Hel Peninsula
Geographical location
The Hel Peninsula (Polish: Półwysep heliskiing, Mierzeja Helska, Kashubian: Hélskô Sztremlëzna, German Hela peninsula or Puck Spit ) is a 34 km long spit of land in Poland, which partially separates the Gdańsk Bay of the Baltic Sea. It is located about 20 kilometers north of Gdansk. Which belongs to Kaschubien peninsula is 200 meters to three kilometers wide and grew out of a chain of small islands that were to the 18th century here. Gradually, joined by the flow in the gaps between the islands with dunes. Thus, the Hel Peninsula is a Spit, as is typical for a compensation coast of this part of the Baltic Sea. In contrast to the fresh and the Curonian Spit, however, was the underlying Gdańsk Bay too large that they would like a lagoon almost completely from the Baltic Sea can be separated.
Places
Places on the Hel Peninsula are:
- Hel ( German Hela )
- Jurata
- Jastarnia ( Heisternest )
- Kuźnica ( Kiss field)
- Chałupy ( Ceynowa )
History
The peninsula formed for centuries a natural strategic protection of Danzig northwest. The Hel Peninsula belonged since the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466 to Poland and fell with the first partition of Poland in 1772 to the Kingdom of Prussia, to which it belonged until 1919 as part of the province of West Prussia to 1808 and from 1814. In the period 1808-1814 the complete area of the peninsula was Hel territory of the Napoleonic Republic Danzig.
In 1836 it came on Hela one of the last incidents because of the witch craze: A suspected witch was subjected to by the fishermen of the peninsula the water sample and because they did not fall, drowned by force.
After the First World War, the peninsula came as part of the Polish Corridor to the again newly independent Poland, to which it belongs since then, interrupted by the time of the German occupation of Poland from 1939 to 1945. At the siege of the Hel Peninsula ( 9 September-2 October 1939) around 50 machines lost the attacking German Luftwaffe.
At the end of the Second World War, the Peninsula from March 1945 was the last refuge of the German military and civilian refugees, since the elongate, but only one to two kilometers wide peninsula was militarily easy to defend, and the two ports of Fisheries and Kriegsmarine in place Hela last chance were for the evacuation of military units, civilian refugees and wounded by sea. Therefore already fled in March more than 100,000 German civilians by Hela, in April were added further 265,000. Refugees and soldiers camped unimaginably crowded together in the woods and dunes Helas. Ongoing Soviet air attacks called here numerous deaths and also make it difficult Ship transport to the utmost. Nevertheless, 387,000 people of Hela were alone in the month of April to be evacuated, the last ship transports left the peninsula shortly before entry into force of unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945. During the ceasefire entrance there are approximately 60,000 refugees and soldiers were on Hela.
At the time of the People's Republic of Poland were part of the peninsula military zone and could not be entered. After the abolition of the exclusion zone here, tourism has evolved stormy. On 9 July 2011, a Polish-German summit took place on Hel.
Tourism
The peninsula is accessible by the railway line Reda - Hel, which all places of the peninsula with the Tri-City Gdynia / Sopot / Gdansk ( Gdynia / Sopot / Gdansk ) and joins in the holiday season with other Polish cities.
The peninsula is accessible from Gdansk with passenger ships. Seasonal run three ferries a day; Driving time is approximately two hours. Bicycles can be taken. The entire length of the peninsula is accessible by a bike path. Popular is the peninsula with divers and kitesurfers.
The peninsula has two beaches, each with its own character and microclimate. The wide beach is in the north, the narrower, but often warmer toward the Puck Bay.