Sellin Pier

The first pier at Sellin opened in 1906 with a restaurant pavilion at its head and became the emblem of the resort. It burned in 1920, was rebuilt, was destroyed by ice in 1942, and the remains were removed; the present structure, opened in 1998, reproduces the original design in white timber with a broad pavilion. A staircase called the Seebrückenvorplatz descends from the cliff-top Wilhelmstrasse to the beach in a wide flight. A diving gondola at the pier head lowers passengers about four metres below the surface to look through windows at the Baltic seabed, which is silty rather than clear.

History

Plans in 1901 for a 60-metre landing stage were thought too small for the expected crowds, and the first pier, 508 metres long with a restaurant, was built in 1906; ice damaged it in 1918, fire destroyed its head in 1920 and ice struck again in 1924, and a new pier of about 500 metres with a concert hall followed in 1925. That pier was wrecked by severe ice in the winter of 1941/1942, though its pier house survived and from the 1950s to the 1970s was a popular dance hall, until the decayed structure had to be demolished in 1978. Reconstruction began on 27 August 1992 on the models of 1906 and 1925, and the new pier, 394 metres long and the longest on the island, opened officially on 2 April 1998 (Wikipedia, Sellin Pier).

What's there

• The white pavilion - a 1998 reconstruction of the 1906 pier building.
• The cliff staircase - a broad flight from the resort street to the beach.
• The diving gondola - a capsule lowered below the surface at the pier head.
• The resort street - white timber villas along the cliff top.

When to go

May to September; the diving gondola operates seasonally and depends on water conditions. Winter storms can close the pier entirely.

Before you go

The pier is a 1998 reconstruction, not the original. Baltic visibility from the gondola is often poor. The stair from the town is long.

Nearby

Binz lies north; the Rasender Roland railway runs through.

Key facts