Rügenhafen

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The Rügenhafen project was a naval port construction project that was followed over several historical phases. It envisaged the construction of a war port in the Rügen lagoon landscape. There were plans for this by Prussia , the German Reich and the GDR . Partial elements of the planning were implemented.

Prussian planning

For the first time, the establishment of a war port in the Jasmunder Bodden was considered during the development of the German fleet under Admiral Karl Rudolf Brommy . However, the German Reichsflotte was dissolved in 1852 due to financial difficulties. During the same period, the Prussian admiral Prince Adalbert von Prussia became aware of the strategic location of Rügen for the defense of the north German Baltic coast. The secret senior building officer Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen pleaded in an expert opinion in 1853 for the construction of a war port on Rügen. It was planned to cut through the Schaabe near Breege in order to build a combined war and trading port. In 1855 the plan was revised for cost reasons and now envisaged a port with a railway connection at Groß Banzelvitz . The plan was to build three docks, shipbuilding and ship equipment facilities as well as associated workshops and living space for the staff. Furthermore, forts and barracks should serve to secure the war port on the land side. In the plans from 1864 onwards, a warship yard was also provided. After the German-Danish War , the plans were given up in favor of Kiel.

Planning in the German Empire

In the German Reich the plans were taken up again. In 1937, the first project planning for the "Rügenhafen" project began under the direction of Linde, the chief naval construction director. The plan was to build a war port for submarines and smaller security vehicles. The first earthworks began in 1938. Furthermore, a first steel jetty for submarines was built near Glowe . The construction of the harbor at Groß Banzelvitz was planned . A breakthrough east of Glowe was planned for direct access to the Baltic Sea . In the so-called Z-Plan of May 17, 1939 the stationing of the following units in the "Rügenhafen" was planned.

Three sea air bases were to serve as air security for the war port . One at Parow (near Stralsund ), at Dranske on the Bug and at Gager on the Mönchgut peninsula . At Cape Arkona and bush on the island Hiddensee large should coastal artillery positions arise. After the German victory in the attack on Poland , work on the project was stopped.

In 1944 the plans were taken up again. The construction of a very large bunkered submarine shipyard was planned at the “Rügenhafen”. The bunker should have a capacity of 36 shipyard berths for submarines of type XXI . The further course of the war prevented the implementation of the project.

Planning of the GDR

With the construction of the GDR Volksmarine at the beginning of the 1950s, the plans for the construction of a Rügen port were projected again. This was preceded by Soviet considerations for a separate base at this point. The aim was to build a submarine bunker , a repair shipyard, two new shipyards and a trading and fishing port in the Jasmunder Bodden. Access should be through two channels: at Glowe and at Prora . Furthermore, large coastal artillery positions were to be built at Cape Arkona, Lohme and Dornbusch on the island of Hiddensee . In July 1952, work began on building a canal near Glowe. VEB Bauunion Nord and up to 3,000 political prisoners were used for heavy work in the “Glowe special construction project” . The construction work on this project was temporarily stopped after the uprising of June 17, 1953, in which some of the prisoners also took part, and finally stopped on August 15, 1953.

The "Rügenhafen" project was mentioned for the last time in the "Plan for the development of the GDR naval forces for the years 1956–1960 on the basis of the results of the construction up to 1955". In this it was mentioned under point B 2d “The construction of the main fleet base on Rügen is to be completed for use by at least 70%”. This plan was presented to the Politburo of the GDR on June 8, 1955 by Vice Admiral Waldemar Verner, Head of Administration of the VP Sea .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dieter Flohr: June 17, 1953 foiled Rügen war port. In: Ostsee-Zeitung of March 11, 2006
  2. ↑ a b Joachim H. Rudek: The Rügen port. The endless story from the German small states to the GDR (= Schiffahrtsgeschichtliche Gesellschaft Ostsee. Series of publications. H. 13, ZDB -ID 1471344-5 ). Shipping History Society of the Baltic Sea, Rostock 2000.
  3. ^ Fritz Minow: Die Volkspolizei-See (VP-See) 1952–1956. In: Hartmut Klüver (Hrsg.): Stations of German naval history II. German sea associations 1945–1956 (= contributions to shipping history , vol. 4). German Society for Shipping and Marine History, Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-935091-08-7 , p. 109 ff.
  4. ^ Ingo Pfeiffer: naval port project failed due to popular uprising. In: Marineforum , Issue 12, 1992, ISSN  0172-8547 , p. 437 f.