Travemünde

About This Anchorage

Travemünde is the outer port of Lübeck — Europe's finest Hanseatic city, 12nm up the Trave river. The Trave passage to Lübeck (12nm, buoyed, minimum depth 4m) is one of the great river sailing experiences in the German Baltic — passing through pine forest, the Hansa Lübeck suburbs, and arriving at the astonishing UNESCO city of seven spires (Sieben Türme). Travemünde itself is a classic 19th-century Baltic seaside resort — Thomas Mann spent his holidays here and set 'The Buddenbrooks' (his Nobel Prize novel, 1901) partly in Travemünde. The lighthouse (Travemünde Leuchtturm, 1539, rebuilt 1827) is the oldest active lighthouse on the German Baltic. Major ferry port for Scandinavia — Finnlines (Helsinki, Riga) and TT-Line (Trelleborg/Sweden) — generating significant commercial traffic.

Hazards

• !Major ferry port: Finnlines/TT-Line large car ferries (220m+) use the Trave continuously — absolute right of way; their wash is significant; keep clear of the channel
• !VHF 11 mandatory when approaching the Trave entrance from seaward
• !Trave to Lübeck: follow the buoyed channel; the Trave has commercial barge traffic; 12nm passage upstream requires 2–3 hours
• !NW exposure at the Trave entrance — Mecklenburg Bight NW swell enters the entrance channel in westerly gales
• !Baltic water level variation affects the Trave level: strong SW/W winds lower the level; check before committing to inner river passages with limited air draught

Skipper's Tips

• →The Trave river passage to Lübeck (12nm, 2.5 hours) is essential — Lübeck is Germany's most beautiful Hanseatic city: the Holstentor gate, seven Gothic church spires, Buddenbrookhaus, and the most famous marzipan in the world (Niederegger, Breite Straße); allow a full day
• →Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks connection: the Buddenbrookhaus museum on Mengstraße covers the Nobel Prize novel and the Mann family; walking tour of the Travemünde locations described in the book available from tourist office
• →The Travemünde lighthouse (1827, 32m) is open in summer — the gallery gives the best views of the Trave entrance and across the Lübeck Bay
• →The Travemünde 'Priwall' (south bank peninsula) has the quietest beach and anchorage — accessible by the Priwall ferry (foot ferry across the Trave) from the resort town
• →Crew change: Travemünde station has direct connections to Lübeck Hauptbahnhof (25 minutes, IC trains to Hamburg 45 minutes) — convenient for Hamburg airport (1h from Lübeck Hbf)

Nearby Anchorages