The Mermaid of Ustka symbolizes the town that it calls home embodying jovial days at the beach and the laid-back coastal attitude of the whole community this statue is said to grant a wish and a half to anybody that touches the mermaid's left breast Why a wish and a half? Touching a golden fish grants you three wishes touching the mermaid grants you a wish and a half. Why the left breast Perhaps its proximity to the heart makes the wish more likely to come true Malmö’s bronze prince yearns for Copenhagen's 'Little Mermaid'—and his missing crown jewels A somber statue commemorating a Danish merfolk-tale This statue is said to bring good luck to visiting lovebirds A bizarre object of worship believed to grant wishes to those who tie it up with a rope Copenhagen's "other" little mermaid marks the historic location of past sea maid sightings Life-sized bronze statues of fictional puppet characters A wooden statue of a mermaid commemorates one fisherman's generosity the beloved bronze copper keeps a watchful eye on St Stephen’s Basilica while people rub his lucky belly This work, HIMARS Launch in Ustka, Poland, by SSG Rigo Cisneros, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright owned by PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, has selected local company Doraco as the general contractor of the operational and service (O&M) base for the offshore wind farms in Ustka The O&M base will consist of an office and warehouse building and a quay where service units will moor to transport crews to the offshore wind farm area The commissioning of the base is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026 PGE Baltica has secured a building permit for the Ustka investment The company also selected a contract engineer responsible for supervising the detailed design and construction of the O&M base The new PGE Baltica facilities in Ustka will be built on an area of approximately 2.3 hectares on the western side of the Słupia River The first wind farm operated from the Ustka base will be Baltica 2 which PGE is building together with its partner Ørsted Located approximately 40 kilometres off the Polish coast near Ustka the 1.5 GW offshore wind farm will comprise 107 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW-222 turbines Baltica 2 is expected to be fully commissioned by the end of 2027 the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects will create the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm Baltica 3 is planned to be fully operational by the end of the decade Get in front of your target audience in one move OffshoreWIND.biz is read by thousands of offshore wind professionals daily Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox Leveraging 20 years of experience with offshore windDecember 2023 will forever mark a milestone in our company history as we became part of the world-wide CS WIND group The acquisition goes beyond a mere change in ownership; it marks a leap into a future where our combined strengths will pave the way for optimized production […] Poland — Russian bomber flyovers made the preparations for a Marine amphibious landing off the Polish coast a little more interesting The four-nation beach assault over the weekend was part of Baltic Operations an annual exercise that showcased the capabilities of 20 allied countries as well as Moscow’s irritation with NATO’s growing strength two Russian Su-24 bombers flew over the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York and the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp between 10:20 a.m while they were operating in the Baltic Sea Naval Forces Europe-Africa said in a statement to Stars and Stripes on Tuesday One of the planes flew over Wasp at about 500 feet causing the ship to suspend the takeoff of an MV-22 Osprey three Russian Su-24s made seven passes over the command-and-control ship USS Mount Whitney who characterized most of the interactions as safe and professional The flyover involving Wasp was determined to be safe but unprofessional by U.S Navy officials because the ship was conducting flight operations Sailors aboard Wasp took the flyovers in stride Russia wanted to let them know they were around but they weren’t going to do anything to stop them the sailors told Stars and Stripes during the exercise Russia’s interest wasn’t limited to American forces the Spanish landing helicopter dock ship Juan Carlos I spotted Russian activity nearby while operating off the coast of Poland surface or submarine was frequent in the Baltic Tensions in the region have grown since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 spurred Finland and Sweden to join NATO leaving Russia as the only non-NATO country among the nine that border the Baltic Sea Finland and Sweden joined BALTOPS this year for the first time as alliance members The city of Kaliningrad is the only Russian port that remains ice-free all year and is home to Russia’s Baltic Fleet This year’s BALTOPS includes more than 9,000 personnel 6th Fleet and commanded by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO Spanish and