Ostseebad Laboe

Ostseebad: Laboe

UP-Verlag, 24220 Flintbek – www.verlag.de – Foto: Grun, Meyer, NorthShoreSurfPhotos / Fotolia.com

Postmarked 23rd July 2015, from Christina in Germany, via Postcrossing

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I’ve been quiet for a couple of weeks but that doesn’t mean my letterbox hasn’t been flapping. I’ve quite a few new cards to add to the blog and will do so over the next few days. The first is this great multiview from northern Germany, from a Postcrosser who lives in the area and works across the border in Denmark. This is a new location for me and I’m beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t start a new feature called ‘Things I learned from this postcard…’. Almost every time I receive a pc it teaches me something new about the place or the person it comes from. In this case, researching the various images included, I discovered that the formidable tower-like structure that appears in five of the photos is the Laboe Naval Memorial, designed by Gustav August Munzer and built between 1927 and 1936. Initially commemorating German naval losses of World War I it now memorialises all those lost at sea during conflict.

I was also intrigued by the illustration at the bottom of the postcard showing ‘Kieler Bucht’ and the five Olympic rings; to my knowledge I don’t recall Laboe as an Olympics host city, but closer investigation reveals to me that Kiel (an adjoining town) and the harbour in particular were used for the sailing events for the Berlin and Munich Games in 1936 and 1972 respectively.

There’s a lot going on in this postcard and even more when you delve a little deeper!