Wustrow (peninsula)

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Poel and Wustrow in the Mecklenburg Bay

Wustrow is a 10 km² peninsula in the Mecklenburg Bay southwest of Rerik . Between the 1930s and 1990s the peninsula was used for military purposes. Even after the military left, Wustrow remained largely inaccessible to the public. The southwestern part of the peninsula is designated as a nature reserve.

geography

Location and name

The name Wustrow comes from the Slavic word for "island", cf. czech ostrov . The peninsula is located southwest of Rerik between the open Baltic Sea and the Salzhaff . It is connected to the mainland at Rerik via a narrow land connection ( spit ), the Wustrower Hals . It is characterized by its compensation coast .

Wustrower neck

View from Schmiedeberg over the Wustrower Hals to the Wustrow peninsula (left the Salzhaff, right the Baltic Sea)

Located between the Hanseatic cities of Rostock and Wismar , Wustrow was originally an island. The Slavic castle Alt Gaarz (Old Castle) protected the access to the Salzhaff . Later a spit was built that connects Wustrow with the mainland at Rerik, so that Wustrow became a peninsula . The 700 m long spit was breached during the Baltic storm flood in 1872 and during the storm flood on February 10, 1874, and was significantly changed in several places. The dune was completely removed. Since a constant breakthrough of the spit would have endangered the towns on the Salzhaff, vestibule fences, a dike and a road were built in 1874 . This Wustrow neck connects Wustrow with Rerik , the "city in the reed bed".

Core of the Wustrow peninsula

The peninsula core, formed in the Pleistocene , joins the spit . It is 5 km long and a maximum of 2.5 km wide.

The area is divided into three zones from northeast to southwest. Just behind the dam of the 100 starts hectares large and built-up part of the former housing estate Rerik West and military utility buildings. This part is cordoned off and access is prohibited, according to the warning signs due to the risk of remaining ammunition .

This is followed by an area of ​​200 ha, which is part of the Salzhaff nature reserve and the remainder is taken up by the 700 ha nature reserve "Wustrow".

Southwest foothills

The south-western end of the peninsula is formed by a sand hook, the approximately 4 km long and a few hundred meters wide Kiel town . Originally it was firmly attached to the core of the peninsula. Originally the peninsula ran south in two headlands. The southern end of the peninsula is the church fair , originally an island that grew together with the peninsula in the first half of the 20th century. The Kroy water area lies between Kieler Ort and Kirchmesse . In the second half of the 20th century, a breakthrough formed at the neck of the Kiel town, which apparently does not naturally silt up again, so that the Kiel town is now an island.

history

Former residential area Rerik-West, today restricted area

Mentioned for the first time in 1273 in the city register of Wismar, the peninsula was an agricultural property in the hands of numerous owners until the early 1930s. There were also several farms that were most recently located in the Neu Wustrow district. The first documented owner at the beginning of the 14th century was the family v. Moltke. Then in the middle of the 14th century the estate was transferred to von Oertzen . Mathias v. Oertzen was granted the right to build a windmill in 1514 by the dukes Albrecht VII and Heinrich V. The mill was built on the Wustrower Hals. Mathias v. Oertzen was the youngest district administrator in Mecklenburg.

A heavy storm flood almost completely destroyed the estate on February 10, 1625. The entire peninsula was flooded. According to tradition, the residents fled to the highest point and still stood up to their stomach in the water. On February 15, 1625, the feudal estate became an allod . The owners no longer had to pay taxes and were exempt from court and military service. In 1649 the estate belonged to Erich Hansson Ulfsparre , royal Swedish colonel and commander of Wismar.

1675 was a baron v. Winterfeld owner, he and his descendants were awarded the church patronage in Alt-Gaarz on October 27th . The family could appoint and remove clergymen; she was allowed to dispose of the property and the income. In return, there was an obligation to maintain and expand the church building. Helmuth Otto v. Winterfeld died in 1694 and left behind 17 children, the peninsula was inherited by Friedrich v. Winterfeld , then a major in the Danish army. In 1696 he sold to Lieutenant General Samuel Christopher v. Plessen, who bequeathed the property to his son Helmut August. Helmut August was murdered in 1724, the circumstances have not been clarified. In the following years the owners changed frequently. The rule of the Swedes lasted until 1803. In 1838 Neu Wustrow was founded with three hereditary leases. Only the Stever family, who took over the estate in 1820, were able to hold it again for a longer period of time. In 1859 cholera broke out and 30 people fell ill, five of whom died as a result of the disease. The entire estate burned down a few years later, except for the new manor house. After that, the owners changed again several times. The manor owner Hans von Plessen bought the estate in 1925.

