In the Mecklenburg Bay of the Baltic Sea, southwest of Rerik, lies the 10 km2 peninsula of Wustrow. First mentioned in 1273, Wustrow was settled early on – and has experienced a chequered history up to the present day. The estate on the peninsula changed hands several times. Until the early 1930s, agricultural use predominated, followed by military use.
In 1933, the Wustrow peninsula was sold to the Reichswehr, which built Germany’s largest anti-aircraft artillery school there until 1939. A large military complex with all the associated facilities and a large residential area modelled on garden city architecture were built. Since 1949, the peninsula was used by the Red Army, which withdrew from there in October 1993.
In spring 1998, a company of the Jagdfeld Gruppe, the later ECW Entwicklungs-Compagnie Wustrow, acquired the Wustrow peninsula including the Wustrower Hals, which connects the peninsula with Rerik. The business basis for the acquisition of the peninsula from the assets of the federal government was the development possibilities presented in the sales brochure of TLG Treuhand Liegenschaftsgesellschaft mbH, which was commissioned with the sale, in the context of an urban development framework plan developed by TLG.
With its plans to revitalise the garden city as a residential and holiday address, ECW wants to tie in with Wustrow’s history and, together with the construction of another new garden city on the parts of the peninsula formerly used for military purposes, develop a liveable and attractive new district together with the town of Rerik.
After decades of military use, the ECW wants to make the peninsula usable again for peaceful purposes: For people who want to live there permanently or temporarily or spend their holidays. And this only on the area of the “Old Garden City” and “New Garden City” that is already built up today. That would be only about ten per cent of the peninsula, which covers about 1,000 hectares.
Since the approximately 550 residential units are designed to be small-scale and with lots of greenery, only about 50 hectares will actually be built on. The adjoining 200 hectares of landscape conservation area and 700 hectares of nature reserve will remain untouched.
The current planning foresees a small centre with restaurants, a café and smaller shops for the “Alte Gartenstadt”. The “New Garden City” is also to have a small centre with the creation of a central market place.
The development and construction of the Wustrow peninsula planned by the ECW Entwicklungs-Compagnie Wustrow will bring numerous advantages for the region and the country, and above all for Rerik and its citizens. During the construction phase alone, with a volume of about 500 million euros, many regional and local companies will benefit, which will need quite a few new employees for good money.
As a special sign of goodwill, ECW donated a plot of land on Wustrower Hals to the municipality of Rerik as early as November 1999 and left it further land there to be used free of charge. Today, the Haffplatz and its buildings are the tourist heart of the town on the donated land, and Rerik has since earned millions in income from the management of the adjacent areas as a public car park. The ECW has thus played a significant role in the positive development of the community.
To date, the peninsula has unfortunately still not been developed and built on. However, ECW is still looking ahead. After all, the urban development of the peninsula is about the preservation of an architectural heritage, the gentle and sustainable redevelopment of a forgotten gem with considerable benefits for the region and the country as well as especially for Rerik and all the citizens and their guests living there.
Further information: www.leben-auf-wustrow.de
