Perhaps the name Ladebow sounds unremarkable to you. Yet, this district of Greifswald holds stories that stretch back centuries.
Ladebow was first mentioned in documents in 1248. It was then known as Lathebo. The name has Danish roots. It combines “lade” meaning barn and “bo” meaning house. So Ladebow means barn house. The name Ladebow first appeared in 1692.
Originally, Ladebow was just a farm of the Eldena Monastery. In 1406, it became a manor village. In 1634, the University of Greifswald acquired Ladebow.
In 1927, the Heinkel factories planned to set up aircraft industry in Ladebow. A prerequisite was that Greifswald incorporate Ladebow. An airfield was built. It officially opened as a sports airfield in 1928. In 1934, Greifswald acquired the airfield site. The city then secretly transferred it to the Reichswehr. The airfield was expanded into a military airfield. A concrete road and a railway connection were built. In 1939, Ladebow was incorporated into Greifswald.
After World War II, the Soviet Army dismantled the airfield. They then blew up the entire facility. In the 1950s, a concrete plant was built on the site. This plant produced concrete parts for the Greifswald-Ostseeviertel residential area. Street names were introduced in Ladebow in 1952. Before that, the buildings only had accommodation numbers. Today, there are allotments on parts of the former airfield.
In the mid-1960s, the People’s Navy built a base with a port here. Sand was dredged for this purpose. During GDR times, there were three People’s Navy facilities in Ladebow. These included a fuel and lubricant depot. After German reunification in 1990, the German Armed Forces abandoned all three sites. The military port was redeveloped into a civilian seaport.
Since the late 1990s, two new housing estates have been built. The population has increased. The listed houses of the Flugplatzsiedlung have been renovated.
The railway line to Ladebow was rebuilt by 2014. This has helped revive the port economy. The “harbour railway” now runs special trips to the port. These run from Greifswald station to the annual Gaffelrigg festival.
Today, Ladebow is known for its port and tank farm. It is also known for its residential area. This district is a blend of history and modern life. It shows how a small village has transformed over the centuries. From a monastery estate to a military base to a residential area with a port. Ladebow has played many roles. It continues to evolve.