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Swedish war map (around 1850): Wismar, Poel and Wustrow. On the far right the continuous spit

Familys

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Military use

Reichswehr and Wehrmacht

In 1932 the Wustrow peninsula was sold by the Damshagen brothers Bernhard and Hans Balduin von Plessen to the Reichswehr , which immediately began building Germany's largest anti-aircraft gun school , the FAS I, in 1933 . The location was also called "Rerik-West".

An army base administration was set up on August 1, 1933 and temporarily housed in the Ingeborg guesthouse . The manor house , the young cattle shed and a storage building were converted into temporary accommodation for practicing soldiers. Space for 350 people was quickly created. The office of the site administration was moved to the peninsula in early 1934. She found accommodation in the former school. In April 1934, the first barracks and the new warehouse were completed. The three-story buildings had a basement.

The Rerik West settlement was built for civilian employees and officers with residential buildings designed by Heinrich Tessenow .

“On the approximately 5000 acres of the Wustrow peninsula ... there is lively military life today ... Not far from the former estate ... something completely new and unique for Germany was created in an amazingly short time: the anti-aircraft artillery school . The approximately 45 barracks, residential and farm buildings and the 20 or so large vehicle and equipment halls have shot up like mushrooms ... What he can see and hear here in detail is, taken as a whole, truthful a masterpiece of German organizational art. Here, thanks to the creative power of the people united under Adolf Hitler, a small town emerged, a military community that must be addressed as exemplary in every respect. "

- Rostocker Illustrierte. Weekly photos from the Rostocker Anzeiger from February 2, 1936

On April 6, 1934, the first practice shot was fired from a 7.5 cm Flak L / 60 . This gun was developed by Bofors in Sweden as "Bofors 75 mm m / 1929" especially for the German Reichswehr; because of the lack of suitability, the 8.8 cm flak was developed from this. The practicing flak divisions changed every two weeks. The anti-aircraft artillery school and the air force training area had a decisive influence on life in Alt Gaarz. In the front part of the peninsula, a housing estate and the military building complex with an airfield and sports facilities were built. Soldiers from all parts of Germany were trained in anti-aircraft guns over several weeks. In the course of the war, the facilities were repeatedly expanded and expanded. On July 25, 1943, the location was the target of a US bomber formation (388th bomb group) flying in from Hamburg . At the end of the Second World War, Wustrow served as a stopover for units that were flown to Berlin to defend the city. Many residents and soldiers left the peninsula to flee from the advancing Red Army .

On May 2, 1945, Wustrow was handed over to the Soviet armed forces by City Commandant Deckwitz without a fight. After a land reform had been carried out in 1945 and new farmers settled, the Wustrow peninsula was designated as a Soviet garrison in 1949. The Soviet military leadership asked all remaining German civilians to evacuate the peninsula. The Red Army took over the peninsula and sealed it off from the outside world.

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Wustrow barracks (1936)

