Wismar Bay - World Heritage on the Mecklenburg Baltic Sea coast

The Wismar Bay is unique in its diversity on the Mecklenburg Baltic Sea coast: cliffs, sandy beaches, salt marshes, enchanted islands and, last but not least, the proud Hanseatic city of Wismar with its brick Gothic buildings, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When the mighty logs get wedged together in the timber mill in the port of Wismar, Steven Buchholz has to get to work with his chainsaw. It's a dangerous job, because the logs weigh tons. As a trained carpenter, Steven is a virtuoso with the chain saw. Even after his shift is over, he is looking for the thrill: the wind off his home island of Poel is favorable that day and he wants to reclaim the German record in the kite surfing high jump.

For a long time, Ramona Stelzer only knew fish as a tasty ingredient between two halves of a bun. But when the goldsmith got her hands on fish leather, her business idea was born: she processes the unique natural product fish skin into fine jewelry. The problem is that hardly anyone in Germany tans fish skin. In order to reliably obtain supplies, Ramona now wants to learn this craft herself.

The Bay of Wismar is home to numerous water birds. At the beginning of the breeding season, Wismar Bay Ranger Jürgen Weigel has his hands full keeping recreational captains and water sports enthusiasts from entering the EU bird protection zone. And then he also has to support his colleagues in the aircraft by radio while counting the seals. So there is hardly any opportunity for Weigel to drop in on the island keeper of Langenwerder. He regularly observes an extremely curious phenomenon: hares drinking salt water!

A stinking nuisance for beach visitors, but a valuable raw material for Steffen Aldag: seaweed. The construction yard on the island of Poel clears tons of the washed-up seaweed from the beach during the bathing season and has promised Aldag a supply. He is currently tinkering with the prototype of a seaweed washing plant: dried, it makes an excellent natural insulating and upholstery material.

The St. Nikolai Church in Wismar is one of the most impressive buildings of the brick Gothic period. The 37 meter high nave is the fourth highest in Germany. St. Nikolai was the church of fishermen and sailors, who even had their own altar here. Today, the meter-long historic ship model by the famous Wismar model builder Robert Dähncke still bears witness to the connection with the sea. Annette Seiffert is a restorer and has to clean the ship, which is mounted at a lofty height, while repairing broken parts. The fragile model dates back to 1910 and has been badly damaged by light, many moves and humidity. The restorer is particularly concerned about the torn sails and the broken figurehead.