Binz and Prora - now and then

Binz and Prora - now and then. Let us go back in time and check what the Colossus of Prora is. Also, let us present one more ideal place for water sports like surfing. Maybe this island can be your next vacation adventure.

As an author and owner of this magazine, I have decided to write a reportage about a known place which probably is not that known for people far away from it. Let us see what this is about.

The inspiration came from a TV program on Discovery or some other similar channel. It was about a period of time just before the World War II. In the northern Germany the Colossus of Prora was built between 1936 and 1939. The idea was to create a place for German people, where they could rest and recharge their batteries during nice summer days. Just like in an All Inclusive resort. That was a part of the Kraft durch Freude (Kdf) project. In English it is Strength through Joy.

Kraft durch Freude or Strength Through Joy actually explains its own meaning. You rest and enjoy your holiday properly and at the same time you get new energy and strength for coming period of time.

The trip

We arrived with a ferry from Denmark to Rostock in the northern Germany. Then, the trip to Binz took around 2 hours from the harbor in Rostock and our 2 days long vacation started. From the first moment we started to enjoy this new place. The temperature outside was around 26 C and it felt prefect comparing to the temperature in Scandinavia. Both Binz and Prora are on the German island called Rügen, just below Sassnitz, the another one harbor town in this part of Germany.

With a nice and very long beach, this little town offered a great feeling of being on vacation. The Baltic sea in this fantastic Bay of Binz is clean but maybe little bit cold in June. Probably the water temperature can be higher in the end of July and August. If you look at e.g. Google Maps, you can see that the sand beach is some kilometers long and it almost connects Sassnitz in the north with Binz and Prora. The sand is white and seems to perfectly clean. When the wind blows, the sand corns fly with it and that can be little bit irritating.

The long beach promenade (Strandpromenade) is decorated with some nice sculptures but it also gives us a fantastic view on the open Baltic sea. A specific one, that attracted our attention is the one that shows three children playing music.

The second one that attracted our attention is a Viking ship. It fits pretty well to this area because it belongs to the history of the Baltic sea.

Prora - now and then

Binz and Prora are connected with this long beach promenade and bus traffic. Of course you can drive the car and ride a bike between these two places. We took the bus number 22 from Prora Neue Mitte to Binz Ortsmitte and we found the information at VVR-Busfahrpläne website. Regardless how you come Prora, you can see some new and renovated buildings. Today, they are white like most of the houses in Binz.

We found also some old buildings and ruins from the past. What can all those old windows tell us?

It has gone around 85 years after the first guests were supposed to start visiting Prora and enjoying their vacation. Unfortunately it never happened because of the outbreak of the World War II. Instead, the big Colossus of Prora was used for refugees who left Hamburg when it was bombed.

Almost one whole day we walked in the area where the buildings are. It gave some mixed feelings. Who was in there? How would it be there, if it was a successful All Inclusive resort? Only by trying to imagine all those happy people with a smile on their faces gave us a feeling how it could look like. We found a place where a part of the old building is connected with the new one.

How can it be to live there in the new part knowing that there is an old apartment on the other side of the wall? Just imagine what you can see in that left apartment between 1936 and 1939 and what you can see in the right one today, in the modern time. That is a pretty interesting point of view. Scenes from some black and white movie and scenes from today.

The KdF - project had a perfect chance to be realized in that beautiful area of Binz and Prora on Rügen.

However, Binz is already an attractive resort for tourists, but Prora is still being developed. It will probably take some time but after all, we think that this place has perfect opportunities to make people happy while enjoying their vacations. We believe that Prora is an ideal place for water sports like surfing.

People in Germany, but also other tourists, can enjoy surfing in the nice and clear sea in this beautiful bay, Prorer Wiek. Regardless if you are young or old, you can get in touch with surfing.

As the owner of this magazine, I must admit that this trip to Binz and Prora has meant much to me. This nice place on Rügen in Germany has a very interesting history. This visit was also very emotional. Here below you can see some more images and try to imagine their look then and compare them to the present look.

Standing outside of the building trying to imagine how it was 85 years ago. Who was there? How would it look like if it actually became an All Inclusive resort as it was planned?

On the bottom floor we could find some graffitis and try to understand the feelings which caused all those paintings and texts.

Prora was planned to be one of the perfect places in the world and now we can see those ruins only. However, as we wrote earlier in this article, some new and renovated objects are now filling the emptiness of this great place.

Some last words

Besides the history about KdF Prora ruins, there is an opportunity to visit an Oldtimer Museum. Unfortunately, we were not there in right time, so it was closed but a nice old airplane was exposed outside.

Hopefully, this article will open the door for your next trip and let you explore some new places. Actually, a vacation does not have to be some place where you only enjoy the sun and bath. It can be very powerful to see something new and different. We are trying to be one step ahead of others and create new inspiration for you as our reader. And do not forget that Kraft durch Freude (Kdf), Strength through Joy in English, has affected us. We have got a new and positive energy for coming days in our lives.