Home port: Memories of Olpenitz

Stele opened in memory of another time

The German Navy once again has a place in Kappeln - Olpenitz between the Baltic Sea and the Schlei. In the middle of the harbour, on the large square near a food market on the harbour promenade. A 2 metre high stele now stands there, a reminder of the times of the Olpenitz naval base. The stele has the stylised shape of a ship's bow and symbolically bears the silhouettes of minesweepers and speedboats that were stationed here. A metal inscription tells tourists and mostly unsuspecting visitors what kind of historical site they are standing at. The QR code will take you via smartphone to a page on marineforum.online. There you can read, see and understand the significance of this base. The associations, units and key data are listed. There are also links to the German Navy, the Schnellbootfahrer circle of friends and stories about the harbour.

Abeking & Rasmussen visualised the memory

The Chairman of the Naval Officers' Association welcomed those present from business and politics, in particular the Mayor of Kappeln, Joachim Stoll, and Captain (retired) Stefan Nievelstein, representative of the Abeking and Rasmussen shipyard, who had produced the stele in their training workshop. He emphasised the importance of the site in the history of the German Navy. The base, which was in operation from 1964 to 2006, is now used as part of a holiday resort, highlighting the history and transformation of the site. The Chairman of the Naval Officers' Association emphasised the pleasure and honour of completing the project and commemorating naval history. He recalled the security situation since the Cold War and the need to strengthen the navy. The naval base had strategic importance during the Cold War and played a central role in the defence of the Baltic Sea. With the closure of the base, Kappeln has developed into a tourist centre, which illustrates the structural change in the town. He concluded with a reminder to preserve history and learn from the past in order to shape a peaceful and democratic future. He said: "My thanks go to the "Abeking and Rasmussen" training workshop. My heartfelt thanks go to Mr Koch for his enthusiasm for this steel memorial and for agreeing to erect it on the grounds of the holiday and Baltic Sea resort here in Olpenitz."

How Kappeln is mastering structural change

Mayor Stoll recalled the history of the origins of the naval base, how a swamp and wasteland at the mouth of the Schlei became a naval base. Together with the naval weapons school in Ellenberg, which was commissioned in 1968, Kappeln underwent a structural transformation from a small town characterised by agriculture, the harbour and fishing into a town that was also shaped by the navy and its soldiers and families. The Ellenberg district was created with a day care centre, primary school, indoor swimming pool, local amenities and a church. A neighbourhood for the naval family Kappeln prospered and developed its population from 6000 to 11000 people. He literally refers to this as the "golden years". The closure of the base in 2006 marked the beginning of a new structural change towards Kappeln as a tourist destination. The base was initially intended to become Port Olpenitz and, after its insolvency, the Ostsee Resort. Literally. "Since February 2022, the wheel of history has turned again. We are at war again in Europe. Since January, the Bundeswehr and NATO have had to regain the necessary strength for defence and war and thus for deterrence. That is precisely why it is so important and right to make the history of the Olpenitz naval base visible and tangible. Let us tell you about the changes, about places and how they were and why they were and about the people. And let us learn from this for the present and for shaping a free and democratic future."

Today, a base would no longer be given away

Captain Joachim Brune, representing the naval command, conveyed greetings from the commander of the fleet, Vice Admiral Frank Lenski. The BALTOPS manoeuvre taking place at the same time did not permit his presence. What a parallel: while a presence is being shown in the Baltic Sea against the Russian threat from NATO, this ceremony is a reminder of a past that we thought had been overcome.

Joachim Brune also recalled the history of the base, which was strategically important during the Cold War and was home to several squadrons. He recalled the changes in the Bundeswehr since the closure of the base in 2006 and emphasised the importance of rebuilding the navy and having an operational fleet to deter future threats, especially in the current geopolitical situation. In personal words, he added that he felt a reminder was long overdue. He was once a conscript here and has made the region his home. Literally: "It was melancholy because you didn't see much change. Today we look at the buildings and we see vibrancy. Here is something that could be built on the foundations of the navy and now brings joy. This base had the fastest access to our operational area. Olpenitz had strategic value with regard to the main adversary at that time, which is also the main adversary today. Today, we would certainly not give up such a base."

Text: Schlüter

Home port Olpenitz

A look into another world for tourists.

The stele in the shell of the shipyard hall

Those in the know and alumni have the opportunity to add to this page via the Naval Officers' Association (MOV) and enrich it with their expertise and memories. Photos and stories are still missing. And now you can also see where the idea came from: this extraordinary ceremony originated with the MOV's association board. It was realised by the Abeking & Rasmussen (A&R) shipyard in Lemwerder. The work of art, which weighs around 700 kilos, was built by the shipyard's training workshop. The shipyard designed all the minesweepers that were stationed in Olpenitz and manufactured the majority of them. This is why the stele is made of the same non-magnetic steel as the German Navy minesweepers still in service today. The speedboats formerly stationed in Olpenitz, which can be recognised on the stele, were built by the Lürssen shipyard in Bremen Vegesack.

The production of the silhouettes in the A & R training workshop

The stele was officially opened on Saturday. In the presence of the Chairman of the Naval Officers' Association, retired Rear Admiral Thorsten Kähler and the representative of the naval command from Rostock, Captain Joachim Brune, the stele was ceremoniously handed over.

The representative of the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard emphasised how important it was to remember a very good time. "The cooperation between the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard and the navy goes back a long way. Our international expertise and market leadership in modern minesweepers also has its origins in the experience gained here in Olpenitz," said Stefan Nievelstein, himself a former naval officer.

The somewhat sober harbour promenade has finally been given the tradition that this place deserves. 66 years after the ground-breaking ceremony, 61 years after the opening and 19 years after the closure.