Box seat
Wonderful, this fresh sea air and the big ships within touching distance! The jetty to the north of the harbour entrance to Travemünde – also called “Nordermole” – is your perfect box seat for a very special Baltic Sea feeling at any time of year. Here you can feel the power of nature and be one with the sea!
Feel the stiff Baltic Sea breeze in your face, sometimes soft and gentle, at others wild and tempestuous. Braving wind and weather, you can feel the power of the elements and the salt on your skin. In storms and when the swell is strong, be careful of the churning sea and spray which at times can crash over the wide bulwark several metres high. In nice weather and good visibility, you can make yourself comfortable on a bench and simply switch your mind to neutral. Wonderful!
We dream in colours borrowed by the sea.
Common wisdom
Big ships within touching distance
Your gaze wanders to the wide horizon and your heart opens. Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. Relax and watch the manoeuvring of the ships as they arrive and depart. Sometimes small fishing boats chug past you and at others sleek sailing boats tack in the wind off the jetty. Large vessels slowly approach out of the distance, as if controlled by an invisible hand, becoming ever larger and suddenly looming up in front of you as big as a house as they make their way into the Trave estuary to Scandinavia Quay, one of the largest ferry ports in Europe. Large sailing ships and international cruise ships also steer a course to Travemünde from time to time and glide majestically past you. They look as if they’re within touching distance. A unique, magnificent spectacle that you can only experience here in Travemünde. The people on board wave cheerily to you and you smile as you wave back. You feel joy and serenity.
Germany’s youngest captain is holding her own as the new boss of the Priwall ferries
With its green and white lighthouse tower, Nordermole tempts you from afar to a voyage of discovery as far as the tip of the wave-swept jetty. On the Strandterrassen beach terraces, you can walk along the paved path on the jetty down to the water. Your gaze wanders over the beach of fine sand and you listen to the soft splashing of the Baltic Sea waves. This is where the Nordermole jetty begins, a sickle-shaped “walkway” of reinforced concrete. It takes you around 250 metres out into the sea, and large boulders at the foot of the jetty act as a breakwater to the dark waves. At the end of the jetty, you can enjoy a uniquely beautiful, open view over the sea. You can’t get closer to the Baltic Sea. Like a rock in stormy waters.
At night, the jetty beacon warns ships against shallows on their course to Travemünde. It marks the starboard side, i.e. the right-hand side, of the entrance to the Trave estuary. But please don’t confuse it with the real lighthouse which shines on the roof the Strandhotel Maritim at a height of 115 metres!
The first Nordermole jetty was built as far back as 1464 to protect the Trave estuary from silting up as a result of accumulated sand and make it easier for ships to enter the harbour. After its destruction by a storm, the jetty was rebuilt in 1834 and over time, it was extended and converted several times. The depth of the water in the entrance is approx. 9.5 metres.
Dear wind: thank you for ruffling my hair!
A hairy thing
Opposite Nordermole, the Südermole jetty on the other bank juts a certain distance into the Trave estuary, protecting it from silting up from the direction of the Mecklenburg cliffs. It marks the port side, i.e. the left-hand side of the entrance to the Trave estuary. In 1830, the originally wooden breakwater was replaced by a new structure built of stone and a beacon erected at the end. Over the course of time, it has undergone several modifications and today it is no longer accessible for pedestrians. Incidentally, it is forbidden to swim in the sea for the first 150 metres of beach right behind the Südermole jetty as departing ferries can cause strong currents. So please always pay attention to the signs in each zone!
On the other side of the Trave you will see Priwall beach. Here the imposing four-masted barque PASSAT lies peacefully at its permanent mooring on the new harbour promenade. It invites you to a visit on board from May to September. A small pedestrian ferry commutes comfortably between the Nordermole jetty and the Priwall peninsula, inviting you to take a relaxed stroll along the promenade on both banks of the Trave. Our tip: Visit the Baltic Sea station Priwall in the new Beach Bay holiday resort and get to know the local sea dwellers!
Sea rescue volunteers in Travemünde are among the roughly 800 men and women working for Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger (DGzRS) (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service) who give their time to save people in difficulty at sea in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. They are available to deploy at once at any time in the event of an emergency. The Travemünde station secures the congested entrance to the ferry port and the watersport areas off the coast, in Pötenitzer Wiek and Dassow Lake. The lifeboat HANS INGWERSEN waits day and night at its berth on Travepromenade for its life-saving deployment. Many thanks for their service!
Did you know?
At the foot of the Nordermole jetty stands an impressive marble sculpture by the artist Guillermo Steinbrüggen entitled “Der Auseinandersetzer” (the Dealer). This man has his arms around a large block of stone which he is pushing from his plinth with all his strength. Is he conducting a struggle with himself? What do you think?
Do you know the stone pilot on the Trave promenade? All year round, he stands his ground close to the traffic control centre, watching over the busy ship traffic with a fierce expression on his face. This is a larger than life stone sculpture by Ludwig Kunstmann. The pilot is wearing the clothes typical for sailors in former times: a woollen pullover, high rubber boots and a sou’wester intended to protect his head and neck from the rain.
Pearls in the wind, breaking waves, horizons and navigation aids – this is what WindArt in Travemünde sounds like. With around 25 animated wind chimes and kinetic art objects in the seaside resort in the open air, WindArt invites visitors to discover, dream and wonder.WindArt is an art project in public spaces with creative kinetic sculptures which fits Travemünde like the wind, the sea and the waves. Event dates: May – October. Tip: Follow the WindArt sculpture trail from Fährplatz to Strandpromenade!
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