Anyone traveling by boat on the Baltic Sea cannot fail to notice the German island of Hiddensee, which lies directly west of Rügen in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The legendary Norwegian King Hedin is said to have fought here for a woman – or for gold. Today, four ports on the sheltered Bodden (east) side of the island offer good and safe berths for pleasure boats.
Hiddensee is a largely unspoilt, car-free island where you can really let your soul dangle – far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, the chic and commercial. You have to like the peace and simplicity of the island, but it is precisely for this reason that many visitors come back again and again, especially pleasure boat owners.
The island’s name comes from the Old Norse and appears as Heðinsey in the Prose Edda and as Hithinsö in the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus. Hiddensee is the largest island in the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. However, this should not hide the fact that the “Hedins Island” is actually quite small and in some places also very narrow.
The island is just under 17 kilometers long in a north-south direction, about 250 meters at its narrowest point and a maximum of about 3.7 kilometers wide. The island is divided into a hilly, over 70-meter-high northern part (Dornbusch, the highest point is the Bakenberg at just under 73 m), a dune and heath landscape in the central section (Dünenheide) and a flat, only a few meters high southern part, the Gellen.
In the northeast are the two three-kilometre-long sandbars of Altbessin and Neubessin, which are constantly growing. The island is bordered by the Schaproder Bodden and Vitter Bodden in the east, the Gellenstrom (the shipping lane to Stralsund) in the south and the open Baltic Sea to the west and north.
With a total of 350 berths, four ports in three locations on the island cater for leisure craft. From north to south, these are the ports of Kloster, Langeort, Vitte (municipal harbor) and Neuendorf. Each harbor has its own unique character and invites skippers and crews to enjoy the special maritime atmosphere and explore the history of the places on foot or by renting a bike.
Kloster, the northernmost port on the island of Hiddensee
The Kloster harbor offers space for guests, fishing boats and some local boats. It is served by the Hiddensee shipping company several times a day with its ferries and water taxis. Many skippers like to moor here because it is only a few steps to gastronomic facilities such as the Hitthim directly at the harbor or the Wieseneck in the center of the village, and you are well protected here, especially in northerly or westerly winds.
In 2015, the harbor Kloster was expanded to include the water sports area Seglerhafen Kloster and currently offers space for more than 110 boats of various sizes. The harbor master team, led by Thomas Köppen and Horst Kaiser, is personally on site and can be reached by phone at 0171-53 64 229 or by email at hafenmeister-kloster@seebad-hiddensee.de.
Approaching the marina is generally unproblematic – as long as you strictly adhere to the buoys, because the water quickly becomes very shallow next to the fairway. There is a shoal on the northern edge of the fairway, west of buoy 13, and the southerly cardinal buoy KS located there must be observed. Further information on the approach and a plan of the berths can be found at seglerhafen-kloster.de.
The Baltic Sea beach is only about 600 meters away from here and invites you to take a dip in the cool water. The harbor offers toilets and showers, including disabled access, electricity and fresh water at the jetty, waste disposal, free Wi-Fi in the harbor area, a sewage disposal system, washing machine and dryer, baby changing station, gastronomic facilities at the harbor and in the surrounding area, a bakery and shopping facilities in the village, a kiosk at the harbor and a barbecue area.
In the north of the island, on the Schluckswiek in the so-called highlands of Hiddensee, stands the island’s landmark, the Hiddensee lighthouse. 102 steps lead to the tower, which has been open to visitors since 1994. Those interested in culture can visit the Gerhart Hauptmann House, the island church built in 1332 in front of the former monastery (of which nothing remains), the Lietzenburg, a listed Art Nouveau villa, which the painter Oskar Kruse had built in 1904/1905, and the local history museum with a copy of the golden Hiddensee jewelry from Viking times found on the island.
Lange Ort (Vitte): the marina
The private marina Lange Ort in Vitte, on the island of Hiddensee, is the largest on the island and offers 150 berths in up to 2.5 meters of water. There is electricity and water at the jetty, and toilets and showers are also available. Supply options and several gastronomic facilities are available nearby.
