Anklam is a small town in northeastern Mecklenburg Vorpommern.

Understand

Anklam's main claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal who made groundbreaking discoveries regarding gliders before dying in a stall-related accident in Berlin, reportedly uttering the words "Opfer müssen gebracht werden" ("sacrifices have to be made") before expiring.

Get in

By train

• 1 Bahnhof Anklam.  

See

• 1 Otto Lilienthal Museum, Ellbogenstraße 1, ☏ +49-3971-245500, info@lilienthal-museum.de. Daily 10:00-17:00. Set up on Lilienthal’s birthplace, founded in 1927. On exhibition are various objects belonging to the life and work of Otto Lilienthal, essays, documents, including a photo archive, replicas and models of all known gliders and aircraft of Lilienthal, and a large collection of hang gliders and models of aircraft. Moreover, it shows the history of brothers Otto and Gustav Lilienthal, very prolific inventors of steam engines, toys, as well as initiators of numerous social and cultural projects. Otto Lilienthal was the namesake of defunct Tegel Airport in Berlin. (updated Oct 2016)
• 2 Steintor. Also containing a small museum.  
• 3 Marienkirche.  
• 4 Nikolaikirche. The church was destroyed in WW2 and has been restored in the 2010s but is no longer actually used as a church due to the increasing secularization of the area.  
• 5 Hoher Stein. a former part of the city defenses.  
• 6 Pulverturm. Another former part of the city defenses. (updated Nov 2020)

Stay safe

Unfortunately Anklam has made headlines nationwide as a "Nazi stronghold" with the far-right NPD winning more than 10% in the 2019 local elections. There is thus some cause for concern for people who might be targeted by far-right violence, especially at night.