Heiligenhafen is a town in the district of Ostholstein

Ostholstein

Ostholstein is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stormarn, Segeberg and Plön, the Baltic Sea and the city of Lübeck.-History:...

, in Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is situated on the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 coast, opposite the island Fehmarn

Fehmarn

Fehmarn is an island and - since 2003 - a town on this island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and ca. 18 kilometers south of the Danish island of Lolland...

, approx. 60 km northeast of Lübeck

Lübeck

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...

, and 55 km east of Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

.

Geography

The town centre is located on a small bight, the binnensee (inland lake) from which the west of the town has been separated. Two headlands are located off the coast: Steinwarder and Graswarder, the latter one is a bird sanctuary.

Economy

A little fishing port and a marina with about 1000 moorings is located at the open part of the bight close to the town centre. Tourism is an important part of the economy of the town.
Every summer the main attraction is a 10 day festival called 'Hafenfest Tage' (harbour festival) which attracts visitors from all over the country.
The town just celebrated its 250 year anniversary and has kept the charm of the traditional German fishing town though some well designed amendments to the town centre have been made.

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