A view from above offers a striking introduction to Wolgast: visitors can climb the tower of St. Peter’s Church via 184 steps and look out over Wolgast towards the island of Usedom from a height of 40 metres. Churches, museums and routes explore different historical themes. This makes it easy to shape your stay around your interests: architectural history and Pomeranian heritage, the history of the town and shipbuilding, or a route through the region.

Church Architecture and the Jerusalem Stations of the Cross

St. Peter’s Church is a three-aisled brick basilica dating from the 14th century; its crypt contains the burial place of the last Dukes of Pomerania. This connection between church architecture and dynastic history comes to life on the Jerusalem Stations of the Cross: the historic route leads from St. Peter’s to St. Gertrude’s Chapel, a replica of the Holy Sepulchre. In the 15th century, Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania had the route recreated after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Stations of the Cross are a 1:1 replica of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem and are about one Roman mile long.

St. Gertrude’s Chapel is a twelve-sided brick building dating from the 15th century, with a central pillar and a star vault. Of the more than 30 original St. Gertrude’s chapels in Pomerania, only four remain today; the one in Wolgast is the only one in Germany. Together with St. Peter’s, the Stations of the Cross offer a sequence of distinct points of interest: church architecture, a historic route and the chapel’s distinctive design.

Town History at the Museum

The “Kaffeemühle” town museum traces Wolgast’s development over four floors, from a Pomeranian residence town to a modern shipbuilding centre. Residents and visitors can also view a digital reconstruction of the former Wolgast ducal castle, which no longer survives. Another way to explore art history is the museum in the house where painter Philipp Otto Runge was born. Runge died in 1810; the museum dedicated to his life and work opened on 23 July 1997, his 220th birthday.

The Historic Town Hall also forms part of the town’s history: its present form dates from the early 18th century. For a cultural and historical focus, you can combine visits to buildings and museums without limiting your interests to a single period.

Maritime History and Collections

The protected railway steam ferry “Stralsund” represents Wolgast’s maritime history; guided tours are offered aboard the vessel. It was commissioned by the Royal Prussian Railway Mechanical Engineering Office on 20 October 1890 and built at the Schichau shipyard in Elbing. It is considered Europe’s oldest railway steam ferry. Wolgast Museum Harbour is located on the so-called Schlossinsel (Castle Island) in the Peenestrom.

A smaller collection can be seen at Mühlenstein Park on Dr.-Theodor-Neubauer-Straße. The small park features prehistoric millstones as well as millstones from more recent times. The collection was established in the late 1980s and is freely accessible. Alongside museum exhibits and the historic vessel, Wolgast also highlights freely accessible artefacts from a very different era.

Wolgast on the Trails and Along the Peenestrom

A section of the Hanseatenweg leads from Greifswald through Buddenhagen and Hohendorf to Wolgast, then continues to the island of Usedom. Wolgast is also on the Baltic Sea Cycle Route, the Way of St. James and the E9. If you’d like to plan your stay around a route, these trails can help guide you; if town history is your main interest, churches, the town hall and museums offer places to start.

North of Wolgast town centre, on the Peenestrom, is the Dreilindengrund bathing area. There are bicycle parking facilities, play areas and a barbecue spot. Suitability for bathing is monitored separately by public authorities; check the current status before planning to swim.

Discover more destinations: Lütow, Zemitz, Krummin, Sauzin, Lassan, Buggenhagen.

Return to the main travel overview: Amt Am Peenestrom.