Schleimünde

Description

NV Cruising Guide

Navigation

Entry is possible by day and night, but can be made difficult by strong currents depending on the weather conditions. This is sometimes so strong that it is not possible to cross through the narrows of Schleimünde.
In strong easterly winds, strong swell must be expected in the "Schleimünder Seegat", especially when the current is running out (wind against current), which may prevent you from leaving or entering.
Maximum speed to Kappeln 5.4 knots

Berths

In the eastern part of the boat harbor with stern piles. Keep long stern lines ready and use only one stern pile so that boats can moor one behind the other if necessary. The southern jetty must remain free for official vehicles. Due to heavy shipping traffic (passenger ships) or strong easterly winds, mooring in the harbor can be very rough at times.

Surroundings

North of the harbor is a large bird sanctuary, which may not be entered; this means that access to the harbor is only possible from the water. No garbage can be disposed of in Schleimünde, but there are sanitary facilities and a pub, the so-called "Giftbude".

NV Land Guide

The current entrance to the Schlei was only created in 1842 by the people of Schleswig, Arniss, Kappeln and Maasholm by artificially cutting through the Olpenitz estuary. It replaced the silted-up old estuary a few kilometers to the north. Harbour master and tug pilot Günter Detlefsen witnessed how the "old hole" completely silted up: "In 1948, I was still paddling through the old Viking passage with my wife," he recalled. A short time later, the shallow entrance was no longer passable and Schleimünde was no longer an island.

By 1650, passing through the Schleimündung had already become a game of chance with water levels of 0.5 to 1 meter. The silting increased around 1420 following battles between the Holsteiners and Danes, after the Counts of Holstein had piles driven into the estuary to block supplies for the Danes in Schleswig. Although the Danes managed to break through, they left many obstacles in the estuary to the detriment of the inhabitants of the Schleige region. Herring fences in the estuary further encouraged silting. Merchant ships increasingly avoided the entrance, and soon the saying circulated: "Schleswig has now run out of water because the throat has been tied up". For a long time, however, Schleswig had no money to create the new passage that was urgently needed for economic reasons.

If you go back even further in history (see also Schlei/2 Maasholm), there was another Schleim estuary to the north of today's Oehe estate. The two estuaries of the Schlei's glacial valley, which no longer exist today, had already formed in the waning Ice Age. The passage at Oehe Manor also silted up and was later finally closed with a dyke.

The settlements of Mynnaesbu and Slaesmynnae were located on both sides of the old Viking entrance in the 11th and 12th centuries. Mynnaesbu was located to the north and Slaesmynnae to the south of the estuary. Both settlements were probably Viking guard villages that fell into disrepair after the fall of Haithabu (see Haddeby). The livelihood of these villages was based on the customs duties levied on merchant ships. The Schlei was also a trade route for many goods that were transported to the North Sea. The goods were often unloaded in Schleswig, transported overland and then shipped to the North Sea via the Treene and Eider rivers. In this way, the often dangerous sea route around Skagen was avoided.

The "Gammelborg", a small Viking fortress, stood in the south of the old Schleim estuary near Slaesmynnae. The Maasholm chronicler Horst Franzen confirms that it must have been a kind of fortified church. In the municipal chronicle, he quotes the pilot Lischke, who wrote: "In 1802, at low water, I discovered a churchyard east of Gammelborg, where I found Serge without a däckel and the bones of an unusual size ...."

Despite the silted-up Viking passage, today's Schleimünde has retained its island character, as it may only be entered over land via the bird sanctuary when accompanied by the bird warden. With the exception of Mondays, guided tours of the area take place every day at 10 a.m. during the season.

The Schleimünde pilot island probably passed its toughest endurance test during the great storm surge of 1872, when the water level rose by 3.34 meters. The tide caught the lighthouse keeper by surprise, who was unable to reach the pilot house after lighting the beacon and had to wait out the storm in the lighthouse. The people in the pilot house saved themselves in the attic. The Maasholm community chronicle says: "Surrounded by the storm-whipped sea, which tore away piece by piece from the walls of the lower house and washed away livestock, movables and all other household goods, the unfortunate people spent fearful hours from eight o'clock in the morning until one o'clock at night. Miraculously, one of the pilot's horses escaped death. First swimming around the house in the middle of the surging sea, it had finally got stuck in the branches of a lilac tree and from there had finally drifted onto the roof of a hay shed, where it had to be brought down afterwards."

Only a year before the worst known Baltic Sea flood, the lighthouse beacon was lit for the first time on November 16, 1871. The landmark of Pilot Island has been repainted many times since then: The original yellow façade was temporarily dark gray from 1890, then yellow again. From 1920, it was initially painted red/white  and later black/white. Finally, it was clad with a black and white banded curtain wall, which was replaced in 2015 by the now green and white banded version with a green lamp house at the top.

The technical interior of the tower, which is now remote-controlled from Travemünde, has also changed a lot over the years.

The Schleimünde marina doesn't have much more to offer pleasure boaters than the lighthouse, the pilot house and the poison shack. But it is precisely this simple and original ambience that makes it so attractive. The Lotseninsel is also a place for learning through discovery and offers numerous opportunities to gain primary experience. The modernized pilot house is available all year round with seminar rooms and accommodation for 20 people. Nature enthusiasts will also get their money's worth when looking through binoculars at the nearby bird sanctuary, which is managed by the Jordsand association.

The Förderverein Naturnaher Wasserwanderplatz Schleimünde e.V. is the owner of the harbour and the adjacent paddling meadow and runs the facility with a lot of voluntary work and support from its members. The remaining land area with the pilot house and poison shack belongs to the Lighthouse Foundation.

Marina Information

Contact

Surroundings

Electricity

Toilet

Shower