Travemünde

Travemünde is the closest of the boroughs of Lübeck to the Baltic Sea. As the name suggests, it is at the mouth of the river Trave. For hundreds of years, Travemünde has been a popular seaside resort and harbour on the German Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein. Daily passenger and cargo ferries leave to Scandinavia and the Baltic states but the pristine white beach and the rich history encourages people to stay. The town is trying to build a new future as a tourist destination to avoid the fate of many faceless ports.

The town was founded in 1187 on the delta of the river Trave. Since 1329 Travemünde has been part of Lübeck but it always maintained its cultural independence. During the times of the medieval Hanseatic League in the Baltic Sea, Travemünde blossomed into a growing village for the first time. Travemünde lost its relative importance with the decline of the Hanse from the 15th to the 18th century. Since 1802 Travemünde has been allowed to label itself Seebad (literally seaside resort) and tourism has been its main source of income. Its fame as a major nightlife and flashy high society meeting point ended with the world wars.

Unlike nearby Lübeck, Travemünde was spared the major destruction of World War II, but the town wound up directly on the front lines of the Cold War after the partition of Germany. Until 1989 the inter-German border was behind the Priwall (which belonged to the East German state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) and most of the beach on the Priwall side was a military area and off-limits to the public. The Priwall was developed after the reunification but differences can still be witnessed today. Also ecologists prevented the complete development of the Priwall to allow nature to maintain its part of the area.

Today about 11,550 people live here (2022), and it is an important port town. Even during the German separation, Travemünde remained well known to most Germans, for its being part of the historic Hanse city pact, and for the novel "Buddenbrooks" which took place in parts in the town. To commemorate the local Mann family (Thomas Mann was Nobel laureate in 1929) there is still today a Buddenbrook house in Travemünde. The old town has maintained its sleepy character despite the fact that at weekends there are loads of tourists.

Travemünde is a port town, so traffic is always an issue when roll-on, roll-off vessels arrive in the harbour or when drivers are rushing to catch a ferry. Most visitors drive directly to Skandinavienkai to get on the ferry. Travemünde has two major stations and Autobahn exits to separate the traffic for the port and the town. Traffic control prohibits almost all ways between the town and the port. If you want to see the ships it is best to use a bike or the train as cars have to take a big detour around town.

The main street, Vorderreihe, and the sea promenade of Travemünde are reserved for pedestrians and cyclists. There are buses that run to the town (every two hours) and the connection point is the train station. Riding a bike or walking is usually preferable as most of the streets are narrow and often get congested with cars driven by inexperienced drivers.

5 Foot Passenger Ferry Nordermole (Personenfähre). 1 Apr-Oct Sa-Su 10:00-18:00; 30 Apr-30 Aug daily 10:00-18:00, extended times during Travemünder Woche and local holidays. Small passenger ferry commutes across the navigational channel from the Promenade to Priwall. During the summer, a smooth way for pedestrians to circumvent or short-cut the Priwall ferry. single: €1.10 (€0.70 children).

The old town of Travemünde is almost unchanged over the centuries and gives an impression of how people on the German Baltic Sea shore built their communities in the past. It is structured like a ship (streets have names like "starboard" and "port side"), and it is best discovered on foot. It is bounded by the Kaiserallee and the Vorderreihe. Depending on your interests, Kurgartenstraße, Vogteistraße, Godewind, Fallrepp, Backbord und Steuerbord will probably be the most important streets for you. Most public buildings can be visited, and private buildings that are active in the tourism industry welcome visitors. Signs saying Kein Eintritt, Privatgelände (no entry, private property) indicate that you are not welcome. The area between Vogteistraße and Vorderreihe is focused on tourism with loads of shops, bars and restaurants while the area between Godewind and Kaiserallee in more residential/living oriented.

1 Beach. The 1.7 km of white sand is the town's main attraction and the beach is, without a doubt, the place to be during the summer. The beach is the main reason why this town has been a popular seaside resort since 1800s.

2 Old light house, Am Leuchtenfeld 1 (next to Maritim Hotel), ☏ +49 4502 889180. Apr-Oct daily 13:00-16:00. Travemünde has two light houses. The old one was erected in 1539 and is one of the oldest light houses in Germany. The light house is 31 metres high and you need to climb 142 steps to the top. It was in service until 1972, when the new navigation light on top of the Maritim Hotel was erected. Today it houses a maritime museum that focuses on the history of the light house. During the summer season (May until October), the museum offers several walking tours to explain the history and development around the light house. Adults €2, children (up to 14) €1.

3 New light house, Nordermole (Beach). The new lighthouse is on the Mole, which delimits the passage for the ships, right on the summit of the navigation channel. The new lighthouse is not to be confused with the navigation light on top of the Hotel Maritim.

