Stralsund Bahnhof, 10am
Something in Lietzow
A very helpful map of where the train I'm on is going. Why is this not standard throughout Germany?
Welcome to Prora, site of the crumbling ruins of the Nazi KdF (Kraft durch Freude = Power through joy) resort. The bit that houses the museum is but a miniscule portion of the entire sprawling complex. "Macht Urlaub" is a pun meaning both "take a vacation" and "power vacation".
Well, we know where somebody's heart lies.
"Danger! Falling debris! Stay back from the building!" This sign is right next to the passage UNDER the building that leads down to the beach.
The complex consists of 8 buildings, each 500m (1,640 ft.) long running along in a row several hundred feet back from the beach. In the middle was a big event hall capable of holding all 20,000 people who would inhabit the resort at one time.
The war ensured the complex would never be used for its intended purpose, but the idea was that 14 million people would rotate in and out from April to October, for a week's vacation, with 3,000 arrivals and departures every day.
The "Colossus of Prora" is obscured by shrubs and overgrowth from the public beach, leaving one free to enjoy the view out into the Baltic, and to the chalk cliffs of Rügen (the island Prora is on).
What remains of the quay wall in the center of the complex
After the war, the island was occupied by the Soviets, thus becoming part of East Germany, and the KdF Bad came into the possession of the "National People's Army"...
...Who used it for target practice.
The view from the wall
Only 6 of the buildings are still standing, the northern two having been blown up for some reason, but only four of those are accessible to the public (not that you can go in, but poking around outside is ok).
And, as you can see, most of the windows are busted out.
Also, "Hate Clean Wall's [sic]" apparently.
One of the stairwells on the backside (each building had one every 50m (164 ft.)
The sad state of one of the other buildings in the complex
The never ending procession of stairwells on the back side of the buildings
Dilapidated!
6 floors of dilapidation!
I did not have time to go to Jam Beach Club.
One of the no-access buildings
On the way out, I found this overgrown monument to East German foreign minister, Otto Winzer.
The Prora "train station" which consists of these two tracks and yon unstaffed hut. There's not even a ticket machine at this place. This worked out well for me, as I figured I would just buy one from the conductor when he came around to check the tickets, but he never did! Saved me 6 euro.
Fishing off the bridge.
One of the murals in the Stralsund train station
The other mural in the Stralsund station
The Marienkirche in Stralsund along with a Soviet monument of some kind
You can climb this tower.
So I did.
YES!
The view from the first level of the tower out toward Stralsund harbor. The big, blue thing is the shipyard.
Someone forgot about this building.
The two other churches in Stralsund, the Nikolai on the left and the Jakobs on the right.
I'd really like to stick my head out that hatch.
Thankfully, this bell only rings on the hour.
The view from the top. the bridge on the left takes cars from Stralsund (the mainland) over to Rügen (the island).
The other side of the town again, from the top of the tower, which I should mention is 295 feet tall and requires a climb of 366 rather steep steps.
Nikolaikirche
Jakobskirche
Rooster!
Close-up of the shipyard
Looking down on the rest of the church
The post office
Parking lot for scale.
Now, the inside of the church
The Passion recorded in 350 year old German.
Note the dragon atop the chandelier.
Of course, like most North German churches, this was once a Catholic hang out, but is now Protestant.
I like the bat wings over the door.
I'm real mad at myself for only taking this blurry picture of the suspended angel.
"M. Friedrich Stellwagen constructed this. Anno 1659."
I think one of the reasons I like organs so much is because I tend to forget about them. Usually, you walk into a church underneath the organ, so you get led off by the various other pretty things inside, but then as you turn around to head back out the door... HOLY CRAP!
I like the coat of arms in the middle.
I decided not to go into the Jakobskirche.
The Nikolaikirche is a completely different story.
Who can pass up Hebrew over the door?
One of about three giant crucifixes in this church
When the church was restored, they had the paints specially made according to the original Medieval recipes.
According to the guy at the door, this thing hasn't worked in 500 years.
A balcony very high up.
"I'm just a wooden head with a fake, painted body."
Batskull!!!!!
A clock!
I think every place should have one of these models of the city. They're made so blind people can get an idea of what the layout of the city is.
Buildings on the market square
And the town hall across from them
FLYING BUTTRESSES!
The Stralsund "Oceaneum" under construction. They have a whale skeleton!
Ship on a building by the harbor
Ship in the harbor. Also, the biggest German flag I've ever seen.
One of several old storehouses on the harbor. Also, Jean's Saloon
Somebody call the Jetsons to come pick up their playground.
Inside the passage through the town hall...
...There is a bust with a Swedish inscription, because Stralsund was once part of the Swedish Empire.
What a cool town hall!
Oh hi!
What's left of one of the gates in the city wall
The aforementioned wall
Remember that sort of tower thing from the last picture? The view from that.
The Germans are totally ok with abandoned buildings.
Another gate
Angel weather vane hangin' on for dear life.
The Marienkirche again
Swans make a funny slapping noise when they land.
This couple was throwing stale bread to the ducks and this swan, and they kept breaking off bigger and bigger pieces, but then the girl his the swan square in the back. Not that the swan minded, but the girl was kinda upset.
Cocaine bench!