Romanian forces successfully conducted a simultaneous amphibious assault Saturday and Sunday that included seizing and controlling a beach and land and air insertions within a Polish air force training base The two-day segment included about 350 U.S Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked on Wasp and New York The Marines played assault team and opposition forces roles simultaneous assault by about 600 allied forces was a challenge to plan and execute across multiple languages executive officer of Battalion Landing Team 1/8 “The idea was that you have all these different nationalities and ships out at sea … and then all of a sudden they are sending forces ashore at the same time,” Hubert said it’s a simultaneous landing surface on the beach but also air-inserting the forces.” The successful operation boosted confidence and showed that “we can execute and we can get it done in a place we’ve never been before,” Hubert said It also offered an opportunity for forces to learn the hard lessons about things that broke down during planning or execution of the operation a reservist Marine and advisor with the Marine Corps Advisor Company based in Washington D.C Thornton was at the exercise to advise Romanian forces Marines also benefited from learning about the tactics and operating procedures of other countries “There is very little … that you will do in the modern world without an ally or partner to your left and to your right or behind you or assisting you or supporting you in some way,” Thornton said German utility RWE has signed a land lease agreement with the Ustka Port Authority in Poland to build an operations and maintenance base for the F.E.W RWE said it would locate the facilities for the F.E.W Baltic II project at the port’s Western quay adding that the main reason for choosing Ustka was its “extensive port infrastructure the possibility of crew transfer vessel repair and refuelling vessels for regular operations and social facilities for employees” said the construction should start at the port after 2025 The base is expected to create up to 50 new local jobs The 350 MW offshore wind farm project is located in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea on an area of 41 sq km at water depths of 30-50 m and a distance of around 55 km to shore pending further decisions and administrative approvals Implementation is on schedule with commercial operation expected by the end of this decade Don't have an account? has appointed Sweco Polska as a contract engineer for the construction of an operational and maintenance (O&M) base in Ustka The contract engineer is responsible for the supervision over the detailed design and construction of the O&M base and the entire infrastructure necessary for the ongoing operation of the base It will consist of an administrative building and a quay where service units will be moored to transport crews to the offshore wind farm area The planned commissioning of the O&M base is in the fourth quarter of 2026 PGE Group announced its plans to build an O&M for its future offshore wind projects in Ustka in October 2022 The company’s portfolio consists of eight offshore wind projects in various stages of development with a total capacity exceeding 7 GW is developing the 2.5 GW Baltica offshore wind farm in Poland Located in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea between Łeba and Ustka the 1.5 GW Baltica 2 and the 1 GW Baltica 3 The wind farms are planned to be commissioned by the end of 2027 and by the end of this decade PGE Baltica plans to start construction of the 900 MW Baltica 1 offshore wind project renewable energy is key to the future of our planet we have over 60 years’ experience and an in-depth understanding of the power and temperature control needs of wind farms We have a dedicated Wind Energy Team whose innovative strategies […] This work, Know Your Defender - Spc. Yasmine Yakoubi, by SSG Rigo Cisneros, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright PGE Group has unveiled plans to build an operations and maintenance (O&M) centre for its future offshore wind projects and a competence centre in Ustka The Polish energy company will build an O&M base to service its offshore wind farms and an associated training centre for offshore wind in Ustka harbour on the Baltic Sea coast will feature technical facilities and storage space for service crews as well as a warehouse for spare parts and tools necessary for servicing offshore wind farms the new centre will also have arranged wharf for docking vessels and office space the base will also coordinate emergency and routine service work The O&M base will be built by PGE Baltica which already started developing the most optimal concept for land development “Our investment will change not only the harbor itself We are convinced that it will also be an impulse to the development of the entire region and will allow for the creation of new jobs” President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna An offshore wind energy competence centre will also be built in the Ustka Port Future offshore specialists will be able to acquire the training necessary to work in the maintenance of infrastructure and development of offshore wind farms The centre will also test and implement new innovative technologies related to offshore wind energy the first construction works in the Ustka harbour will begin in 2024 while the O&M centre will start operating in 2026 “Thanks to good navigational and technical conditions of the port appropriate depth of both the approach and the port canal service vessels will be able to depart to the area of offshore wind farms without any problems,” said Dariusz Lociński President of the Management Board of PGE Baltica PGE Baltica entered the stage of environmental surveys for the Baltica 1 offshore wind farm located approximately 80 kilometres from the Polish Baltic coast with an installed capacity of around 900 MW is developed by the PGE Group and will be launched after 2030 Poland — Human-sized drones and a giant observation balloon took to the skies of northern Poland this week as a unit at the forefront of the Army’s modernization process held its first major reconnaissance exercise Arcane Thunder is focused on using technology on earth and in space — while stopping an enemy from using theirs — and coordinating electronic means with conventional battlefield attacks The drills were scheduled to end Friday and involved soldiers from several Army units and partner countries was activated two years ago and is headquartered in Wiesbaden The task force is “taking things from the cyber world from the electronic warfare world and trying to figure out how to fuse all that stuff together,” said Lt commander of the 2nd Multi-Domain Effects Battalion “No one has ever done this on this scale and across all these different platforms,” he said The 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force is one of three such units which the Army deems vital to battlefield success as it focuses on competition with larger and sophisticated forces The units are designed to allow the Army to synchronize electronic warfare intelligence and cyber elements with long-range soldiers search the electromagnetic spectrum for signals in an effort to pinpoint enemy targets members of the battalion’s space company monitor satellites “The speed of data drives everything at this point,” battalion operations officer Maj you are able to make decisions quickly and you are able to have that edge and stay ahead.” Task force members have been experimenting with new and existing technologies as they determine what best supports their nascent mission Many specifics of the exercise were classified or restricted for security reasons Photography also was prohibited throughout much of the command post The 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force hopes eventually to get day-to-day operations at its headquarters to mirror the activity seen over the last two weeks in Poland the task force remains in its “initial build phase,” as Ritzema described it It still doesn’t have a long-range fires battalion a critical artillery component of the unit Both of the Army’s other multi-domain task forces focus on the Pacific region One is headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state and the other in Hawaii The service has plans for two more of the task forces The other is expected to focus on the Arctic Europe was chosen as the site of the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force in part to counter Russia on the Continent Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine about five months after the unit’s activation in September 2021 “I think there is a sense of urgency for us to figure out how we can contribute,” Ritzema said when asked about the task force’s role in Europe “And I think the current crisis gives us some additional context and information that we can use to really figure out how specifically we would want to do things.” Arcane Thunder is being held about 130 miles from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad but Ritzema said it was not a specific response to any Russian action Portions of the exercise were held in other locations in Poland “With current and emerging requirements in Europe being the only multi-domain task force here is incredibly important,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Nick Esser If you have questions regarding your subscription of European Security & Defence contact our subscriber service: This work, U.S. Marines, NATO partners conclude BALTOPS 16, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright The U.S.-led NATO alliance will adopt a plan in a matter of weeks to send more weaponry and combat units to its eastern flank but the strategy appears to fall short of fulfilling some allies’ wishes for new installations filled with permanently based troops At the conclusion of a defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg outlined some of the moves he expects to be approved when heads of state meet in Madrid later this month The new force model builds on the troop deployment concepts implemented in recent years to guard against Russian aggression But it’s still unclear how much of NATO’s expanded mission in the east will be filled by American ground forces have said they intend to increase deployments to the eastern reaches of NATO “We heard several allies indicating that they will provide new national announcements to contribute to the new force model,” Stoltenberg said “I’m certain that they will make the announcements well ahead of the NATO summit in two weeks’ time.” Reuters reported Thursday that many members do not favor permanent new bases in the Baltics The reason: they would cost billions of dollars and be hard to sustain “The new force model also consists of many different elements and especially in the eastern part of the alliance we speak about mainly three pillars,” Stoltenberg said The first pillar is a larger forward-based presence with more combat-ready formations and command-and-control capabilities The second is more pre-positioned equipment And the third involves troops who are assigned to train in and defend specific territory he did not mention construction of permanent bases with allied forces assigned to them Eastern allies such as Poland and the Baltic states have made repeated calls for a more robust NATO military presence in their countries Even before Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February NATO had multinational battlegroups operating in the Baltics and Poland to shore up defenses allies have doubled the number of battlegroups with units now operating in eight countries The concept of “preassigned forces” means that units from specific allied countries will focus on specific areas while others will remain in their home country “but (be) ready to move quickly if needed,” Stoltenberg said just over 100 miles from Russian naval hub Kaliningrad is an exhibition of allied strength but some say it could send a dangerous signal Dozens of Nato landing craft churned through the Baltic’s grey waters. Further out at sea, huge warships – the US’s San Antonio, Britain’s Ocean and Poland’s Lublin – filled the horizon. On the beach, DVs – short for distinguished visitors – including the UK defence secretary, Michael Fallon especially the mega hovercraft of the Americans on a scale that would have awed D-day veterans Marines raced out to disappear into the woods A reminder that even the most carefully planned operations can go wrong came when a Polish transport vessel sank The mock landing at Ustka, Poland on Wednesday was the climax of a two-week Nato exercise called Baltops Forty-nine naval vessels from 17 countries and 5,900 personnel were involved in this major show of strength Read moreVladimir Putin, the Russian president, this week announced plans to buy 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. The US, two years after pulling all its armour out of Europe, is preparing to send 250 tanks armoured vehicles and artillery to bases in eastern Europe This is Russia directly trying to intimidate the eastern and northern members of Nato through these flights through its submarine activity and talk of renewing its ballistic missiles “Nato has no quarrel with the Russian people Asked about the danger of a renewed arms race in light of Putin’s pledge on ballistic missiles – though Russia is talking about updating existing missiles rather than adding more – Fallon said: “Russia is clearly modernising its nuclear defence as well as its conventional arms Nato likewise is committed to increasing defence spending and increasing the percentage of defence spending that goes on new equipment Nato is ready to match this kind of sabre-rattling from Russia.” Russian planes have been buzzing low over Nato ships one just 500ft above the destroyer USS Jason Dunham Eurofighter Typhoons based in Estonia intercepted Russian military aircraft bringing to 11 the number of interventions since they were deployed six weeks ago Five of these have been in the last 10 days A US naval officer reported that Russian ships had come “uncomfortably close” – less than a mile from the Nato flotilla It is in international waters and the Russians have as much right as Nato to be there Lt Gen Ben Hodges, commander of the US army Europe said: “I am sure the Russians have no desire to go into a head-to-head fight with Nato But what is a little worrisome is the airspace violations All of these things heighten the chance and risk of an accident or something unintended happening.” The response of Nato to the crisis in Ukraine has been feeble: there is no desire on the part of the US to go to war with Russia over a country that is not even a Nato member Nato has made a mistake lagging behind Russian moves it has to be more aggressiveIgor SutyaginBut it wants to send a clear message to Russia that the Baltic states are Nato members and they will be defended The increased frequency and size of Nato exercises in the Baltic are meant to send that message and Kaliningrad Kaliningrad was regularly described as the most militarised place on Earth but against the present crisis it has regained some of its former prominence almost the same