Red Army

Desolation

Little is known about the Soviet occupation . It is estimated that up to 3000 soldiers and their family members were stationed on Wustrow. Contacts with the local population were limited to public holidays such as November 7th, the day of the great October Socialist Revolution . On such days, selected German delegations were allowed to take part in the celebrations. At times, military and sporting actions were carried out with members of the factory combat groups and soldiers of the National People's Army . It is certain that a firing and training area has been set up again, and the units have been supplemented by naval and intelligence troops . After the end of the war, part of the barracks was blown up by the Soviet soldiers, in these areas simple stone barracks were built for the crews , which were equipped with toilets and washrooms at one end. Two separate rooms served as an armory . In addition to the sleeping barracks, various buildings were built to supply the troops, such as kitchens, bakery , dining room , potato bunker and a meat store. Several pig stalls were maintained for self-sufficiency with pork . These pigs also roamed free outside the stables and partly left the fence. They mated with the wild boars that lived there . The resulting piebald pigs were still present on the peninsula for many years. A large hall was added to the former post office building and then used as a cinema . Films were shown here mainly on Sundays. A kindergarten and a school for the younger children completed the facility. The older children first attended school in Wismar and then that in Schwerin. For the locals, the peninsula was a forbidden zone. A wall running across the street separated Rerik from Wustrow. The wall was reinforced with barbed wire, which extended far into the Baltic Sea and the Salzhaff on both sides. In the 1970s, a training center for the German Gymnastics and Sports Association was built in Rerik . The center required space, for this reason the wall was moved back to the middle of the Wustrower neck. The metal gate to the road to Wismar was constantly guarded, and both sides of the road were surrounded by a strong fence. There were also a number of demarcated areas within the military area that were only allowed to be entered by authorized persons with the appropriate permit. For example, the bakery was surrounded by a wall and was guarded by two guards.

The Soviet army practiced - like the Reichswehr before - shooting at moving air targets. For this purpose, large air sacs were pulled over the horizon by airplanes; the planes took off from Pütnitz near Ribnitz-Damgarten and flew a large semicircle around the peninsula. In addition to the permanently installed anti-aircraft guns, combat with anti-aircraft tanks equipped with twin tubes was also practiced. The flak tanks fired at ground, sea and air targets. The sea targets were dragged out onto the Baltic Sea by ship. During such exercises, the sea was closed to all traffic for up to 15 kilometers. A driving school route was set up for the tanks on the Haff side and a training area was laid out for the training of the infantry soldiers. The coastal artillery units were stationed until the early 1950s. After that, the guns were replaced by missiles on which the soldiers were trained. A paved road running parallel to the Baltic Sea led behind the crew quarters to the large radar systems and the associated technical areas and vehicle hangars. There were fenced launch ramps for surface-to-air missiles nearby. A tower called the Tower was built on the former Wehrmacht airport around 1950 . However, it was not used to monitor flight operations, but as a fire control center for its own anti-aircraft artillery. In order to deceive possible opponents about the function of the former airport, more than 20 dummy aircraft were set up.

Since 1949, troops of the Baltic Red Banner Fleet, units of the Baltic Southern Fleet and the 4th Baltic Fleet were stationed on the peninsula. Radio equipment was operated at least temporarily. A radio reconnaissance battalion and a telecommunications regiment, which organizationally belonged to the Baltic Red Banner Fleet, were stationed here. The battalion operated a radar station and had a naval unit to support it. These units were strictly shielded from the rest of the area by a double-walled fence that was lit and guarded. The task of the radio reconnaissance was succinctly described as ensuring the ship's navigation . This also included monitoring the sea area that was closed during shooting. Radio navigation systems and radio beacons were operated at times to provide orientation for naval aviators and ships. During major maneuvers with units of the Warsaw Pact , such as Brotherhood of Arms 70 or Brotherhood of Arms 80 , navigation was secured from here. The units were also used in national exercises such as Ocean 72 .

The 2nd Special Reconnaissance Brigade of the Soviet Armed Forces GRU was stationed on the peninsula . She was directly subordinate to the staff of the GSSD in Wünsdorf . The brigade's task was to conduct long-range reconnaissance in the direction of the North Atlantic and Jutland in peacetime. In the event of war, the deployment of Soviet Sealand units and the blocking of access to the Baltic Sea would have been logistically coordinated from here. There were also landing ships here, which were used when the troops withdrew in the 1990s to transport technical equipment from Wustrow to the USSR .

After the end of the socialist states around 1989, the isolation from the population was relaxed and more contacts with the population were cultivated. One last major target practice was held throughout September 1992, after which the training company ceased. The last soldiers were officially bid farewell in October 1993, the former location was finally vacated in May 1994.

After the troops withdrew, the situation in the small town of Rerik changed fundamentally. Until then, the area had been regularly driven through by tanks and overflown by jet fighters.

