Heiligendamm

German seaside resort

Heiligendamm is a German seaside resort founded in 1793. It is the oldest seaside spa in continental Europe. Heiligendamm is part of the town Bad Doberan in the state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern and historically belongs to Mecklenburg. The cluster of resort architecture mansions and spa buildings at the seafront are reminders of the glory days when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy. Due to the classicist white buildings lining the beach promenade, the town is also known as the "White Pearl" (Weiße Perle) or the "White Town by the Sea" (Die weiße Stadt am Meer). Today, the area by the sea is occupied by a five star hotel, the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. A narrow gauge steam railway, known as the "Molli", links Heiligendamm with Kühlungsborn and Bad Doberan.

Heiligendamm was developed as an elegant meeting place for the nobility and high society. Among its most prominent guests were the German Emperors. Its founder and first guest in 1793 was the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Friedrich Franz I; he made the resort fashionable. In July 2013, the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm was bought by Hannover based accountant Paul Morzynski, who intends to carefully extend and reorganize the hotel.

The resort architecture near the beaches of Heiligendamm, consisting of classicist and historicist mansions and spa buildings, is part of a unique heritage, as the first such buildings of the European continent can be seen here. The area of the Grand Hotel is partly accessible to visitors, but should be experienced respectfully to not disturb the hotel guests. The narrow gauge railway known as Bäderbahn Molli ("Molli Resort Railway") runs through Heiligendamm from Kühlungsborn to Bad Doberan. The line between Bad Doberan and Heiligendamm was built in 1886. The Protestant Forest Church (Evangelische Waldkirche) was renovated after die Wende, the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart (Herz Jesu Kapelle) is close by. Heiligendamm also has a 200 metre long pier into the Baltic Sea that allows great views of the White Pearl Mansions at the beach.