Peenemünde is a municipality on the northern part of the island of Usedom in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It belongs to the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald and is administered by the Usedom-Nord office based in the town of Zinnowitz. The place is known for the rocket development in the Peenemünde Army Research Institute, which was once stationed there, under which the missile aggregate 4, known as V2, became operational.
With the start of construction work in 1936 for the Peenemünde research institute, a time began that brought about both major technical innovations and, as a result, great suffering.
In 1936 construction of the "Peenemünde Research Institute" began. The aim was to continue the development and manufacture of long-range missiles. In 1938, the Luftwaffe's "Peenemünde-West" test site was added. Under Wernher von Braun, the first long-distance rocket was launched in Peenemünde in 1942. In 1943 several hundred British bombers tried to destroy Peenmünde. Because of this attack, rocket production was moved to a bombproof, underground factory in northern Thuringia. From then on, the V1 and V2 rockets were mass-produced in the Dora-Mittelbau near Nordhausen.
Around 20,000 forced laborers and concentration camp inmates died in the production of rockets in Dora-Mittelbau. Approximately 22,000 V 1s and 3,000 V 2s were shot west (towards France, Belgium and England). Around 8,000 people were killed in London alone as a result of attacks with long-distance weapons. (See also the number of victims here)
The basics for rocket technology developed under w:Wernher von Braun in Peenemünde formed the foundation for today's civilian space travel. But they also enabled the arms race in the Cold War. The Museum Peenemünde - Historical-Technical Information Center tries to work up the difficult topic.
The entire landscape of monuments in Peenemünde (except for the
restricted areas due to remains of ammunition) is signposted and
provided with information boards.
Chapel Peenemünde: In 1876 a chapel
was built in the cemetery of what was then the fishing village of
Peenemünde. The octagonal central building made of half-timbered bricks
was designed by Friedrich Krager. After the building had fallen into
disrepair in GDR times, it was rebuilt in 1993. In addition to its
function as a chapel, it now serves as a memorial for the victims of the
Nazi era.
Memorial stone for the 300th anniversary of the landing of
the Swedes under King Gustav II Adolf in the Thirty Years' War
(originally erected and inaugurated on June 26, 1930 in the middle of
the old fishing village of Peenemünde, now on the cemetery grounds in
front of the chapel)
Memorial stone to commemorate the successful
escape of Mikhail Petrovich Dewjatajew and nine other Soviet
concentration camp prisoners in a Heinkel He 111 bomber plane from
Peenemünde airfield on February 8, 1945 (originally erected on October
7, 1968 at the Karlshagen air base, since the late 1990s the HTM site)
Boulder to mark the firing point of the A4 rockets in the former test
stand VII (today in the restricted area), from where the first shot into
space took place on October 3, 1942
Between Peenemünde and
Karlshagen, a two-circuit 110 kV three-phase overhead line crosses the
Peene, whose 75 meter high masts can be seen from afar. This line was
built at the beginning of the 1950s in order to effectively discharge
the electricity generated in the Peenemünde thermal power plant, most of
which was no longer needed on Usedom after the dissolution of the
Peenemünde Army Research Institute, to the mainland. Later, a branch
line was built from this line to the substation in Karlshagen. After the
power plant was shut down in 1990, the 110 kV overhead line from the
branch line to Karlshagen to the Peenemünde power plant was dismantled,
so that the 110 kV three-phase line running across the Peene only feeds
the Karlshagen substation.
In the power plant and in the open spaces, the Historical-Technical
Museum provides information about the history of the site and its
surroundings in a comprehensive exhibition.
Similar to Flensburg,
Wolfsburg, Phenomenta Bremerhaven and Lüdenscheid, Peenemünde also has a
Phenomenta, the "interactive exhibition to join in and try out", which
playfully brings everyday phenomena of physics closer to the visitor.
The disused, diesel-powered submarine U-461 of the Baltic Fleet (Red
Banner Fleet) with a double launch container for tactical missiles is
located in the main harbor (Maritim Museum Peenemünde).
On the
opposite side of the main harbor is the museum ship Hans Beimler, a
former Tarantul-class missile boat of the People's Navy, which can be
visited.
The Peenemünde Navy and Airfield Museum, located next to the
museum ship, provides information in the harbor gallery about the
history of the Peenemünde main port and the 1st flotilla of the People's
Navy as well as the history of the Peenemünde airfield and the 9th
Fighter Squadron of the Air Force of the NVA.
In Peenemünde there is
a small privately run toy museum.
Peenemünde is easily accessible by car and public transport.
By plane
Heringsdorf Airport (IATA: HDF) offers scheduled domestic
services. The nearest regional airport is Rostock Airport (IATA: RLG) .
The nearest international airports are Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA:
BER) and Szczecin-Goleniów Airport (IATA: SZZ) .
