roofed wicker beach chairs
File:Travemuende-view-of-the-city-from-river-Trave.JPG, View of the town from the Trave promenade
File:Travemuende-Vorderreihe.JPG, The shopping street Vorderreihe
File:Travemuende-Bailiwick-Building.JPG, The bailiff's residence from 1551, one of the oldest buildings in town
File:Travemuende Boardwalk Beach.JPG, View from the boardwalk, beach and Columbia hotel (the former Casino building)
File:Travemuende Passat Trave.JPG, River Trave
The Trave () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde, where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Old ...
with the tall sailing ship Passat and the town skyline
File:Travemuende-St-Lorenz-Church.jpg, Ancient houses and the tower of St Lorenz Church
File:Travemuende-cruise-ship-at-promenade.jpg, Cruise ship at Ostpreussen Quay, close to the Vorderreihe promenade
Notable people

*
Ida Boy-Ed (1852–1928 in Travemünde) a German writer, supporter of women's issues, she wrote widely read books and newspaper articles.
*
Friedrich Naumann
Friedrich Naumann (25 March 1860 – 24 August 1919) was a German Liberalism in Germany, liberal politician and Protestant parish pastor. In 1896, he founded the National-Social Association that sought to combine liberalism, nationalism and ...
(1860–1919 in Travemünde) a German liberal politician and Protestant parish pastor
*
Otto Ciliax (1891–1964 in Travemünde) an admiral during WWII, served in the navies of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.
*
Lilo Peters (1913–2001 in Travemünde) a North German painter and sculptor
*
Peter Nogly (born 1947 in Travemünde) a German football coach and a former player
*
Rötger Feldmann (born 1950 in Travemünde) a German comic-book artist, created the character
Werner.
*
Torsten Wohlert (born 1965 in Travemünde) a German former footballer
References
External links
TravemündeOfficial tourism siteTravemünde related Photography BlogHistorical footage of Travemünde, 1919 filmportal.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travemunde
Lübeck
Seaside resorts in Germany
Port cities and towns in Germany
Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea
Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea)
12th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Populated places established in the 12th century
Bay of Lübeck