Hel Peninsula

Hel Peninsula (Mierzeja Helska in Polish, Hélskô Sztremlëzna in Kashubian) is a 35 km-long (and between 300 and 500 meters wide) peninsula in the norhten part of Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Poland. The main highlights of this peninsula are its sandy beaches, full of pine trees, and the possibility of doing outdoors and water sports. It's a popular destination from Gdańsk.

How do I arrive to Hel Peninsula?

 The only way to reach Hel Peninsula is doing it via Władysławowo.

• Boat: there are boats between Hel and Gdańsk during summer season.
• Train: there are trains that connect Gdynia and Hel (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes). This train stops at Puck (aprox. 30 minutes), Władysławowo (aprox. 45 minutes) and Jastarnia (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes). There are night trains that connect Hel with Krakow.
  
• Bus: there are also buses that connects Hel and Gdynia (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes).
• Car: if case of having a car Władysławowo can be reached from many place like Puck (aprox. 15 minutes), Gdynia (aprox. 45 minutes), Gdańsk (aprox. 1 hour 5 minutes) or Łeba (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) at Słowiński National Park. Once in Władysławowo it can be reached Chałupy (aprox. 10 minutes), Jastarnia (aprox. 25 minutes) or Hel (aprox. 40 minutes).

History

  The peninsula was formed from a chain of small islands that were here until the 18th century. Little by little the current closed the gaps between the islands with dunes. Hel peninsula is a spit typical of a compensatory coast for this part of the Baltic Sea. 

Hel Peninsula is located in the Pomeralian landscape so in early times it belonged to the Duchy of Pomerania, then becoming part of the Teutonic Order and the largest town on the peninsula, Hel, was granted city rights. Hel joined the Prussian Confederation in 1440 and belonged to the autonomous city republic of Danzig since 1457, voluntarily placed itself under the patronage of the Polish King Casimir IV in in 1454. As part of the first partition of Poland-Lithuania in 1772, the peninsula came to the Kingdom of Prussia, to which it belonged until 1808 and from 1814 to 1919 as part of the province of West Prussia (in the period 1808-1814 Hel peninsula was part of the Napoleonic Republic of Gdańsk).
In 1836 one of the last incidents of witchcraft occurred on Hel and after WW1, with the Treaty of Versailles, the peninsula had to be ceded to the Second Polish Republic to establish the Polish Corridor. During the German invasion of Poland the peninsula was one of the longest and most fiercely contested theaters of war till the capitulation of Poland. When WW2 was finished a total of 387,000 people were evacuated and German inhabitants of the peninsula were expelled. At the time of the People's Republic of Poland parts of the peninsula were a restricted military area and were not allowed to be entered.

What can I visit in Hel Peninsula?

These are many things to do in this peninsula, explained now according to the village or town where they are or the nearest one:     

• Władysławowo (Wiôlgô Wies in Kashubian, Großendorf in German): 15,015 inhabitants town in by the Baltic Sea, in the limit between the Slovincian Coast and the entrance to Hel Peninsula.
  
  • Dom Rybaka: hotel built in the 1950s that is partially used as the town hall and nowadays it houses a Butterfly Museum, a Museum of Illusions and Observation Tower too.
  • Hallerówka (10-18 Tue-Fri, 10-16 Sat-Sun from Jul to Aug; 8-15 Tue-Fri, 10-16 Sat-Sun from May to Jun and from Sep to Oct; 8zł/ 6zł  adults/ reduced): house where the Polish general Józef Haller live who connected Poland to the Baltic Sea with the surrounding area to the town right after WW1.
  • Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny Catholic Church: extravagant church designed in the 1930s.
  • Only 8 km north it can be reache Jastrzębia Góra (Pilëce in Kashubian, Habichtsberg in German), a small resort town with 1,068 inhabitants. Besides having a nice beaches like Rozewie Beach and
    Jastrzębia Góra Beach it has an old lighthouse, Rozewie Lighthouse.
    
• Only 8 km far from Władysławowo there's Chałupy (Chalëpë in Kashubian, Ceynowa in German), village with 378 inhabitants where took place one of the last lynchings related to accusations of sorcery in Europe (widow Krystyna Ceynowa was killed by a mob after being accused of witchcraft in 1836). The village has a fantastic beach, Chałupy Beach, that is big, wide and clean.
  