Development after the withdrawal of the army

After the withdrawal of the Soviet Army, many former residents of the houses on Wustrow hoped for an opportunity to return. According to the agreements in the unification treaty between the FRG and the GDR, the peninsula became federal property. Negotiations about the immense environmental damage on the peninsula were held on December 16, 1992 between Boris Yeltsin and Helmut Kohl in Moscow, which led to a so-called zero solution : Any damage was not offset against property. The Federal Republic took on the risk of contaminated sites and damage.

According to a military training area concept of the Bundeswehr , Wustrow was no longer needed for military purposes. The Federal Ministry of Finance was responsible for the property, while the administration was the responsibility of the Rostock Regional Finance Directorate and the Federal Property Office .

After disagreements between the federal government and the city Rerik the entire peninsula was eventually to today in February 1998 Düren -based fund group of Anno August Jagdfeld sold. The investor planned to build a marina , a golf course and riding stables, a hotel with 150 beds and holiday and owner-occupied apartments with a total capacity of 2000 people. The city of Rerik, which has to approve the project, spoke out against it and referred to the high traffic load in the place. They prohibited the owner from using the access to the peninsula. In return, the Fundus group blocked access on September 2, 2004 and forbade the guided tours of the peninsula that had taken place up to that point. Since then, visits have only been possible from the water.

From 2002 to 2008, the artist Günther Uecker , who grew up on the peninsula as the son of a member of the Wehrmacht, lived in a hut on the peninsula with the consent of the investor and the city, until the district administration banned him from doing so.

The peninsula has since grown over and the place is now completely forested. Since June 2018, the investor has been allowing covered wagon trips and guided tours from Rerik. In August 2019, one of the NDR's first film crew was allowed to shoot for the episode Der Tag will come of the Rostock police call on Wustrow.

natural reserve

The nature reserve of the same name consists of the western part of the peninsula and is 1940 ha in size with the adjacent water bodies. The peninsula and the Salzhaff are part of the EU bird sanctuary "Coastal Landscape Wismar Bay", the nature reserve is a fauna and flora habitat and the large reed areas on the hay side are wetlands of national importance. The area is home to the most diverse coastal habitats with a wide range of salt-loving plants and almost 90 species of breeding birds.

literature

  • Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden Wustrow peninsula. Flak school, military base, espionage outpost. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 .
  • Alexander Schacht: Wustrow. From the manor to the garrison , 2nd, exp. Ed., Stock and Stein, Schwerin 1995, ISBN 3-910179-33-9 .
  • Bento grains: The Wustrow peninsula. Neubukow 2011.
  • Management plan for the FFH area DE 1934-302 Wismar Bay. (PDF) Ministry of Environment Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 2006, p. 132 , accessed on June 12, 2009 .

Web links

Commons : Wustrow (peninsula)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Sea and Museum ( Deutsches Meeresmuseum ), Vol. 13 (1997), p. 22, The flat coast
  2. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 19.
  3. ↑ a b Measurement table no.1935 Russow , 1911.
  4. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 11.
  5. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 20.
  6. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 25.
  7. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 32.
  8. ↑ One of 20 B17 bombers (No. 42-5907) (388th BG, 563rd BS, "Wing and a Prayer", 10 dead) was shot down and crashed on the return flight over sea.
  9. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , pp. 50-75.
  10. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 94.
  11. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , pp. 75-86.
  12. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , pp. 87-90.
  13. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 90.
  14. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , pp. 89-90.
  15. ↑ a b Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden Wustrow peninsula. 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 92.
  16. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 98.
  17. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 105.
  18. ^ Edelgard Feiler, Klaus Feiler: The forbidden peninsula Wustrow. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-86153-323-5 , p. 106.
  19. ^ Wustrow peninsula: sea eagles instead of beach chairs. A volatile legacy: old military debris - NDR, 14 August 2014
  20. ↑ The forbidden Wustrow peninsula. In: Schweriner Volkszeitung , August 20, 2015, online .
  21. ↑ Wustrow peninsula accessible again . In: Ostsee-Zeitung from June 12, 2018.
  22. ↑ Alina Brückner: Police call 110: Funny detail - the network laughs at THIS scene. In: The West . June 16, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Wustrow nature reserve ( Memento from March 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 54 ° 5 ′ 0 ″  N , 11 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  E