Peenemünde | |
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 Seaport | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Peenemünde within Vorpommern-Greifswald district
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 Location of Peenemünde | |
  Peenemünde  Peenemünde | |
| Coordinates:54°08′N13°46′E / 54.133°N 13.767°E /54.133; 13.767 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| District | Vorpommern-Greifswald |
| Municipal assoc. | Usedom-Nord |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Rainer Barthelmes |
| Area | |
• Total | 25.74 km2 (9.94 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3.0 m (9.8 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 370 |
| • Density | 14/km2 (37/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 17449 |
| Dialling codes | 038371 |
| Vehicle registration | VG |
| Website | www.amtusedomnord.de |
Peenemünde (German pronunciation:[peːnəˈmʏndə]ⓘ,lit. 'Peene [River] Mouth') is a municipality on theBaltic Sea island ofUsedom in theVorpommern-Greifswald district inMecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is part of theAmt (collective municipality) ofUsedom-Nord. The community is known for thePeenemünde Army Research Center, where the world's first functional large-scaleliquid-propellant rocket, theV-2, was developed.
The village with its seaport is located on the westernmost extremity of a long sand-spit, where the Peene empties into the Baltic Sea, in the northwestern part of Usedom Island. To the southeast it borders on the sea resort ofKarlshagen.
Peenemünde harbour can be reached by ferry boat across the Peene fromKröslin. Liners also run along the Baltic coast toRügen Island. The local railway station is the northern terminus of theUsedomer Bäderbahn line toZinnowitz. Air service for the village is available at thePeenemünde Airfield.
During the 10th and 11th centuries, Peenemünde was part of the region ofCircipania, an area settled by the Circipanes, aWest Slavic tribe constituent of theLutici federation. Circipania was incorporated into theBillung March of theHoly Roman Empire in 936, but the Empire's influence in the region decayed by the end of that century after a successful Slavic uprising. During the late 12th century, in the aftermath of theWendish Crusade, the region fell under the rule of theDuchy of Pomerania. After theTreaty of Kremmen in 1236, most of Circipania was transferred to theMargraviate of Brandenburg.[2] The settlement was first mentioned in 1282 underBogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania.
The settlement was captured bySweden in 1630, confirmed by thePeace of Westphalia in 1648. In 1720, it passed toPrussia. It was besieged by Sweden during thePomeranian War in 1757.
InWorld War II, the area was highly involved in the development and production of the V-1 and V-2 rockets, until the production's relocation toMittelbau-Dora nearNordhausen. The village's docks were used for the ships which recoveredV-2 wreckage from test launches over theBaltic Sea. German scientists such asWernher von Braun, who worked at the V-2 facility, were known as "Peenemünders". The resistance group around the priestHeinrich Maier passed on plans for theV-1,V-2 rockets, and the Peenemünde research station to the Allies. The resistance group, later discovered by theGestapo, was in contact withAllen Dulles, the head of the US secret service OSS in Switzerland. The allied bombers were able to carry out precise air attacks with the sketches of the production facilities. The information was important forOperation Crossbow andOperation Hydra, both pre-missions forOperation Overlord.
During Operation Hydra, the research facility was badly hit by the attack by the RAF bomber command on Peenemünde on the night of August 17–18, 1943. The attack was carried out by a total of 596 bombers (324Avro Lancaster, 218Handley Page Halifax, 54Short Stirling). There was extensive destruction and the rocket launch of the prototype V-2 was delayed by about two months. 123 people died, including the scientist Walter Thiel. Wernher von Braun was able to save himself in a bunker.[3][4] The entire island was captured by theSoviet Red Army on 5 May 1945. The gas plant for the production ofliquid oxygen still lies in ruins at the entrance to Peenemünde.
Thepost-war port was a Sovietnaval base until turned over to the armed forces ofEast Germany in 1952. The seaport facilities were used at first by the East GermanSeepolizei (sea police) after new facilities for policemotorboats had been built. On 1 December 1956 the headquarters of the First Flotilla (de:Erste Flottille (Volksmarine)) of the East GermanPeople's Navy was established at Peenemünde.
ThePeenemünde Historical Technical Museum, aWorld War II museum on theEuropean Route of Industrial Heritage opened in 1992 in the power station of the former Army Testing Site[5] and the area of the World War IIpower station (now part of the village). Exhibits include aV-1 and aV-2.
Media related toPeenemünde at Wikimedia Commons
Peenemünde travel guide from Wikivoyage
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