With the
Peenemünde Airport (IATA: PEF), Peenemünde has its own special landing
field, which can be flown to under VFR conditions by aircraft up to 5.7
t (or more if requested). There is an air taxi service to and from
Peenemünde, as well as the option of chartering a plane. The airport is
about 3 km from the village.
By train
The Peenemünde train
station is connected to destinations on the eastern part of the island
and on the mainland by the Usedomer Bäderbahn. Change in Zinnowitz. In
Züssow there is a connection to the Deutsche Bahn network.
On the
street
Via the A 20 motorway at the Gützkow exit onto the B 111
federal road to Wolgast. From here continue in the direction of Bannemin
and then follow the signs to Peenemünde.
Via Anklam on the B 110,
Zecheriner Bridge, Usedom-Stadt then continue depending on your
destination.
Village shop Peenemünde, Museumsstr. 2 . Since the summer of 2022,
the village shop has been offering food again, with a small café. Open
daily.
Books about the history of Peenemünde and rocket research are
z. B. available in the gift shop of the information center. You can also
buy model rockets there.
Peenemünde is the northernmost municipality on the island of Usedom and is located north-west of the seaside resort of Karlshagen at the point where the Peenestrom flows into the Baltic Sea.
Gold rings, which were discovered between 1905 and 1908 in the forest
at the Peenemünder Haken as a find for safekeeping, and another one,
which came to light in 1938 in the Peenestrom near Peenemünde as an
excavation find, document contacts with Scandinavia during the Viking
Age. The rings are thought to be Danish goldwork from the times of Kings
Gorm and Harald Bluetooth in the 10th century.
Peenemünde was
first mentioned in a document from Duke Bogislaw IV in 1282, in which he
donated the town to the city of Wolgast.
On June 26, 1630, during
the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf landed near
Peenemünde with a force of 15,000 men and, after conquering Usedom, soon
occupied the entire Oder estuary area. After the Peace of Westphalia in
1648, Peenemünde and Western Pomerania became Swedish.
During the
Great Northern War, the Prussian General Georg Abraham von Arnim
conquered the town from August 21-22, 1715. But it was only after the
Peace of Stockholm in 1720 that the place became Prussian with
Usedom-Wollin and Altvorpommern. Although a redoubt was built before
Peenemünde on the Peenestrom after 1630, it was not until 1717 that the
facility was expanded as a real fortress. In 1759 this facility was
modernized again because there were constant disputes between Prussia
and Sweden.
After the administrative reform in 1815, Peenemünde
became part of the Prussian province of Pomerania and belonged to the
Usedom-Wollin district from 1818 to 1945.
In 1835 an amber mine
was recorded in the PUM (Preußisches Urmesstischblatt) in the
Peenemünder Haken, which existed there as an open-pit mine. Apparently
that was not profitable or was exploited and was discontinued before
1880.
In 1858 Peenemünde had 550 inhabitants with the Gaatz farm,
33 families made their living from fishing. In the village there were 82
residential buildings and a school. The village belonged to the city of
Wolgast.
In 1876 a chapel was built in the cemetery in
Peenemünde.
After the storm floods of 1872, 1904 and 1913, which
also severely damaged Peenemünde, construction of a dike with a height
of 1.80 m began in 1927. From January 1928 onwards, the first embankment
work was carried out on the route from Karlshagen to Wolgaster Fähre,
which was completed in 1929.
Peenemünde became known for the Peenemünde Army Research Center
(Peenemünde-Ost) and the Peenemünde-West Air Force Test Center. From
1936, the Wehrmacht acquired the entire north of the island from
Karlshagen to the Peenemünder Haken from the city of Wolgast and from
private individuals. In August 1936, construction work began on the
Peenemünde a.U. test site, as the joint office of the Army and Air Force
was initially called. On April 1, 1938, the organizational separation
and renaming as Army Test Center Peenemünde (HVP) and Air Force Test
Center Peenemünde-West took place.
Gradually, the population had
to leave the place, only five residents remained as civilian employees
of the HVP (Army Test Center Peenemünde). Since the flood of 1872
exceeded 2.64 m, that of 1904 with 1.90 m and that of 1913 with 1.91 m
over the 1.80 m dyke that had been erected in the meantime, the dyke
from the Peenemünder Haken to the port of Karlshagen was rebuilt in 1939
increased to 4.0 m. Large quantities of sand were washed into the dyke
and the areas behind it from the resulting harbor basin, the Peenestrom
and the Bodden, so that the level for the entire village area and the
areas of the HVP could be increased by 2.0 m.
The Peenemünde
site, with its army goods district extending as far as Karlshagen, grew
steadily until the middle of the war, especially when, from the
beginning of the war, a plant for series production (test series plant
or plant south) was built in the army test center in addition to the
facilities for developing and testing rockets. In the summer of 1943,
the workforce peaked at over 12,000. After the bombing of Peenemünde in
August 1943, the staff shrank because more and more tasks were
outsourced. Outside of the restricted area, which extended beyond
Zempin, numerous outposts were established on the island of Usedom or on
the mainland, assigned to Peenemünde.