4 Seaside resort museum (Seebadmuseum), Torstraße 1, ☏ +49 45 029-9980, info@heimatverein-travemuende.de. Mar-Dec: Tu-Su 11:00-17:00 (closed Mondays). The exhibition illustrates the development of Travemünde as a sea resort since 1802. €5, kids are free.

5 Mövenstein. Glacial erratic which legend says a seagull dropped. Basically a rock sticking out of the water but has a history regarding bathing local activities and in German literature. (updated Nov 2018)

1 Priwall Ferry, Vorderreihe 12 a, ☏ +49 4502 2249. The Priwall ferry commutes over the navigation channel for the big boats and connects Travemünde with the Priwall Peninsula. It is a historic ferryboat and very popular during summer as it is the easiest mode of transport to the sailing ship Passat and the calmer beaches on the peninsula. Children €0.80, adults €1.20. (updated Aug 2016)

2 Sailing Ship Passat, Am Priwallhafen 16a. This tall sailing ship was built in 1911 in Hamburg and sailed between South America and Europe. In 1957 it was taken out of service due to the wreck of its sister ship Pamir. Today it is a museum ship and popular for wedding receptions and youth groups.

Brodtner Ufer (Kaiserallee northwards along the coastline). Walk along the steep cliff line of Brodtner Ufer from Travemünde to Niendorf. The 4-km walk can be done in 1-1½ hr and it offers great views along the coastline.

3 MS Marittima (boat excursions), pier Überseebrücke 2, (Trave promenade), ☏ +49 163 547-5772, info@marittima-travemuende.de. 5 departures per day between 11:00 to 17:00. 60 minutes sea and harbour cruise. Adults from €7, children from €3, special offers from €2.

4 MS Sven Johannsen (boat excursions), pier Prinzenbrücke (Vorderreihe), ☏ +49 4502 74545. several daily departures. Sea and harbour cruises, trips along Trave river to Lübeck or along the Baltic Sea to Grömitz or Boltenhagen. Adults from €6, children from €3.

1 Niederegger, Vorderreihe 56, ☏ +49 4502 2031. M-F 09:00-19:00, Sa 09:00-18:00, Su 10:00-18:00. Founded in 1806, this shop and café is an institution in Lübeck and Travemünde. A visit to buy some marzipan or drink a hot chocolate is a must.

2 Matzen, Vorderreihe 63/64, ☏ +49 4502 86660. M-Sa 10:00-19:00 Su 11:00-18:00. Traditional department store.

There are countless restaurants in summer but during the week and off season most places are closed. The best known cafe is Niederegger in the Vorderreihe with its street-level and 1st floor cafe.

The Casino was one of the oldest German casinos (founded in 1816) and rose to fame after the World War II, when Aristoteles Onassis was one of the guests and Josephine Baker sang in the night club. Since it closed in 2012, places to wear neat dresses are limited. The Hotel Maritim does have the Nightsailor bar but it caters primarily to the hotel's guests and is rather small. Nightlife is continuously changing and focussing more on parents and families and pensioners. If you want serious clubbing, bars or nightlife action, then you will need to travel to Lübeck or even Hamburg.

There are several small bars in the fishing port and the old town that are only open during the summer. So drink a cocktail and move to the next bar until you have found your preferred place but most places close latest by 01:00.

1 Ostseelounge, Strandpromenade 4, ☏ +49 451 28032940. M-Su 11:00-01:00 (depends on weather). Lounge with live music next to the beach. Open during the summer and offers cocktails, et al.

There are a lot of holiday apartments for rent. During summer, the town is very busy and reservations are essential.

If you do not plan to stay for at least a week, hotels are another option.

Travemünde's tourist office is ready to help with finding accommodation, they have big list of options to stay, mostly at local's homes.

Travemünde is very well covered by German GSM/3G/4G providers and, due to intensive tourism, the infrastructure is sufficient at all times. Most Germans with smartphones have flat rates for Internet on their smartphone due to the relatively cheap prices (starting from €10 per month). There are two internet cafés and the tourist office also offers public Internet access at low rates. Wi-Fi is not so widespread, due to legal limitations.

2 Play off, Kurgartenstraße 74, ☏ +49 45 0288-8512. Open 24/7.

3 Playpoint, Rose 10-12, ☏ +49 45 0284-4901. M-Sa 09:00-23:00, Su 13:00-23:00.

The hospital at Priwall closed in 2004 but there is still a medical centre in Travemünde and several General Practitioners are located in town. Lübeck has an extensive university clinical centre and all medical facilities. Being a port town, Travemünde has a police station, coast guard, sea rescue service and a customs office.

4 Praxisklinik Travemünde, Dreilingsberg 7, ☏ +49 4502 800 1700. M-F 09:00-18:00, Sa 10:00-12:00.

Emergency services, ☏ 112. 24 hours. Travemünde teams up with Lübeck to deliver emergency response services.

Hamburg is about 1-1½ hr away by car or train.

Kiel, the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein, is about one hour away by car or two hours by train.