Ostseebad Kühlungsborn: Groynes, beach villas & freedom

Kuehlungsborn Travel

Families with children, holidaymakers with dogs and everyone who is looking for unaffected holiday fun will feel at home on a beach holiday on the Baltic Sea at Kühlungsborn Beach. Kühlungsborn Travel guarantees a vacation for Slow Traveler. The Baltic Sea resort is also a travel destination for Enjoyment travelers. Baltic Sea has captivated us. The expanse of the sea, the fine sand, the screeching of seagulls and the laughter of children on the beach have become symbols of the Baltic Sea for us. This always lures us north again and again Germany. We want to learn more about life on the Baltic coast. And so we set off on a trip along the Baltic coast of Binz Stralsund to the Ostseebad Kühlungsborn in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

 

 

 

At the Kuehlungsborn beach

The Ostseebad Kühlungsborn offered itself as a second travel destination: on the one hand, we did not know it before. On the other hand, it is only a good two hours drive from Binz. There are also a number of interesting locations on the way between the two cities. Reason enough to explore this Baltic Sea resort in more detail. Kuehlungsborn should surprise us. As Seaside resort it's less sophisticated than Binz. But with its beautifully restored villas and the beech grove that separates the Ostseeallee from the beach in the eastern part of the city, it looks more tranquil. At the same time, it attracts numerous walkers and cyclists out into the fresh air. Kühlungsborn is a pleasant place, as we quickly find out.

 

 

The groynes on the Kuehlungsborn beach

On our walk along the beach we get acquainted with groynes for the first time. For miles they accompany us on our way along the coast. These are wooden piles that are built in a double row at right angles to the beach into the sea. They should serve to divert dangerous currents from the bathing areas along the beaches. However, in Kühlungsborn they are mainly built because they want to extend the beach.

 

 

This is how Reinhard Antrich, the director of the Travel Charme Ostseehotel Kuehlungsborn *where we spend two nights. For this purpose truckloads of sand are poured into the sea at the western end of the beach. These are distributed by the natural water movement through the groynes to the east. Over time, they also make the beach wider. The quantities of sand are taken from the marina. There, the port entrance must be dredged again and again to keep it low enough for the boats that come in and out here.

 

 

 

From the pier, the groynes look like a dark wall protecting the coast off the Baltic Sea. On the day of our arrival in Kühlungsborn, I can hardly believe that these are necessary. There is hardly any sea. Instead, the waves are quiet and gentle on the shore. The next morning, however, it looks different. The sea is rougher, and some of the waves break with a loud roar on the wooden post rows. In a real winter storm this must be a dramatic spectacle.

 

 

The beach villas on the Kuehlungsborn beach

We can hardly get lost in the Baltic Sea resort of Kühlungsborn. The Ostseeallee runs from the beach road to the west past the renovated, restored and partially rebuilt beach villas of the Baltic Sea resort. Behind it is the forest area "Die Cooling". The place owes its name to him. On our stroll through the city we see villas with names like "Hubertusburg", "Europa Hotel" or "Villa Westfalia". The guest's house is also housed in a former guest villa, the "Villa Laetitia". Today's town hall was once also rented out to guests.

Originally they were built by private individuals, who rented them to bathing holidaymakers, but the GDR soon put a stop to that. 1953, during the Rose campaign, expropriated most of the villa owners. The beautiful guesthouses and hotels became state-owned. Now it was the Free German Trade Union Confederation or the German travel agencies that assigned holidaymakers their accommodations. Only after the turn did some of the former owners return. However, many hotels are operated by hotel chains today. These include Travel Charme, Four Seasons and the Upstalsbooms Hotels.

 

 

Thanks to the city administration, the villas could only be restored or expanded in the style of their time. That is why they give a harmonious picture. With their wrought-iron balconies, they remind of the Art Nouveau era. Some of the villas have half-timbered facades and beautiful doors. A stroll along the Ostseeallee is therefore a pleasure for friends of Art Nouveau architecture.

 

 

Kuehlungsborn beach with the longing for freedom

A tower dominates the beach promenade near the town center. This reminds of the time when beach vacationers and border patrols shared the beach promenade. Kühlungsborn is not far from the former inner German border. The distance to Denmark could be crossed by swimming. This was proven by doctor Peter Döbler in 1971. What a summer vacation that must have been! Vacationers sat in beach chairs while border guards marched along the beach promenade with machine guns and sheepdogs. They were looking for refugees from the Republic in the water. The tower served as a viewing point for the border guards. From there, they kept an eye out for paddle boats, canoes and unusual behavior.

 

 

The Mayor of Kuehlungsborn Knut Wiek saved the tower from demolition twice. That is why today he recalls the times when Kühlungsborn was the meeting place for those who lured freedom in the West. We only learn more from the stories of the locals. They tell about how difficult it was to get used to life after the turning point. In the meantime, people have come to terms with it. Kühlungsborn is today the most popular seaside resort on Germany's Baltic coast. Today, more than 2,4 million guests come annually.

 

 

The Kuehlungsborn pier

 

 

 

Travel Arrangements:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

How to get there

• Book yours here Arrival by plane, bus or train*.
• Kühlungsborn Travel by plane is possible to Rostock. Bus 127 goes from the airport to Rostock main station.
• You can travel by train to Rostock. ( Timetable and booking )From there, bus 121 departs from Rostock main station. It is also possible to continue your journey by regional train from Rostock to Bad Doberan. From there you can take the Molli steam train to Kuehlungsborn.
• Arrival by car is possible from the west via the A20 (exit Kröpelin or Bad Doberan) or from the south via the A19 and further via the A20.
• The ferry from Gedser (Denmark), Trelleborg (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland) to Rostock is possible.
• Long-distance buses * offer connections from Berlin, Leipzig or Dresden directly to Kühlungsborn.

Car Rentals:

Cheap rental cars - book here! *

Camper Rentals:

Compare motorhome prices here. Or would you rather travel with us Rooftent or Tent?

Accommodation:

Book yours here Accommodation in Kuehlungsborn *

 

 

Do you already know:

• Kühlungsborn sights and excursion destinations
• A pleasure trip to the Baltic Sea
• Darss sights between Fischland and Zingst
• Stralsund insider tips
• Beach holiday in the Baltic Sea
• Explore Binz Ostseebad
• Helsinki landmarks
• Gifts for hikers
• Texel sights

 

Source: On-site research. We thank you for the invitation to this trip to the Ostseebad Kühlungsborn.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline