Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the bay of Prorer Wiek and the Schmachter See (a lake) in the southeast of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide (the “narrow heath”), a tongue of land which joins the Muttland region of Rügen to the Jasmund peninsula. The land to the south and east, in the Granitz, of Binz is hilly, reaching a height of over 100 metres above sea level.
Around 1875, bathing in the sea came into vogue. The first guests arrived in the small town of Binz, took a liking to it, and recommended it to others. That same year the first road was built connecting the village to the beach (Putbuser Straße). Ten years later, Binz officially became a bathing resort, which meant that building took off: the beach promenade, the pier, the spa house (Kurhaus), a new network of paths and a narrow-gauge railway connexion were built. Around 1870, 80 bathers were counted in one year. No large hotels were built in Binz and other resorts on the Baltic coast in the late 19th century; instead lodging houses in a villa style were built in a style known as resort architecture. They were given names associated with the Zeitgeist: nationalistic names like “Germania” or names of family members – often the first name of the wife of the builder. In 1876, the first hotel was built. In 1880, Wilhelm Klünder had the first hotel near the beach built: the apppropriately named Strandhotel. In 1888 die Binz Baltic Sea Resort Company (Aktiengesellschaft Ostseebad Binz) was founded, which in 1890 opened the first spa house, the Kurhaus Binz and went bust in 1891. In 1892 Binz was elevated to the status of an independent rural municipality.
Around 1896, the Bräunlich shipping company linked the settlements of Stettin, Binz and Sassnitz with one other. This was followed by a building boom. In 1893 the first spa house and the Kaiserhof were built. In 1895, the construction of the Rügen Light Railway from Putbus to Binz followed, as well as the opening of the beach promenade. In 1898, the first post office was built (Haus Kliesow, Hauptstraße). On the beach separate swimming pools were created for men and women. In 1902, a 600-metre-long pier was built. Other infrastructure projects included the construction of a drinking water supply and sanitation (1903) and the a power station (Jasmunder Straße).
Following the reunification of Germany, Binz has undergone substantial change. Many of the villas were returned to their previous owners, and the town was restored and modernised. In 1994, a new pier, 370 metres long, was opened.
Apart from the numerous early 20th-century hotels and villas in the town centre and along the seaside promenade (400 historic and listed buildings), its main attractions are its 370-metre-long pier, the mid-19th-century Granitz Hunting Lodge and the enormous Prora complex just north of the town.
