Zinnowitz is a semi-urban
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...
(resort)
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...
on the northern
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
island of
Usedom
Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea.
It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...
on the
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 ...
. The municipality has rail connections to
Wolgast
Wolgast () is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast that can be accessed ...
and
Ahlbeck.
Climate
Zinnowitz has an oceanic climate that is moderated by the Baltic Sea. Extreme temperatures are rare. The municipality has repeatedly scored the highest amount of sunshine in Germany.
History
The settlement of Zinnowitz is first mentioned under the
Slavic name Tzys in 1309 in a deed of donation by
Bogislaw IV, duke of
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
, to the Crumminer monastery. When the monastery was dissolved in 1563, Tzys reverted to Pomerania. At the end of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, in 1648, the island of Usedom on which Zinnowitz is situated fell to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, which changed the municipality's name to Zitz.
In the middle of the 18th century, Zitz became 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, ...
. In 1751 the municipality was renamed Zinnowitz. When the Prussian state fell into financial need because of the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, it sold Zinnowitz to a businessman, the merchant F. W. Krause of nearby
Swinemünde, who in turn sold it in 32 parcels it to a group of colonists. In June 1851 Zinnowitz was designated an official
spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...
.
Josef Alois Kessler, the last
Volga German
The Volga Germans (, ; ) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and close to Ukraine nearer to the south.
Recruited as immigrants to Russia in th ...
Bishop, retired and died here.
In
GDR
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
times, Zinnowitz was the most important bathing resort for
Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund tourism.
Zinnowitz is one of a couple of possible sites for the mythological sunken medieval city of
Vineta
Vineta (sometimes ''Wineta'') is the name of a legendary city at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. The legend evolved around traditions about the Medieval emporium called Jumne, Jomsborg, Julin or similar names by the chronicles, and with wh ...
. The legend is played out during the summer on the resort's open-air stage.
In the forest between Zinnowitz and Zempin, some remnants of the launching pads for testing
V1 missiles can still be found. They were used between 1943 and 1945 as part of the nearby
Peenemünde
Peenemünde (, ) is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is part of the ''Amt (country subdivision), Amt'' (collective municipality) of Used ...
rocket testing facilities.
Documentation on rocket launching pads
/ref>
See also
* Vineta Festival
References
External links
The Beach Resort Zinnowitz(in German)
Spa towns in Germany
Seaside resorts in Germany
Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea)
Vorpommern-Greifswald
{{VorpommernGreifswald-geo-stub