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Heiligendamm
—  Resort  —
Seebrücke (pier) towards Heiligendamm spa
Map of Germany showing Heiligendamm, Bad Doberan
Coordinates: 54°09′N 11°50′E / 54.15°N 11.833°E / 54.15; 11.833
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Bad Doberan
Town	Bad Doberan
Founded	1793
Website	Official web site

Heiligendamm (German pronunciation: [haɪ̯lɪɡn̩̩ˈdam]) is a German seaside resort, founded in 1793. The small cluster of structures which still survive are reminders of the glory days of days gone by when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy.^[1] It is the oldest seaside spa in Germany. Heiligendamm is part of the town Bad Doberan in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Due to the classicist white buildings lining the beach promenade, the town is also known as the "White Town by the Sea" (German: Die weiße Stadt am Meer). Today, the area by the sea is occupied by a five-star hotel. A narrow-gauge steam railway, known as the "Molli", links Heiligendamm with Kühlungsborn and Bad Doberan.

On July 13, 2006, United States President George W. Bush stayed at Heiligendamm while on a state visit to see German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Stralsund.

On June 6 to 8, 2007, Heiligendamm's Grand Hotel hosted the 33rd summit of G8 leaders. As a result thousands of anticapitalist activists blocked the roads to Heiligendamm and an estimated 25,000 anti-globalization protesters demonstrated in nearby Rostock. ^[2]

History

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

Its first guest in 1793 was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Frederick Francis I; he made the resort fashionable. Between 1793 and 1870, Johann Christoph, Heinrich von Seydwitz, Carl Theodor Severin, and Gustav Adolph Demmler created a veritable Gesamtkunstwerk for bathing and lodging. Heiligendamm was always the most elegant seaside resort in Germany. Nobility from throughout Europe used it as a summer getaway well into the 20th century.

Panorama of Heiligendamm, 1887

After the Second World War, the buildings of Heiligendamm were used as sanatoria and recovery ward. When Mecklenburg became part of the communist GDR, some of Heiligendamm's famous buildings were demolished and replaced by more utilitarian structures. After the German reunification 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 uses six historical buildings encompassing the former kurhaus at Heiligendamm. Development has led to some conflict with residents, as main streets and cycle paths have been removed or rerouted. Also again some of the famous buildings were demolished - more than in GDR-time (for detailed information see the German wikipedia).

Images

The Grand Hotel

Foundation memorial stone

Kurhaus

beach villas at Heiligendamm, the so-called "Perlenkette".

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. ISBN 978-3-939198-70-3

in German language

• Hans Thielcke: Die Bauten des Seebades Doberan - Heiligendamm um 1800 und Ihr Baumeister Severin. Godewind Verlag, 2004 ISBN 978-3-938347-90-4. (Reprint d. Originalausgabe von 1917)
• Friedrich Compart: Geschichte des Klosters Doberan. Godewind Verlag, 2004. ISBN 978-3-938347-07-2. (Reprint der Originalausgabe von 1872)
• Heinrich Hesse: Die Geschichte von Doberan-Heiligendamm. Godewind Verlag, Wismar 2004, ISBN 978-3-938347-09-6. (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1838)
• Adolf Nizze: Doberan-Heiligendamm: Geschichte des ersten deutschen Seebades. Godewind Verlag, Wismar 2004, ISBN 978-3-938347-23-2. (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1823)
• Die Reise eines Gesunden in die Seebäder Swinemünde, Putbus und Doberan. Godewind Verlag, Wismar 2005, ISBN 978-3-938347-73-7. (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1823)
• Hans-Jürgen Herbst: Kalender 2007, Doberan & Heiligendamm, erstes deutsches Seebad. Godewind Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-938347-57-7.
• Dr. Samuel G. Vogel: Allgemeine Baderegeln zum Gebrauche für Badelustige überhaupt und diejenigen insbesondere, welche sich des Seebades in Doberan bedienen. Godewind Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-938347-88-1. (Bearbeitete Neuauflage der Originalausgabe von 1817)

See also

• List of G8 summit resorts

References

[[Julia Leininger: Think big! Future prospects of the international summit architecture – the G20, G8, G5, and the Heiligendamm Dialogue Process, (German Development Institute, Discussion Paper 2/2009), [1]]]

External links

• Media related to Heiligendamm at Wikimedia Commons
• Official web site

Coordinates: 54°09′N 11°50′E / 54.15°N 11.833°E / 54.15; 11.833

From Wikitravel

Heiligendamm is in small town next to Bad Doberan.

Get in

Leave the Autobahn A20 (Baltic Coast Motorway)at the Bad Doberan exit, pass the Bad Doberan and drive straight to the coast on the country road.

See

Sea & Beach

• [1] - Former Prussian royal summer refuge. Today it's a luxury hotel with amazing sea views & outstanding service but under new Managment, so Service level is questioned