Make friends with Rostock, one of Germany's most beautiful Hanseatic cities - where the Baltic Sea laps the shores of Mecklenburg / Western Pomerania and the air tastes slightly salty, where old-fashioned sailboats provoke nostalgic longings, and where brick gables reach into the sky.

Eight hundred years of history have shaped this "Gateway to the North". Rostock has preserved much of the charm that it once possessed as the most important member of the "Hanseatic League". The gabled houses dominating the skyline attest to this, as well as the imposing brick warehouses, massive gates and fortifications, and awe-inspiring churches. They all bear eloquent witness to the wealth of the city's medieval merchants. Rostock has kept its importance as a trade center to this day, as well as its status as a college town. Its university, founded in 1419, is the oldest in Northern Europe.


Important examples of medieval and renaissance architecture about in Rostock's Old Town. There's the 1490 Hausbaumhaus, one of the few wooden structures remaining in the city. The St. Marien Church, from the same period, continues to cast a dramatic shadow, although the 355-foot steeple of the St. Petri Church tops the skyline (climb the 196 steps or take the half-minute elevator ride). Adjacent to the Marienkirche stands the 13th-century Rathaus, with its 18th-century baroque makeover. Traditional gabled patrician houses line Wokrenterstrasse.

 
Warnemuende has been part of Rostock since 1323. Water is the best route to Warnemuende, a town so tied to the sea. The boat follows the Warnow to its wide mouth at the Baltic. It takes barely three minutes to walk from the boat landing to the town center, crossing the Alter Strom - the old channel where fishing boats lie tied to cleats as their crews sell from tables heaped with fish.

 
Crossing the footbridge over the Alter Strom, visitors are rewarded with a walk through narrow alleys lined with centuries-old gabled fishermen's houses. For some visitors, the beach - as wide as a football field is long - is the prime attraction. Many visitors also come to Warnemuende resorts for their spa offerings. Guests interested in historic dining locations also have several options.

 

Our recommendations:
Go on the city tour devoted to the "History of the Hanseatic League". And after enjoying so much culture, sample Mecklenburg roast ribs with Rostock caraway seed schnapps.

 

Tourist Information
Phone: +49 (0) 381/ 381-194 33 or 22 22
E-Mail: touristinfo[at]rostock.de
www.rostock.de