In 1171 the Cistercian monks founded the first monastery in Mecklenburg in the immediate vicinity of the Slavic settlement of Doberan. In 1179 the monastery, which used to be situated in what is today the district of Althof, was destroyed by insurgent Slavs. However, this did not suffice to put an end to Doberan's history: In 1886 Prince Henry Borwin I newly founded the monastery which soon burgeoned in prosperity. In 1232 the first Romanesque convent church was consecrated. In 1291 the church was destroyed in a large fire and a Gothic Minster was erected in its place which neared completion in 1368. It is this Gothic Minster which shapes Bad Doberan's townscape today.
The second important chapter of Doberan's history was opened at the end of the 18th century, when Friedrich-Franz I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, decided that Doberan would become his summer residence. Germany's first seaside resort was established only 5 km away from Doberan at the "Heiliger Damm". In the following years numerous classicistic buildings were constructed, giving Bad Doberan and Heiligendamm their characteristic townscape. From 1801 to 1836 the reputed architect Carl Theodor Severin conducted the construction works. Among the many edifices well worth seeing in Heiligendamm are the White Pavilion (1810-13) - Weißer Pavillion - and the Red Pavilion (1808-09) - Roter Pavillion - situated in the public park in Bad Doberan, the Grand Duke's Palais (1806-1809) - Großherzogliches Palais - or the Spa Hotel (1816), the Kurhaus. In 1823 the first German horse race course was opened in Doberan, followed by the construction of the narrow-gauge railway named "Molli", which connected the town of Doberan and Heiligendamm. If you get on the "Molli" today, it will bring you all the way to Kühlungsborn.
In 1879 Doberan received its own town charter and was predicated "Bad" in 1921, an honouring for seaside resorts. Bad Doberan became a state-accredited health resort in 2000 and has held the status of a state-accredited seaside health resort since 2004.
Already in 1908 Glashäger mineral water was being produced in Bad Doberan and is still obtainable today.
Bad Doberan is the administrative centre of the district of the same name.
Touristinformationen Bad Doberan
Alexandrinenplatz 2
18209 Bad Doberan
phone: 038203-62154
fax: 038203-77050
e-mail: touristinfo@bad-doberan.de
Internet: www.bad-doberan.de