Fehmarn

Fehmarn is an island in the southern Baltic Sea, belonging to Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Fehmarn is famous for its nature and recreation areas, especially during summertime (July–September) and is also well known for its windsurf and kitesurf spots. There are more than ten surfspots known on the island.

Understand

Fehmarn is a flat island, separated by the Fehmarnbelt from Denmark and by the (much narrower) Fehmarnsund from the German mainland. The island is mostly made up by farmland, and has 13,000 permanent inhabitants (2022). As the island lies along the shortest route between Hamburg and Copenhagen, there are plans to replace the current connection by bridge and ferry with tunnels for both motorcars and trains. Construction works on the longer tunnel across the belt started in 2021 and Deutsche Bahn claims that the shorter one across the sund will be ready for the joint opening in 2028.

Tourist information

• Fehmarn Tourism website

Get in

By boat

Fehmarn's harbour, Puttgarden, has very frequent ferries from Rødby in Denmark, operated by Scandlines. Sailings take 45 minutes and there are departures every half-hour both day and night.

By car

The island is connected to mainland Germany by a road bridge. Navigation is easy: follow the A1 northwards and keep going straight as it turns into the B207.

By train

The island lies along the shortest route from Hamburg to Copenhagen and trains used to be put on the ferry here. However, since autumn 2022, the railway connecting Fehmarn to the German mainland has been closed and replaced by a bus connection. The Danish and German sides have agreed to build a tunnel across the Belt, but Germany is dragging its feet in upgrading the links from the mainland to Fehmarn on their side for the expected traffic.

By bus

While the railway is being rebuilt, a bus service go between Lübeck and Puttgarden stopping at the stations. Tickets are sold by DB and nah.sh.

• 1 Puttgarden station. (updated Dec 2022)
• 2 Burg station. (updated Dec 2022)

See

Attractions

• 1 Meereszentrum, Gertrudenthaler Str.12, Burg, 23769 Fehmarn (exit the B207 towards Burg and turn left in the first roundabout), ☏ +49 4371 4416. Mar–Oct: daily 10:00–18:00 (latest entry 16:30); Nov–Apr: W–Su 11:00–17:00 (latest entry 15:30). Tropical aquarium with sharks, mangroves, corals and a big underwater tunnel you can walk through. Grownups €12, kids 4–15 €8. (updated Feb 2016)
• 2 Submarine Museum (U-Boot-Museum), Burgstaaken 89, 23769 Fehmarn (Burgstaaken harbor), ☏ +49 172 871 122 8. Check website: opening hours vary thoughout the year, closed in winter. Small museum, main exhibit is the 1968-built German cold war era submarine U11. Everything is in German, but even if you don't speak the language: the main attraction here is exploring the different sections of the narrow U-boat. Adult €9, child 4–14 €6, cash only. (updated Dec 2024)
• 3 Mühlenmuseum Lemkenhafen (Jachen Flünk), Mühlenweg 45, Lemkenhafen, ☏ +49 4372 1894. closed in winter. Windmill built in 1787 turned into a museum. Adult €5.50, free under 15 years. (updated Dec 2024)
• 4 Fehmarn-Museum (Peter-Wiepert-Museum), Breite Straße 49, Burg, 23769 Fehmarn. Tu Th–Sa 11:00–16:00 (latest entry 15:30). Museum about local geology, crafts, cultural history, and seafaring. Adult €4, free under 18. (updated Dec 2024)

While you're there

While you probably won't go out of your way to for any of them, these points of interest may be worth a visit if you're in the area.

• 5 Jimi Hendrix memorial (north of the "Flügger Strand" camping grounds.). 24 hours daily. A memorial stone commemorating American guitar hero Jimi Hendrix. The "Open Air Love & Peace Festival" that took place at Flügge Beach on 6 September 1970 was Hendrix's final big concert before his tragic death later that month. Free. 
• 6 Molenkopf Puttgarden (Puttgarden harbour viewpoint). Watch the ferries come and go and maybe catch a glimpse of the tunnel construction site. Free. (updated Dec 2024)
• 7 Hafen Orth. An idyllic little port. 
• 8 Burgruine Glambek (Glambæk castle ruins) (south of Burg, next to the Südstrand beach). Sad remains of a castle that was destroyed in the Thirty Years War. Only the moat and some brick walls are left today. (updated Dec 2024)

Lighthouses

There are 5 lighthouses on Fehmarn.

• 9 Leuchtturm Flügge.  
• 10 Leuchtturm Staberhuk.  
• 11 Leuchtturm Westermarkelsdorf.  
• 12 Leuchtturm Marienleuchte. (updated Dec 2024)
• 13 Leuchtturm Strukkamphuk.  

Do

• Birding: The coasts serve as resting places for migratory birds, and it is thus a popular location for ornithologists. The island's bird reserves are looked after by NABU's conservation centre at the Wallnau Waterbird Reserve.

Buy

Fehmarn has several so called border shops that are dedicated to selling consumer goods to tourists from Denmark and Sweden. The border shops are probably the best place in Germany to find candy, soda, cider, beer, liquor and other things produced in Denmark and Sweden at lower prices than in their home market. This is due to the lower excise taxes in Germany, even though the gap is closing in. The deposit-refund systems in the three EU-countries are not compatible, so a proforma export declaration must be submitted and photo-ID must be presented when buying beverages that normally have a deposit paid in Germany. These deposit-refund exempt beverages are only permitted for export to Denmark and Sweden and will not be sold to Germans.

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Dania, Bürgermeister-Landt-Str. 51, 23769 Puttgarden (follow the B207 north and turn left just before the ferry port), ☏ +49 4371 866 0, dania@ffe-hotels.com. Hotel Dania is the only multi-storey building in Puttgarden and can be seen for miles. It is like a time capsule, where much of the interior is kept like it was during the 1960s. The room where Jimi Hendrix slept hasn't changed much since then. Make sure you get a room to the seaside for a great view. Since it is surrounded by agriculture, Puttgarden may smell of manure during the growing season. (updated Dec 2024)
• IFA-Hotel, Burgtiefe. 
• Pension Lindenhof, Sulsdorf. 
• Fehmarn Inn. 

Go next

Routes through Fehmarn

Copenhagen ← Rødby ←

N  S

→ Lübeck → Hamburg