Arnis

About This Anchorage

Arnis is Germany's officially designated smallest town (Kleinste Stadt Deutschlands) — a community of 300 people on a narrow peninsula jutting into the Schlei 4nm upstream of Kappeln. The town received its town charter in 1667 and has maintained it ever since despite never growing beyond a few hundred inhabitants. Arnis consists of a single main street, a historic ferry landing, a tiny church (St. Johannis, 1788), and a handful of half-timbered fishermen's houses. The hand-pulled rope ferry at Arnis is identical to the one at Missunde. The Schlei here is at its most quintessentially 'Schleswig-Holstein' — narrow, reedy, peaceful, with the smell of water and the distant cry of terns. The small harbour (8–10 berths) is often described as the most charming on the entire Schlei.

Hazards

• !Very limited harbour space — 8–10 berths maximum; arrive before 17:00 in peak season
• !Schlei draught limit 1.8m beyond Kappeln; Arnis is within this section — check current charts
• !Eelgrass throughout Schlei — anchor only in sandy patches near harbour entrance

Skipper's Tips

• →Ask the harbourmaster about Arnis's history as Germany's smallest town — they take enormous pride in the designation; very welcoming to visiting sailors
• →The rope ferry at Arnis: cross the Schlei by hand-pulled ferry (same system as Missunde) — one of the most charming 2-minute voyages in Germany
• →Walk the entire town in 20 minutes — the single main street, the tiny church, the old fishermen's houses; then back to the cockpit for sundowners with the Schlei glittering in the evening light

Nearby Anchorages