2022 June Binz for wanderers - Part 1 - Binz to Prora

At the end, we had blisters on our feet, but hiking is still the best way to discover the surroundings. After all, you have enough time to explore everything on both sides of the path.

So during our (few) days in Binz, we saw quite a lot. The most common and well-known route from here is to walk along the beach promenade to Prora. It's about 5 km on a very well-developed cobblestone path. If you like, you can also walk the same way back or instead walk on the magnificent wide sandy beach with your feet in the water.

And because this corner of Rügen is so wonderful, that's why one of several 'Strength through Joy (KdF)' major buildings should be built here.

If KdF doesn't mean anything to you, it was an authority of Nazi Germany that, among other things, organized domestic and foreign trips. It was ideologically oriented.

So the project that was planned here was intended to serve both the recuperation of the working class and shape them as well. Huge holiday complexes were planned, but also a 40-hectare (!) parade ground. Each room was to have a loudspeaker. Otherwise, the furnishings would have been quite basic. Two beds and a washbasin were provided per twin room. The guests would have shared the shower and toilet. A total of 20,000 people could have vacationed here at the same time.

The construction work started in 1936 but was suspended at the beginning of the war in 1939. Polish people living in captivity were then used for the maintenance of the shell. But it was never completed.

After the end of the war, it was used first by the Red Army and later by the National People's Army of the GDR. But that didn't mean that the soldiers could swim here. Mostly construction soldiers were stationed here, i.e. men who had refused military service. That was not easy in the GDR. These soldiers were usually even more harassed. However, those who had asserted themselves had to take over construction work. For Prora, this meant completing the object. It was only at this point that the rooms received windows and the brown plaster that can still be seen on the last unsanitized buildings today.

After reunification, the buildings were extensively renovated bit by bit and now shine in a clear white. Despite the fact that the blocks are now virtually new, they still appear rather cool and uncomfortable. But this is also due to the sheer size of the mighty buildings. The properties sold very well and are now vacation apartments, senior residences, or hotels.

However, there are still some parts that have not been renovated, so you have the opportunity to see these ruins or blocks. But very dilapidated objects are fenced off.

The entire area with the buildings is supposed to have a length of 4.6 km. I don't know if we were really at the end. But we had the impression because suddenly there were only walls and restricted beaches.

In any case, a visit is worthwhile, and if you can continue after exploring the former KdF buildings, we recommend visiting the Nature Heritage Center Rügen, which is about 2 km away... (continued below)