Writers · painters · champions · history
Famous faces and Travemünde
Travemünde has drawn and produced writers, painters and athletes: Thomas Mann called the resort his “childhood paradise” and immortalised it in “Buddenbrooks”, Edvard Munch set up his easel here, and Travemünde is the birthplace of Peter Deilmann, whose ship became famous as the German “Traumschiff”. This page gathers the best-known names – each with a documented link to the town.
Writers who immortalised Travemünde
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Thomas Mann (1875–1955)
The Nobel laureate spent his boyhood summers in Travemünde as a Lübeck schoolboy and called it his “childhood paradise”. The resort appears in “Buddenbrooks” and “Tonio Kröger” – the town’s most famous literary link.
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Franz Kafka (1883–1924)
The Prague writer sat barefoot on the beach of Travemünde in the summer of 1914 – a brief but well-documented visit on one of his Baltic trips.
The casino and the Russian writers
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Dostoevsky, Gogol, Turgenev
In the 19th century Travemünde’s casino also drew Russian authors – partly for the gambling. The casino shaped the resort’s elegant reputation for over a century and a half, until it closed in 2012.
Painters by the sea
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Edvard Munch (1863–1944)
The Norwegian painter of “The Scream” stayed on Lübeck Bay in the early 20th century and painted the Travemünde church in 1903 – one of several coastal motifs from that period.
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Gotthardt Kuehl and Ulrich Hübner
German impressionists too captured Travemünde’s beach and resort life – part of a whole line of coastal painters the town attracted.
Politics and contemporary history
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Willy Brandt (1913–1992)
The future chancellor and Nobel Peace laureate fled via Travemünde by ship to Denmark in April 1933 as a young Social Democrat – his path into exile began here.
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Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941)
The last German emperor visited the resort in 1894 – evidence of the standing Travemünde held as a fashionable Baltic resort in the imperial era.
Born and raised in Travemünde
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Peter Deilmann (1935–2003)
Born in Travemünde, he turned small freight and fishing vessels into one of Germany’s best-known cruise lines. His ship “Berlin” became famous on TV as the “Traumschiff”.
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Peter “Eiche” Nogly (b. 1947)
The Travemünde-born footballer won the league and the European Cup with Hamburger SV and played for the German national team.
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Antje Buschschulte (b. 1978)
The multiple swimming world champion and Olympic medallist grew up partly in Lübeck-Travemünde.
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Otto Timmermann (1916–2008)
The Travemünde dialect poet and sexton shaped local cultural life; a fountain in town commemorates him.
Frequently asked questions about famous people from Travemünde
Which famous people come from Travemünde?
Those born in Travemünde include the cruise-line owner Peter Deilmann (whose ship became famous as the “Traumschiff”) and the football international Peter “Eiche” Nogly. The swimming world champion Antje Buschschulte grew up there.
What is Thomas Mann’s connection to Travemünde?
As a Lübeck schoolboy Thomas Mann spent his summers in Travemünde and called it his “childhood paradise”. The resort appears in his works “Buddenbrooks” and “Tonio Kröger” – the town’s most famous literary link.
Why did Russian writers come to Travemünde?
In the 19th century Travemünde had a casino that also drew Russian authors such as Dostoevsky – partly for the gambling. The casino lasted until 2012 and shaped the resort’s elegant reputation.
Which painter painted Travemünde?
Among others Edvard Munch, painter of “The Scream”: he stayed on Lübeck Bay and painted the Travemünde church in 1903. German impressionists such as Gotthardt Kuehl and Ulrich Hübner also captured the resort.