• Jastarnia (Jastarniô in Kashubian, Heisternest in German): a 4,033 inhabitants town in the middle of Hel Peninsula. It's one of the most popular sea resorts at the Polish coast, a small finishing port and has an interesting nightlife. Numerous old fishermen's houses have been preserved all over Jastarnia.
  • Jastarnia Beach: one of the most popular and attractive beaches in the whole Hel Peninsula.
  • Nawiedzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny Catholic Church: cute Neo-Baroque church built in 1932 with a very interesting altar in the shape of a fishing boat.
  • The town has also other places just like Jastarnia Lighthouse (14m high lighthouse from 1938) and Jastarnia Pier. Around Jastarnia there were many bunkers built during the interwar period. One of them is Bateria Przeciwlotnicza Jastarnia.
  • Before reaching Jastarnia it can be visited the district of Kuźnica (Kùsfeld in Kashubian, Kußfeld in German). This former village has another nice beach, Kuźnica Beach, and St. Antoniego Padewskiego Catholic Church, a Neo-Gothic churhc built in the 19th century.  
  • On the way to Hel the visitor crosses Jurata (Kùsfeld in Kashubian, Helaheide in German). This former village and district of Jastarnia has another nice beach, Jurata Beach, a beautiful pier (Jurata Pier) and Jurata Observation Tower, from where there are great views of the sea and of Hel Peninsula.
    
• Hel (Hél in Kashubian, Hela in German): 3,276 inhabitants town in the end of Hel Peninsula. It was an important trade point (used as entrance to Gdańsk) till it lost importance in the 18th century and transformed itself into a seaside resort.In the center of the town there's the Monument to the Defenders of Hel, a monument conmemorating that Hel was the last point to surrender to Nazi Germany in the beginning of WW2.
  
  • Hel Beach: popular beach along the shore between the inner and outer harbour walls of Hel.
    
  • National Maritime Museum of Poland: Fisheries Museum (10-18 from Jul to Aug; 10-16 Tue-Sun from Sep to May; 15zł/ 8zł  adults/ reduced): museum placed in the former Gothic church of Hel (that dates back to the 14th century) that have a collection about fishing, ship building and a collection of old ships plus stuffed sea birds. From its former bell-tower there are great views of  Hel Peninsula and the Bay of Gdańsk.
    
  • Fokarium (9:30-20; 5zł): sanctuary for grey seals that is part of the University of Gdańsk. There are performances for tourists but the main goal to grow the seals and to set them free.
  • Hel Lightbouse (10-14 and 15-19 from Jul to Aug; 10-16 Tue-Sun from May to Jun and Sep; 8zł/ 4zł  adults/ reduced): 42 m high brick-stone lighthouse with octogonal shape that today houses temporary exhibitions.
  • Museum of Coastal Defense (11-19 from Jun to Aug; 11-17 in May and Sep; open on request from Nov to Mar; 5zł/ 3zł  adults/ reduced): small museum that show very interesting blockhouses, exhibits and a narrow gauge railway. It's focused on Hel Fortified Area, a set of Polish fortifications that allowed Hel to be the last place to surrender to Germany during the Battle of Hel. Next to it there's another small museum that shows the history and traditions of the peninsula, Hel Peninsula Museum.
    
  • Izba Kaszubska (11-6; free): small art gallery at a 19th century fishermen house with traditional Kashubian artisan works.
    

Jastarnia Beach

Fisheries Museum in Hel

 

Sts. Piotra i Pawła Catholic Church

Going just 10 km from Władysławowo it can be reached Puck (Pùck in Kashubian, Putzig in German), 11,213 inhabitants. This town has a small but nice beach, Puck Beach, that is quite near from the town center. To learn more about Puck and the northern part of the voivodeship of Pomerania it can be visited the Museum of Puck Region (9-17 Tue-Fri, 10-14 Sat-Sun from Jul to Aug; 8-15 Tue-Fri, 10-14 Sat-Sun from Sep to Jun; 10zł/ 7zł  adults/ reduced), an ethnographic museum at a former 17th century hospital. The town is full of red-brick buildings like the Neo-Gothic building of Puck Town Hall or Sts. Piotra i Pawła Catholic Church, a Brick Gothic church built in 1283 that has been preserved in very good conditions. Puck still keeps the Ruins of Puck Castle, ruins of a castle built in the 15th century by the Teutonic Order.

 

Where can I eat in Hel Peninsula?

The peninsula has a large number of places to eat because it's an important touristic destination but the best places are in Hel. Some of the ones that are more recommended are the Polish restaurant Kutter (Wiejska 88) and the fish Bar Mewa (Morska 84).

Posted in: Europe,Poland,Pomerania