Peenemünde

For the Nazi Germany facilities for the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2, see Peenemünde Airfield and Peenemünde Army Research Center.

Peenemünde
Historical Technical Museum Peenemünde
Peenemünde
Location of Peenemünde within Vorpommern-Greifswald district
Coordinates	54°08′0″N 13°46′0″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Vorpommern-Greifswald
Municipal assoc.	Usedom-Nord
Mayor	Rainer Barthelmes
Basic statistics
Area	24.97 km2 (9.64 sq mi)
Elevation	3.0 m  (10 ft)
Population	317 (31 December 2011)
- Density	13 /km2 (33 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	OVP
Postal code	17449
Area code	038371
Website	(German) AMT USEDOM-NORD

Seaport of Peenemünde

Peenemünde railway station for service to Zinnowitz

V-2 rocket

Peenemünde (German pronunciation: [peːnəˈmʏndə], English: mouth of the Peene [River]) is a village with a seaport on the westmost extremity of a long sand-spit in the northwestern part of Usedom (an island) on the Baltic Sea coast of Germany. Air service for the village is available at the nearby airport.

History

In World War II, the area was highly involved in the production of the V2 rocket, until the production's relocation to Nordhausen. The village's docks were used for the ships which recovered V-2 wreckage from launches over the Baltic Sea. National Socialist scientists (such as Wernher von Braun) who worked at the V2 facility were known as, "Peenemünders". The entire island was captured by the Allies on May 5, 1945. The gas plant for the production of liquid oxygen still lies in ruins at the entrance to Peenemünde.

The post-war port was a Soviet naval base until turned over to the armed forces of East Germany in 1952. The seaport facilities were used at first by the East German Seepolizei (sea police) after new facilities for police motorboats had been built. On December 1, 1956, the headquarters of the First Fleet of the East German Volksmarine (navy) was established at Peenemünde.

The Peenemünde Historical and Technical Information Center, a World War II museum on the European Route of Industrial Heritage, opened in 1992 in the shelter control room and the area of the World War II power station (now part of the village) -- exhibits include a V-1 and a V-2.