Hel Peninsula (; ; ; or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. It is located in

Puck County __NOTOC__ Puck County (, ) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the Baltic coast. The ''powiat'' of this name existed in the history of Poland, since the times of th ...

of the

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

Name

The name of the peninsula might come from either the

Old Polish The Old Polish language () was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Old Polish language are the data of the co ...

word ''hyl''/''hel'', meaning "empty or exposed place", or the Germanic word ''heel'', which is derived from the form of the peninsula and the fact that the area was first settled by the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

, an East Germanic tribe.

Geography

The width of the peninsula varies from approximately near Jurata to in the most narrow part to over at the tip. Since the peninsula is formed entirely of

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

, it is frequently turned into an island by winter storms. Until the 17th century, the peninsula was a chain of islands that formed a strip of land only in the summer. A road and a railroad run along the peninsula from the mainland to the town at the furthest point, Hel, a popular tourist destination. Other towns, ports, and tourist resorts are Jurata,

Jastarnia Jastarnia (, ) is a resort town in Puck County, Pomeranian Voivodship, northern Poland. It is located on the Hel Peninsula on the Baltic Sea. It is a popular Polish seaside resort and small fishing port. The place was mentioned as "Osternese" in ...

, Kuźnica, Chałupy, and Władysławowo. Bus transport on the peninsula consists of only one route, the 669. The route was originally numbered 666, which played on the biblical

number of the beast The number of the beast (, ) is associated with the The Beast (Revelation), Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of ...

and the similarity of the name "Hel" to the English word "hell". This raised complaints from Catholic groups which found the numbering blasphemous. The number was changed in 2023.

Military importance

The Hel Peninsula was part of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and then

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 1772 to 1919, during which time it was known by its German name . After the peninsula became part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it acquired considerable military significance as part of the Polish Corridor and was turned into a fortified region, with a garrison of about 3,000. In the course of the Battle of Hel in 1939, Polish forces

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

d the peninsula at one point and turned it into an island. During the years of German occupation of Poland (1939–1945), Hel's defenses were further expanded, and a battery of three 40.6 cm SK C/34 gun was constructed, but the guns were soon moved to the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...

in occupied France. Hel peninsula remained in German hands until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when the defending forces surrendered on 14 May 1945, six days after Germany capitulated. After the war, when the peninsula again became part of Poland, it continued to have military significance, with much of its area reserved for military use. Additional gun batteries were built in the 1940s and the 1950s. Many of the fortifications and batteries are open to tourists today, but some areas of the peninsula still belong to the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

Gallery

File:HEL%2C_AB._018.JPG, Hel File:Jastarnia_Stefa%C5%84skiego-8.jpg,

File:Stacja_ku%C5%BAnica.jpg, Kuźnica File:Cha%C5%82upy_train_station.jpg, Chalupy

References

{{Authority control Spits of the Baltic Sea Peninsulas of Poland Puck County

Name

Geography

Military importance

Gallery

See also

References