Hel Peninsula
Hel | ||
|---|---|---|
Peninsula | ||
Country Poland | | |
| Voivodeship | Pomeranian | |
| County | Puck | |
Hel Peninsula (Polish pronunciation:
Name
The name of the peninsula might come from either the
Geography
The width of the peninsula varies from approximately 300 metres (980 ft) near Jurata to 100 metres (330 ft) in the most narrow part to over 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) at the tip. Since the peninsula was formed entirely of sand, it is frequently turned into an island by winter storms. Until the 17th century, the peninsula was a chain of islands that formed a strip of land only in the summer.
A road and a railroad run along the peninsula from the mainland to the town at the furthest point, Hel, a popular tourist destination. Other towns, ports, and tourist resorts are Jurata, Jastarnia, Kuźnica, Chałupy, and Władysławowo.
Bus transport on the peninsula consists of only one route, the 666. The numbering of the route, which plays on the biblical number of the beast and the similarity of the name "Hel" to the English word "hell", raised complaints from Catholic groups which found the numbering blasphemous.[2][3][4]
Military importance
The Hel (German: Hela) Peninsula was part of
During the years of
After the war, when the peninsula again became part of Poland, it continued to have military significance, with much of its area reserved for military use. Additional gun batteries were built in the 1940s and the 1950s. Many of the fortifications and batteries are open to tourists today, but some areas of the peninsula still belong to the Polish Armed Forces.
Gallery
See also
- Hel Fortified Area
- Hel lighthouse
- Westerplatte
- Vistula Spit
References
- ^ "Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego/hyl – Wikiźródła, wolna biblioteka". pl.wikisource.org.
- ^ "Rozkład jazdy – PKS GDYNIA".
- ^ "Linia 666 do Helu wzbudza kontrowersje". 26 July 2018.
- ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (14 June 2023). "No 666 to Hel: Polish bus route drops 'devil's number' after Christian protests". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
