Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
The Cathedral Café maintains the building’s original church exterior.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.
The Glenwood
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Siegfried Tieber specializes in sleight-of-hand magic using small objects, as well as mentalism, which gives the illusion of reading minds.
Does a Magician Really Never Reveal Their Tricks? AO Wants to Know.
12 days ago
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
15 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
18 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
25 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Germany Zinnowitz Submerged Gondola

Submerged Gondola

An elevator into the Baltic Sea.

Zinnowitz, Germany

Added By
Christine Williamson
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Visitors boarding the Submerged Gondola in Zinnowitz.   ivabalk/Public Domain
Visitors boarding the Submerged Gondola in Zinnowitz.   ivabalk/Public Domain
Tauchgondel Zinnowitz   An-d/CC BY-SA 3.0
The world’s first Submerged Gondola in Zinnowitz   Frank Bothe/CC BY-SA 3.0
If the sea is rough the gondola in does not dive.   Leo Laempel/CC BY-ND 2.0
Inside the Submerged Gondola in Zinnowitz   An-d/CC BY-SA 3.0
Inside the Tauchgondel in Zinnowitz.   An-d/CC BY-SA 3.0
Submmerged Gondola in Zinnowitz at the pier “Vineta-Brücke”.   Corradox/CC BY-SA 3.0
Submerged Gondola on the Isle of Usedom.   An-d/CC BY-SA 3.0
Tauchgondel Zinnowitz.   AugustusTours/CC BY-ND 2.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located on the Isle of Usedom in Zinnowitz, Germany, what looks like an Art Nouveau gazebo is actually the world's first "Tauchergondel," or Submerged Gondola.

The submerged gondola made its first dive in 2006. Fixed to a metal pillar ten meters deep in the Baltic Sea, the gondola slides up and down like an elevator.  To overcome the buoyant force of about 50 tons, the pressure-resistant cabin weights 45 tons and is powered by two electric engines.

The "Tauchergondel" was installed off a pier in Zinnowitz. The cabin seats 24 people, and houses a small shop that sells souvenirs and drinks, as well as a 3D theater. Through the windows all around the cabin, the guests can have a look into the underwater world. As the water in the Baltic Sea is very rich of plankton, the visibility conditions are often less than crystalline. This is why, during the approximate dive of 40 minutes, the 3D cinema on board shows educational 3D films which bring the guests to tropical coral reefs, schools of sharks, giant cuttlefish and sea monsters, but also explain the biology of the Baltic Sea. 

It was designed by local architect and engineer Andreas Wulff, who plans to install more Submerged Gondolas all over the world, to offer people everywhere a view of the underwater world. He has installed three larger gondolas elsewhere in Germany, and projects in Poland, Sweden, Croatia, China, and along the Mediterranean coast are in the works. All his submerged gondolas have the technical equipment for dives down to 8 meters in their respective waters.

Related Tags

Underwater

Know Before You Go

Opening Times:
June to August: 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
September and October: 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
November to March: 11:00 a.m - 4:00 p.m. open every day during vacation time; closed Mondays and Tuesdays outside vacation time; closed on December 24th and 25th.
April and May: 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

In inclement weather, such as rough sea or thunder storms, the submerged gondola may not be able to dive, as well as on dark evenings.

Community Contributors

Added By

Christine Williamson

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson

  • Molly McBride Jacobson

Published

September 20, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.tauchgondel-ag.com/files/tg/downloads/de/pdf/katalog-Light_end.pdf
  • https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauchgondel
  • http://www.ostsee.de/insel-usedom/tauchgondel.html
  • http://www.tauchgondel.de/tauchgondel-zinnowitz.html
Submerged Gondola
Seebrücke Zinnowitz
Zinnowitz
Germany
54.084152, 13.917229
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Upside-Down House of Trassenheide

Trassenheide, Germany

miles away

Maritime Museum Peenemünde U-461

Peenemünde, Germay

miles away

Peenemünde Army Research Center

Peenemünde, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Germany

Germany

Europe

Places 748
Stories 68

Nearby Places

Upside-Down House of Trassenheide

Trassenheide, Germany

miles away

Maritime Museum Peenemünde U-461

Peenemünde, Germay

miles away

Peenemünde Army Research Center

Peenemünde, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Germany

Germany

Europe

Places 748
Stories 68

Related Stories and Lists

18 Slightly Submerged Architectural Wonders

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • Submarine piers at Dora I

    Trondheim, Norway

    Dora I

    At this concrete bunker on the Trondheim fjord, secrets lie above and below the water's surface.

  • A diver at the SS President Coolidge

    Luganville, Vanuatu

    SS President Coolidge

    This cruise ship-turned-warship sank during World War II, and is now a world-renowned dive site.

  • Silver Islet, Ontario

    Silver Islet Mine

    The site of one of the most profitable silver mines in the world, reclaimed by Lake Superior.

  • Chloraka, Cyprus

    Shipwreck MV Demetrios II

    This abandoned ship has remained in place since it ran aground in 1998.

  • A floating Valentine tank, note the turret in the middle of the canvas

    Dorset, England

    Valentine Tank Wrecks

    The site of a dress rehearsal for D-Day that ended in disaster.

  • Decked out in tails made in Ducharme’s shop, the mermaids perform underwater acrobatics for visitors.

    Lecanto, Florida

    Mertailor's Mermaid Aquarium Encounter

    What started as a tailor shop to help swimmers live their mermaid dreams has grown into a full-scale aquarium, complete with live mermaid shows.

  • Kastellholmen wreck in 2013

    Stockholm, Sweden

    Shipwreck of Kastellholmen

    At low tide, you can see the remains of a 17th-century ship just off a Stockholm island.

  • Looking down into the Ob Tube

    McMurdo Station, Antarctica

    Observation Tube

    A vertical tube that allows you to see what's going on underneath the Antarctic sea ice.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.