| Laboe Naval Memorial | |
|---|---|
 | |
| For the sailors of all nationalities who were lost at sea | |
| Unveiled | 1936 |
| Location | near |
The Laboe Naval Memorial (a.k.a. Laboe Tower, German: Marine-Ehrenmal Laboe) is a memorial located in Laboe, near Kiel, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Started in 1927 and completed in 1936, the monument originally memorialized the World War I war dead of the Kaiserliche Marine, with the Kriegsmarine dead of World War II being added after 1945. In 1954 it was rededicated as a memorial for the sailors of all nationalities who were lost at sea and at the same time a memorial for peaceful sailing in open seas.
The monument consists of a 72-metre-high (236 ft) tower topped by an observation deck. The deck stands a total 85 m (279 ft) above sea level. A hall of remembrance and World War II-era German submarine U-995, which houses a technical museum, both sit near the foot of the monument, and the site is a popular tourist venue. U-995 is the world's only remaining Type VII U-boat.
The tower was designed by architect Gustav August Munzer,[1] who stated that the form was not meant to represent anything specific but was to inspire positive feelings in those who look at it. It has been associated by some[by whom?] with the stem of a viking ship or the conning tower of a submarine.
- ^ "Munzer, Prof. Gustav August (1887–1973), Architekt und Schöpfer des Marine-Ehrenmals in Laboe" (in German). Archived from the original on 2011-11-23.