The Baltic resort of Heringsdorf
The air of Heringsdorf is filled with the song of innumerable birds, which frequent the lilac bushes and the branches of the pine trees shaped into fantastical forms by the wind. The elegant villas with their columns and outdoor staircases in the midst of the spacious park landscapes along the promenade seem almost surreally beautiful.
"See and be seen" – to walk past the magnificent buildings is to experience what was considered chic for the Berlin high society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The spell of the elegant Kaiser resorts in the summer months drew aristocracy and the seriously rich, artists such as Lyonel Feininger, musicians such as Johann Strauss or writers such as Maxim Gorki, Theodor Fontane, Leo Tolstoy or Thomas Mann. Even Kaiser Wilhelm II enjoyed visiting Heringsdorf for tea. Heinrich Mann described Heringsdorf in the 1930’s as the "bath tub of the Berliners". And he, too, came here to visit.
"Three-and-a-half hour train ride, and you will find a nice hotel and villa area directly beside the sea," wrote Mann. The beautiful villas of those days in their distinctive resort architecture style have been conserved. Lovingly restored, today as holiday homes they invite you to re-experience that glittering era. Some of the villas are now open to the public as museums. Villa Irmgard, for example, houses the living room and study of Maxim Gorki, who stayed here once on a recuperative vacation. The Villa also serves as a venue for exhibitions, concerts and readings as do many other places in the Kaiser resort.
Whether play, cabaret or concert – all can be enjoyed in the summer season at the Chapeau Rouge, a theatre marquee. Nearby, the Konzertmuschel (shell-shaped outdoor stage) invites you to enjoy music in the open air in the summer months. Performers from around the world perform there and on the promenade during the International Performing Arts Festival. The Kaiserbädersaal concert hall is a centre of culture. This is the venue for the Usedom Literature Festival, poetry evenings, concerts, balls and the Usedom Music Festival. The Heringsdorf Art Pavilion directly on the promenade – an avant-garde rotunda made of glass – is a sought-after destination for art lovers for exhibitions and auctions.
There is nothing quite like the Heringsdorf experience. As incomparable as the view from the Kulmberg, Heringsdorf’s highest elevation, over the Baltic. The pyramidal roofs of the pier glitter in the sun. At 508 metres, it is the longest pier with restaurant facilities on the European continent. With its many small boutiques and restaurants, it is a place to discover and experience, to stroll and to enjoy.
To experience a tranquil moment and escape from the hurly-burly of the resort for a while: At the end of a tree-lined avenue, just a stone’s throw from Heringsdorf, is the village of Gothen, formerly a manor – a place for experiencing and enjoying nature.
Source: www.kaiserbaeder-auf-usedom.de
Tourist Information Heringsdorf
Kulmstraße 33 | 17424 Seebad Heringsdorf
Tel +49 38378 2451 | Fax +49 38378 2454
eMail: heringsdorf@kaiserbaeder-auf-usedom.de
Booking hotline: +49 38378 24444
