Area
Scharbeutz/Gleschendorf is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein in Schleswig-Holstein.
Gleschendorf
Gleschendorf is part of Scharbeutz municipality and only a few kilometres away from the Baltic Sea beach. The village is located in an absolute quiet and peaceful setting. In the old cobble church, more than 850 years old, concerts take place on a regular basis.
Scharbeutz provides for multiple recreational activities. Guided bike tours and walks through the ‘Kammer‘ forest are just two examples. In the ‘Kammer‘ forest visitors can test their agility at the high rope course.
Those interested in history may learn about the long fishing tradition of the area, the Lübecker Bucht, on the fishery information trail. A walk or a run in the beach forest as well as a visit to the beach theatre in Gleschendorf make for a great and relaxing experience.
Your place for a relaxed holiday at the Baltic Sea.
Location
Scharbeutz is situated in the bay of Lübeck (Lübecker Bucht) at Schleswig-Holstein’s Baltic Sea coast. Its landscape is part of the eastern hills formed by glaciers.
Neighbouring municipalities
– Süsel to the north
– Sierksdorf to the northeast
– Timmendorfer Strand to the southeast
– Ratekau to the south
– Stockelsdorf to the southwest
– Ahrensbök to the west
Municipality
The large municipality of Scharbeutz consists of ten villages: the two main villages of Scharbeutz and Pönitz, the church village of Gleschendorf as well as the villages of Haffkrug, Gronenberg, Klingberg, Sarkwitz, Schulendorf, Schürsdorf and Wulfsdorf.
History
Slavic forerunners to the current municipality have existed for more than 1000 years. The name Scharbeutz originates in the Slavic village of Scorbuze or Schoreboce. It means something like the ‘farm or homestead of Skorobyc’; the name contains skorz (Slavic for quick) and bytz (Slavic for being, existing).
Frisians, Saxons, Westphalians and Holsteins settled the area under count Adolf II of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1150. Early documents mention Pönitz 1221 as Penze, Scharbeutz 1271 as Scarbuce and Gleschendorf 1259 as Golesko.
In the 15th century this area was governed by the Ahrensbök chartreuse; in the 17th century it was dominated by the Danes. Public domains such as the Gronenberger Hof (established 1408 following the Snykrode / Snikrode castle) were founded at that time.
The coastal area was developed as late as the 19th century. In 1850 less than 200 people lived in Scharbeutz; Haffkrug had about 200 and Gleschendorf about 300 inhabitants.
Coastal tourism first started in Haffkrug from 1812, in Scharbeutz from 1837. However, the first bath, the Elisabeth bath in Haffkrug only opened in 1840; the Augustus bath in Scharbeutz was completed in 1850 by the Hamburg merchant Charles Kelley.
(The regional history museum of the local club devoted to the maintenance of regional traditions and characteristics in Pönitz shows the history of the municipality in an accessible and extensive exhibition.)
Until the Greater-Hamburg-Act in 1937/38 the current municipality belonged to the land of Oldenburg. The Cap Arcona and the ‘Deutschland IV’ were sunk off the coast of Scharbeutz in British air raids on 3 May 1945. 7,000 Menschen died, most of them prisoners of the KZ Neuengamme (concentration camp). (The museum in Pönitz has various exhibits and photographs of this event as well.)
After World War II Haffkrug was occupied by Poland, Scharbeutz by Britain. The population doubled due to the many refugees from the Eastern territories. Tourists stayed away; tourism was only revived in the 1950s. Today’s large municipality was founded through the amalgamation of the single municipalities of Haffkrug-Scharbeutz and Gleschendorf in the administrative reform of 1974.
Nature
– 6.5 km fine sandy beach in Haffkrug and Scharbeutz
– Spa area Pönitz Lakes*
– Gateway to Holstein Switzerland and the Scharbeutz Heath
– a diverse, hilly mixed woodland with some very old trees and a large, fenced dog exercise area
– Big Pönitz Lake
– Small Pönitzer Lake
– Wenn Lake
– Taschen Lake with Danish Channel near Gronenberg
– various barrows and early as well as pre-historic sites
Recreational facilities
– Baltic Sea Spa leaving Scharbeutz towards Timmendorf Beach
– Beach Club Filmtheater
– Water ski by the pier in Scharbeutz Dünen
– Minigolf in Haffkrug (spa park)
Sports
– Equestrian club Friedrichshof
– Surf schools during summer season in Haffkrug and Scharbeutz
– Sailing school ‚Sailing-Point‘
– Sports fields and halls in various locations
– Dive sports center Scharbeutz
– Sports clubs (incl. Baltic Sea Sports Club, Pönitz Club and the YCSO Yacht Club Scharbeutz Ostsee)
– Karate Dojo Yoshino Club
– Gymnastics clubs
– TTS (Tennis Scharbeutz)
– Water ski/Wakeboard facility *Blue Monkey Beachclub*
Historic buildings
– Old water mill in Schulendorf
– Estate Garkau in Klingberg by Bauhaus architect Hugo Häring (established 1922 to 1926)
– The high curved roof of the previous wave pool forms the distinctive ‘center’ of Scharbeutz. It is situated next to the beach promenade.
Economy and Infrastructure
Scharbeutz is a popular sea bath; since 1970 it has been an officially recognised spa bath. In 2002 the village was one of the ten most important places for tourism in Schleswig-Holstein. 45,314 visitors, of whom 1,366 (2,92 %) came from abroad, made bookings for 292,468 nights. The village provided 3,940 visitor beds. The 26 hectare Gleschendorf business park is located on the B 432/K 45 highway, Fierthstraße, accomodating about 20 companies, including a large Aldi GmbH & Co.KG storage facility and a cool store of the Bartels-Langness Handels GmbH.
Transport
Scharbeutz is serviced by the train route Lübeck to Puttgarden at Scharbeutz and Haffkrug stations as well as by the Kiel to Lübeck route at Pönitz station. Scharbeutz station has been modernised between 2003 and 2007. In 2007 a new transfer area has been added at the northern end of the platform.
Scharbeutz is located next to the A 1 motorway (autobahn). Federal highway 432 ends in Scharbeutz and connects the municipality with Bad Segeberg and Hamburg. Highway B 76 (Lübeck to Kiel) provides access to the sea spas in the bay of Lübeck (Lübecker Bucht) and Holstein Switzerland. The beach boulevard south of Haffkrug is currently being upgraded. The dune is concreted so in the near future those low lying areas of the village (previously the Haffkruger lagoon) will be better protected from flooding.
Personalities
Wolfgang de Boor (born 23 February 1917 in Schürsdorf), German psychiatrist, Professor for forensic psychiatry and criminology.
Willi Lemke (born 19 August 1946 in Pönitz), German politician (Labour) and sports official.
Famous visitors
His lordship Paul Friedrich August of Oldenburg visited Scharbeutz with his court of 30 persons and queen Amalie Maria of Greece in 1852. He returned a number of times. Albert Einstein visited Scharbeutz in the summers of 1927 to 1929 for several weeks each time.
Excerpts from Wikipedia, link http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scharbeutz
All information without engagement and subject to change.
Would you like to spend the day at the beach?
Drive to Scharbeutz in about 6 minutes and stroll along the new dune promenade with its friendly cafes and restaurants (incl. Gosch), beach bars, boutiques and so much more. Get active and play dune or park golf.