Profile: With approximately 200,000 inhabitants, the city of Rostock is the largest city in Mecklenburgh-Western Pomerania. It is the centre of the holiday area in that region. Situated close to the open sea, it is one of the most attractive towns along the German coastline of the Baltic Sea. Hanse Sail Rostock, one of the biggest maritime summer events in northern Germany and around the Baltic Sea, attracts more than one million people every year on the second weekend in August. The port of Rostock-Warnemuende is growing in popularity as a cruise destination as well as a home port. During the 2002 season, the passenger ship terminal handled 62 cruise calls and 80,000 passengers, and with 16 changes of passengers, Rostock-Warnemuende became a changeover port for the first time. For the year 2003, the terminal expects to receive 78 calls with 100,000 passengers. Warnemuende also provides a home port for Seetours Baltic Sea cruises, the German Branch of P&O Cruises, as well as a turnaround point for several other international operators. The proximity to Berlin is one of the port’s main attractions. Rostock-Warnemuende is a good place to start a visit to the German capital – a must for most guests who pass through the terminal. After a two hour train ride from the station adjacent to the passenger terminal, passengers arrive right in the heart of Berlin. The port development authority of Rostock, HERO, is currently co-ordinating the construction of a new passenger terminal building and parking facilities. The first phase was completed in 2002, while the extension is planned for 2003/2004. Sightseeing: Despite its nearly 800 year old history, or perhaps because of it, the old university city on the Baltic coast always seems fresh and new. The historical city is dominated by the old towers and fortifications, gabled houses and warehouse buildings and lovely churches and abbeys, most of them Gothic. These old buildings blend harmoniously with the architecture of later periods and the modern era, giving the city a unique charm. The attractive seaside resort of Warnemuende is within visiting distance from Rostock. Popular churches and museums worth seeing are St Marien Church dating from 1472, the Holy Cross Abbey (established in 1270), St Petri Church (dating from the 13th century), Kropelin Gate, the biggest and finest of the former 22 city gates, which now houses the City History Museum and the Zoological Garden (the biggest zoo on the Baltic Coast). About 15km (9 miles) west of Rostock lies the Bad Doberan, a magnificent cathedral and ‘molli’ (a narrow gauge railway that goes to Leiligendamn, Germany’s oldest seaside resort). Also worth visiting is Gustrow, 50km (31 miles) south of Rostock, a Renaissance palace and cathedral, and studio of the sculptor Ernst Barlack Bad Doberan.