Approaching the marina is easy during the daytime. First follow the buoyed channel to Kloster, then follow the branch to Vitte, and about 600 meters before Vitte, at the V3A / S1 leading buoy, turn to starboard and enter the side channel to the marina (buoys are in place from March to October).
However, the same applies here: the water becomes very shallow very quickly next to the buoyed channel. Contact: harbor master, phone: +49 (0) 173 46 79 250, email: hafenmeister@lange-ort.de. Further information: lange-ort.de. Address: Zum Seglerhafen 29, 18565 Hiddensee Island. Facilities: Electricity, water, toilets, showers, Wi-Fi, washing machine, dryer, food (large Edeka supermarket nearby), several restaurants in the village and several fish snack bars (in the municipal harbor).
Those interested in culture visit the round Asta-Nielsen-Haus Karusel, which was built in 1923 according to plans by Max Taut for the Müller family, the Blaue Scheune, a Low German half-timbered house from the beginning of the 19th century (from the outside) or the oldest house on the island, the Hexenhaus am Süderende, built in 1755 as a fisherman’s cottage (from the outside). Theater lovers visit the puppet theater and sea stage of former Navy diver Karl Huck.
Vitte: the largest municipal harbor on Hiddensee
The harbor in Vitte is the largest of the three municipal ports and, like all Hiddensee ports, is located on the quiet side of the bay. The island’s entire supply is handled through it, and the Hiddensee shipping company’s ferries and water taxis call at the port several times a day. It offers a limited number of berths for pleasure boats.
Vitte is currently the only harbor with a gas station for diesel fuel. The harbor master, Thomas Kerber, can be reached by phone at 0170-80 91 116. Harbor facilities: toilets and showers, also handicapped accessible, electricity and fresh water at the dock, waste disposal, gastronomic facilities directly at the harbor, free W-LAN, washing machine. Approach: easy, see above under Langeort.
The rescue boat NAUSIKAA of the DGzRS, call sign DH 2356, with Vormann Carsten Berlin, also has a permanent berth in the municipal harbor of Vitte (north side). The operational area of the Vitte volunteer station on Hiddensee is located around the Baltic Sea island of Hiddensee with its shallow and narrow fairways on the Bodden side. In the east, it extends over the Wiek Bodden to Wiek on Rügen and on the sea side to Cape Arkona and in the south over the Kubitz Bodden into the Strelasund.
Neuendorf: Fishing harbor with calm berths for leisure boats, ferry service and water taxis
The southernmost harbor on the island is the Neuendorf Harbor. Here you will find (in the northern part) a fishing port, a pier for the Hiddensee shipping company’s ferry service and a mooring for water taxis (center). The water sports rest area of the tranquil harbor is located in the southern part and offers space for up to 50 pleasure craft. A cozy open space with a barbecue area has been set up for water sports enthusiasts; the sandy beach on the Baltic Sea is just a short walk away.
The harbor master on duty can be reached by phone at 0171-12 21 547 or by email at hafenmeister-neuendorf@seebad-hiddensee.de. The harbor facilities include toilets and showers (also for the disabled), electricity and fresh water at the jetty, and waste disposal.
There are gastronomic facilities in the village and a fish snack bar at the harbor, a kiosk, free Wi-Fi and a small grocery store in the village. Washing machine and dryer are also available. Approach: coming from the Schaproder Bodden, there is an unlit fairway and a leading line of lights at 286.6° that lead to the small harbor.
The pretty 12.30-meter-high Gellen Lighthouse (light height 10 m), a direction and cross light built in 1904, is located south of Neuendorf. The lighthouse has the official designation Gellen / Hiddensee beacon. The beacon marks the northern entrance to the Gellenstrom, the western fairway of the Gellenstrom and guides you through the Schaproder Bodden in the east.
If you want, you can visit the Lütt Partie Fishing Museum in Neuendorf, which was created in 2006/2007 from a brick building that had originally served as a net and tool shed and dated from 1885.
More information about the island of Hiddensee: seebad-hiddensee.de
Contact person SeaHelp Baltic Sea: Nenad Kapuc, Blankwasserweg 125, 23743 Grömitz. Mail: ostsee@sea-help.eu, Tel. +49-172-5278179. Services provided by SeaHelp.
