Falckenstein, Beach in Pries, Germany

Falckenstein is a roughly 2 km bathing beach on the west shore of the Kiel Fjord, stretching from the Friedrichsort lighthouse north to the boundary of Kiel-Schilksee. Its southern part is bordered by the Friedrichsort dike and the remains of the Danish and later Prussian fortress Friedrichsort, with beach grass and dune plants; the northern part meets the wooded Brauner Berg and dunes 50 to 100 m wide.

The name comes from an old fortification that guarded the Friedrichsort fortress and controlled maritime passage. The area remained under military use for many decades before being converted to public recreation.

The name comes from Fort Falckenstein, a fortification on the Brauner Berg that was razed in 1919. The beach is a popular local recreation area, and in summer ferries of the Fördelinie call at the Falckenstein jetty. A beach kindergarten occupies the northern section.

The beach is reached via the Bundesstraße 503 and Fördestraße; Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft buses serve it in summer. In summer the Falckenstein jetty is called at by the Fördelinie passenger ferries of the Schlepp- und Fährgesellschaft Kiel. The southern section is the usual entry point for divers, since depths of over 15 m are reached close to the shore there.

In 2001 around 500 boulders were placed on the seabed at a depth of 5 to 8 metres to create a hard-substrate reef for algae, fish and starfish. North of the beach, a dense seagrass meadow grows at 2 to 4 metres; near the Friedrichsort lighthouse there are only scattered patches and some bladderwrack.