number as those in the Nato exercise The US and the UK devote much of their intelligence capability to monitoring vessels going in and out Hodges said: “One of the things that concerns me is the amount of capability that the Russians have put into Kaliningrad They have the ability to deny access up into the Baltic Sea through anti-ship missiles They recently did an exercise where they put in an Iskander missile there a nuclear-capable system which could easily range Riga.” The importance of Kaliningrad to Russia is that Russian ships from St Petersburg would be vulnerable passing between Estonia and Finland: Kaliningrad has no such vulnerability HMS Ocean as she leads ships of the Baltops fleet Photograph: L(Phot) Luron Wright/MoD/Crown C/PAScandinavian and Baltic countries have reported an increase in Russian naval activity close to their waters The Kremlin has responded by pointing to similar tests of its airspace by Nato planes Nato may say it is ready to match the Kremlin’s sabre-rattling but reality is different from the rhetoric The US is cutting back on defence spending and the size of its forces suffering an economic downturn due partly to sanctions from the US and European nations is scaling back plans for big rises in defence spending next year Russia’s defence spending is dwarfed by that of the US Bristish defence secretary Michael Fallon watches the training exercise from the beach a Russian military specialist at London’s Royal United Services Institute said the standoff in the Baltics is complicated with both sides using exercises to send messages the message is: ‘We will defend the Baltic states “The messages have become more confrontational “Nato has made a mistake lagging behind Russian moves It is that Nato recognises that it is necessary to regain dominance and that means being more aggressive than its opponent One of the contentious issues between Nato and Russia is a pact not to have permanent bases in eastern Europe Nato has tried to get around this by stationing “rotational” troops in the Baltic states and Poland They are there all-year round but Nato claims they are not permanent “Russia would be left with no other option but to boost its troops and forces on the western flank,” said Gen Yuri Yakubov responding to US plans for increased troops and equipment in eastern Europe would be to deploy its new Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad This work, NATO Response Force Marines hone amphibious-assault skills for BALTOPS 2015, by Tatum Vayavananda, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Does this sunken German steamship shipwreck contain the lost treasures of Russia’s Amber Room An intrepid diving team certainly think so After locating the wreck of SS Karlsruhe north of Ustka in Poland they believe the glittering chunk of history is within their reach The Amber Room was a royal gift that mushroomed in size. Back in the 18th century King of Prussia Friedrich-Wilhelm I wanted to give Russian Emperor Peter the Great a cabinet made of amber However the idea was ditched in favor of an entire room decorated with amber panels and other riches The Daily Mail writes that “gilded carving mirrors and yet more amber panels” were added to the indulgent treat It mentions the room is “sometimes dubbed the eighth wonder of the world” Friedrich then had the Amber Room – also referred to as the Amber Chamber – sent to the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg It’s these containers that are believed to be aboard the Karlsruhe where they’ve laid undisturbed for decades Tomasz Stachura of diving company Baltictech says the wreck features “military vehicles porcelain and many crates with contents still unknown.” The ship is reportedly in good condition How did all this amber come to be on the Karlsruhe The vessel’s role in Operation Hannibal is key to the treasure seekers’ quest “Hannibal” saw a million plus Nazi soldiers and civilians flee the stronghold of Königsberg (now the Russian city of Kaliningrad) in East Prussia The advancing Red Army had prompted a major evacuation by sea The Guardian writes it “left Königsberg in a hurry with a large cargo” As Königsberg Castle was the last known destination of the Amber Room crates it makes sense to assume they took the remains of Peter the Great’s pride and joy with them was torpedoed by the Red Army off the Polish coast in April 1945 Baltictech have spent a year tracking down the Karlsruhe shipwreck The group partly relied on fishermen’s reports – where wreckage had interfered with their nets in certain locations – plus historical records of the conflict Sonar was then used to pick out 22 ships similar in size to the German craft before the culprit could be properly identified via the shape of its bow Another vessel named the Karlsruche was recently discovered though this warship met its end five years earlier in Norway Of course the attention-grabbing Polish wreck is just one possible place where treasure might be found President Yeltsin claimed the amber was buried in East Germany in 1997 a stone mosaic from the chamber turned