Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [652]
Trains to/from Neubrandenburg (€6.90, 30 minutes) continue to Stralsund (€21, two hours).
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COASTAL MECKLENBURG
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ROSTOCK
0381 / pop 200,413
Rostock, the largest city in northeastern Germany, does have a small but very attractive historic core – redbrick and pastel-coloured buildings harking back to the 14th- and 15th-century Hanseatic era – but you generally have to wade past a landscape of concrete and industrial eyesores to reach it. As a major port and shipbuilding centre, the city was devastated in WWII and later pummelled by socialist architectural ‘ideals’. It’s extremely clean and safe, though, and has several other winning cards up its sleeve.
Its trump card is the former fishing village of Warnemünde, with its vibrant harbour and one of Germany’s most stunning and accessible beaches, which is now proudly claimed by Rostock as its own seaside suburb. And the city’s venerable university, which helps biotech replace its shipyards, ensures some of the best nightlife for miles around. Rostock is also a good base for day trips further afield, such as Güstrow, and Bad Doberan and nearby coastal resorts.
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Orientation
Rostock is on the last stretch of the Warnow River before it flows into the Baltic Sea. The egg-shaped Altstadt sits below an east–west bend in the river. West of the Altstadt lies the student and nightlife district Kröpeliner Torvorstadt, commonly known as KTV. The city’s harbour is north along the top of the Altstadt and KTV. From this point, both the river and the city head north to seaside Warnemünde, around 13km northwest, on Mecklenburger Bucht (Mecklenburg Bay). Most of Rostock is on the western riverbank, including Warnemünde, although the ferry port is on the east side of the Warnow, and some of Warnemünde’s accommodation lies across the river mouth at Hohe Düne.
The Hauptbahnhof is about 1.5km south of the Altstadt. Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse runs north from the station to Steintor, in the old town’s southeast corner. The airport is some 30km south of town.
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Information
Tourist offices sell the Rostock Card (€10), which is good for 48 hours of public transport and offers discounts to some attractions.
Ärztehaus ( 456 1622; Paulstrasse 48) Medical services.
Main post office (Neuer Markt 3-8)
Tourist-Information Rostock ( 381 2222; www.rostock.de; Neuer Markt 3; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Jun-Aug, 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun May & Sep, 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat Oct-Apr)
Tourist office Warnemünde ( 548 000; www.warnemuende.de; Am Strom 59, cnr Kirchstrasse; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat Nov-Feb)
Treffpunkt Café ( 643 8066; Am Vögenteich 23; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm Sat) Twenty minutes’ free internet access with any order.
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Sights
It takes just a couple of hours or so to see the city sights, after which it’s worth making a beeline for Warnemünde. The way to the sea is lined with Plattenbauten, stunningly ugly concrete apartment blocks that were built to house GDR workers, but the beach and harbour are, fortunately, very different.
MARIENKIRCHE
Central Rostock’s pride and joy is the 13th-century Marienkirche ( 453 325; Am Ziegenmarkt; admission by donation; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 11.15am-5pm Sun May-Sep, 10am-noon & 2-4pm Mon-Sat, 11.15am-noon Sun Oct-Apr), the only main Rostock church to survive WWII unscathed. Behind the main altar, the church’s 12m-high astrological clock, built in 1472 by Hans Düringer, is the only working clock of its kind in the world still with its original mechanisms. At the very top of the clock is a series of doors. At noon and midnight the innermost right door opens and six of the 12 apostles march out to parade around