According to the stipulations of the Potsdam Agreement, after 1945
the facilities of the test sites in and around Peenemünde were blown up
after all remnants of the HVP that could be used had been secured and
transported away by the Red Army. The area of Peenemünde from Karlshagen
was still a restricted area and could only be entered with special
permits to Peenemünde.
The HVP power plant was soon put back into
operation to supply the military base and the population. It was still
working until April 1990.
The site was used until 1952 as a
Soviet naval and air force base for the Red Army – later the Group of
Soviet Armed Forces in Germany.
In 1952 the base was handed over
to the barracked People's Police in See as a forerunner of the National
People's Army of the GDR. Among other things, they used it as a naval
base for the 1st Flotilla of the People's Navy and as the airfield for
the 9th Fighter Squadron of the NVA Air Force. These military bases,
airfield and military port, were further expanded, and a repair yard was
built north of the power plant for the NVA flotilla (now Nordhafen). In
the three control and testing facilities of the HVA in the southeast of
Peenemünde, ammunition stores were set up for the NVA with the
appropriate infrastructure.
Until 1990, the entire northern area
of the island of Usedom up to Karlshagen was a restricted area for the
National People's Army, which operated an important military airfield
there. The Peenemünde airfield was already part of the former test site
of the Peenemünde-West Air Force and was expanded from 1958 to 1961.
After the reunification of Germany, the military base was dissolved
in 1993.
The Nordic history of the island of Usedom was taken
into account with the Viking camps at Pentecost from 1995 to 2000 in
Peenemünde. A specially designed modern rune stone with rune characters
later found its place in the port. The massive granite boulder bears an
inscription carved in runes of the Younger Futhark, which translates as
follows: fusnan (= Usedom Island) – jomsbork (= Jomsburg) – CMXCV –
MCMXCV (995–1995). The Roman numerals refer to the 1000th anniversary of
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which was celebrated in 1995.
From
1945 to 1952, the municipality, together with the part of the
Usedom-Wollin district that remained with Germany after the Second World
War, formed the Usedom district in the state of Mecklenburg, which was
merged into the Wolgast district in the Rostock district in 1952. The
municipality has belonged to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
since 1990 and to the district of Ostvorpommern from 1994, which was
merged into the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald in 2011.
Gaatz was first mentioned in a document in 1693 as Gartz Dutch Farm.
In the gazetteer of 1906 it appears as Gaatz. The name is interpreted as
a dike, but also as a wet field.
The village was south-east of
Peenemünde between the Kämmerersee and the forest. Because of the
location, only livestock farming was possible there, hence the old name
Hollanderei.
It was still marked as Vorwerk Gaatz in the 1920
survey table. It was dissolved and cleared after 1936 with the
construction of the HVA. In the course of the expansion of the HVA, a
control stand was created there for the adjacent test stands or testing
and starting systems for the A 4 (V2) aggregates. In the direction of
the Peenestrom, the Wehrmacht camp and the Peenebunker were built. All
of the objects mentioned around the deserted village of Gaatz were
connected to the tracks of the HVA works railway.
Jarchow was named as a district of Peenemünde in 1926. The location
was not described. North of Peenemünde (old village) was the place only
referred to as Vorwerk Peenemünde in the MTB (Messtischblatt) 1880 and
1920.
From 1936 the whole area including this place was bought by
the Reich, the inhabitants resettled and most of the buildings were
cleared apart from a few remnants. The entire area was used to set up
the Peenemünde a.U. and its sub-works are dyked and partially washed up
by about two meters. Many areas, especially in the area of the current
airport, were swampy meadows and quarries. There was also the place
Jarchow, the former Vorwerk Peenemünde. The place was cleared and also
washed up. However, there was no construction for the test sites or
branches. It is now a barren area southwest of the airfield.
passenger ferry
Peenemünde can be reached directly from the
mainland by passenger ferries from Kröslin and Freest.
rail
traffic
Peenemünde can be reached via the Zinnowitz–Peenemünde
railway line with DB Regio Nordost trains, which runs on the former
factory railway line (double track in sections in 1943, later
dismantled) of the Army Research Institute. In some places, the remains
of the sidings and station tracks, some platforms (e.g. at the
Trassenmoor stop and about 100 m north of the Karlshagen stop) and the
concrete base of the electrical overhead line can still be seen.
shipping
The municipality is the home port of the MS Adler Mönchgut,
a passenger ship of the passenger shipping company Adler-Schiffe, which
runs scheduled services between the islands of Rügen and Usedom in
summer.
airfield
The Peenemünde airfield is the starting point
for island sightseeing flights over Usedom. It is also used as a
motorcycle race track.