up care of a family supposedly connected to the raid historian Bartlomiej Plebanczyk investigated a German bunker 60 miles from Kaliningrad Some think the Amber Room’s panels and other valuables no longer exist One theory goes they might have been obliterated by Allied bombers during the attack on Königsberg Castle A replica of the chamber is based at the Catherine Palace the find could be worth around $500 million Stachura and co are currently talking to the Maritime Office He explains to Live Science by e-mail: “We have focused only on the inventory video shooting and photographic documentation.” Another Article From Us: Proposed “D-Day Land” Attraction in Normandy Opposed by Veterans But Loved by Others It took 12 months to find the ship in the first place In bureaucratic and archaeological terms that’s only a first step… Huge fan of war history and rural history and a motorbike rider facebook.com/jack.beckett.73 instagram.com/history_bloke_on_a_bike/ linkedin.com/in/jack-beckett-56a76520/ which takes place every July in the nearby Gdynia-Kosakowo airport Be sure to book ahead onto these top rated tours of Sopot to make the most out of your trip Jurata Jurata is a popular seaside resort on the 35 km long Hel Peninsula which separates the Bay of Puck from the Baltic Sea It’s easily reachable from Tricity by train Ideal for relaxed sunset walks on the wide sandy beach it’s also not far away from the seal aquarium (located in Hel Town at the tip of the peninsula) July and August are high season so make sure you book your accommodation in advance fun parks for kids and a 395 metre long pier a visit to the nearby Wolin National Park is a must Łeba and Ustka Łeba and Ustka are coastal towns situated on the two opposite sides of the beautiful Słowiński National Park – famous for its “shifting dunes” which move due to strong winds creating a desert like landscape The park was added to the UNESCO list of World Biosphere Reserves in 1977 Łeba features a mix of high-end establishments like the iconic Neptun Hotel more low-key options including rooms for rent and smaller hotels while Ustka boasts two beaches (one high-cliffed one flat) connected by a pedestrianised bridge on the Słupia River It is also home to many cafes and fish restaurants and an annual firework festival (every July) Sign up to our newsletter to save up to $800 on our unique trips See privacy policy Rewal is much smaller than other resorts mentioned in this article yet it can also get quiet crowded during the summer months Its long cream white beach is perfect for picnics sunbathing and leisurely afternoon strolls Rewal is located only two kilometers from Trzęsacz where you can admire the ruins of a 15th century church which has been gradually taken by the sea over the years and is now reduced to a single brick wall towering over the beach on a sandy cliff private villas and camping sites dotted around a vast pine forest dividing the village from the dunes and a wide beach it hosts Poland’s biggest Frisbee tournament called SandSlash If you click on a link in this story All recommendations have been independently sourced by Culture Trip Read Next See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in October See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in July See & Do Lesser-Known Summer Destinations to Visit in Europe Guides & Tips This Is Europe's Ultimate Road Trip Guides & Tips Beat the Crowds with these Alternative Summer Destinations Guides & Tips The Best Places to Travel in August See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Autumn Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in November See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in September Sports A Hiker's Guide to the Tatra Mountains Guides & Tips The Best European Cities to Visit in December See & Do The Best European Cities to Visit in Summer US: +1 (678) 967 4965 | UK: +44 (0)1630 35000 tripssupport@theculturetrip.com © Copyright 2025 The Culture Trip Ltd the annual nationwide traffic safety event called Speed ​​Marathon will start the Czech Police will send hundreds of patrols to the streets focusing exclusively on speeding - not only on main roads but especially where citizens themselves most often complain about unruly drivers Speed ​​Marathon has been taking place in the Czech Republic for several years and its goal is one thing - to draw attention to the problem of excessive speed which is one of the most common causes of traffic accidents the police will not only stand at "traditional" places such as highways and expressways pedestrian crossings or places with an increased number of accidents Although the Speed ​​Marathon does not hide where it will be held this does not mean that it is just "theater" The police mainly want to remind you that following the speed limit is not a matter of chance keep your foot on the gas lighter than usual but mainly for the safety of you and others And who knows - maybe this day will remind you that driving according to the rules is not so difficult after all Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value"