119 metres · landmark · heritage monument
The Maritim high-rise
Few buildings divide Travemünde like the Maritim: a 119-metre concrete tower from 1974 – to some an eyesore, to others the landmark itself. It carries Europe’s highest lighthouse, has been a protected monument since 2019 – and was once a deliberate signal in the Cold War. This page tells the story behind the silhouette.
The Maritim in numbers
- 119 m height (125 m with masts)
- 36 floors
- 1974 completed
- 114 m focal height of the lighthouse
A lighthouse of the Cold War
The Maritim was listed as a cultural monument by the city of Lübeck in July 2019 – and the justification tells the real story: the tower is not only striking in townscape terms but “a real and symbolic beacon of the free West”. It rose within sight of the inner-German border that ran across the eastern tip of the Priwall. When the GDR opened the modern Hotel Neptun in Warnemünde in 1971, the West answered with an even taller sign at the Trave estuary: the Maritim. A hotel tower became a political statement – system rivalry cast in concrete.
Europe’s highest lighthouse
Since 1974 the Maritim has carried the sea light for the Travemünde harbour entrance – at 114 metres, regarded as Europe’s highest lighthouse. It took over from the Old Lighthouse of 1539, which had been retired two years earlier because the new tower literally blocked its view. So Travemünde has Germany’s oldest surviving lighthouse and its modern successor standing close together – an image that defines the town.
Eyesore or landmark?
Not everyone finds the Maritim beautiful. To critics the concrete tower is a “1970s building sin”, an alien body above the resort; to others it is precisely the unmistakable landmark by which you recognise Travemünde from the train. Heritage conservation has settled the debate: the tower is worth protecting as a document of its time – including the 1970s-style interior. Since listing, every renovation has to be agreed with the heritage authority, which makes conversions more demanding.
What is inside today
The tower is more than a hotel: the lower floors house the Maritim Strandhotel, above them around 320 owner-occupied flats, plus shops, restaurants, an indoor pool and an underground garage. The view from the top is worth it – from the bar on the upper floors it reaches far across Lübeck Bay and the Priwall in clear weather.
Frequently asked questions about the Maritim high-rise
How tall is the Maritim high-rise in Travemünde?
The Maritim is 119 metres tall (125 metres with the radio masts on the roof) and has 36 floors. It was completed in 1974 and is Travemünde’s landmark.
Why is the Maritim a protected monument?
The city of Lübeck listed the tower in July 2019 – for its townscape value, its 1970s-style interior and because it counts as a “real and symbolic beacon of the free West” at the former zonal border.
What does the Maritim have to do with the GDR border?
The tower rose within sight of the inner-German border on the Priwall. When the GDR opened the Hotel Neptun in Warnemünde in 1971, the West answered with the even taller Maritim – a sign in the Cold War rivalry of systems.
Does the lighthouse really sit on the high-rise?
Yes. Since 1974 the Maritim has carried the sea light for the harbour entrance at 114 metres – regarded as Europe’s highest lighthouse. It replaced the Old Lighthouse of 1539, whose view the new building blocked.
Lights of the night – who flashes how?
Every navigational light has its own “character” – an unmistakable rhythm of light and dark by which seafarers recognise it at night. These are the lights of the Travemünde approach, with their real characters from the seamark data:
- Travemünde Fl Blitzfeuer mit roten und weißen Sektoren, alle 4 Sekunden The main approach light – since 1974 on the roof of the Maritim tower at 116 metres, Germany’s highest-mounted navigational light.
- Travemünde, N-Mole Oc unterbrochenes Feuer mit roten und grünen Sektoren, alle 4 Sekunden The main approach light – since 1974 on the roof of the Maritim tower at 116 metres, Germany’s highest-mounted navigational light.
- Priwall Oberfeuer Oc weißes unterbrochenes Feuer, 2 Unterbrechungen alle 9 Sekunden Leading-light pair on the Priwall: keep both lights in line and you are exactly in the fairway.
- Priwall Unterfeuer Oc weißes unterbrochenes Feuer, 2 Unterbrechungen alle 9 Sekunden The lower partner of the leading-light pair.
- Oberfeuer Siechenbucht Oc weißes unterbrochenes Feuer, alle 4 Sekunden Second leading-light pair for the inner Trave bend at the Siechenbucht.
- Unterfeuer Siechenbucht Oc weißes unterbrochenes Feuer, alle 4 Sekunden The lower partner at the Siechenbucht.
And the Old Lighthouse? It has been dark since 1974: when the Maritim tower blocked its view, its light moved to the tower’s roof. Germany’s oldest lighthouse (1539) has been a museum ever since – and its successor flashes from the hotel roof.
