FACTBOX: Venue for G8 summit steeped in history

(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, chairing the annual meeting as president of the Group of Eight (G8), is due on Wednesday to lunch with U.S. President George W. Bush and then meet Russia's Vladimir Putin before hosting a reception and dinner for the leaders and their spouses at Germany's elegant Heiligendamm resort.

Here are some facts on the venue for the summit.

* The seaside resort Heiligendamm, situated on the Baltic Sea coast, is the oldest seaside spa in Germany. It is part of the town of Bad Doberan in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

* ORIGINS:

-- Heiligendamm's history as a resort began in 1793, when, prompted by his physician, Professor Vogel of Rostock, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg gave the go-ahead for developing Germany's first sea-bathing establishment near his summer residence of Doberan.

-- The professor wanted to exploit the "indubitably established health-giving effects of sea-bathing in very many weaknesses and diseases of the body." This would now be possible at Heiligendamm.

* THE 19th CENTURY:

-- Between 1800 and 1870 an impressive complex of lodging-houses, bathing establishments and assembly rooms -- the "White Town by the Sea" -- sprang up.

-- Inscribed on the outside of the Kurhaus, part of the Kempinski hotel and built between 1814 and 1816, are the words: "Heic te laetitia invitat post balnea sanum" ("Here happiness awaits you as you emerge healthy after bathing").

* A MODERN REVIVAL:

-- Until the end of World War Two, it remained an exclusive resort though it has changed hands over the years. In 1948 sea-cures once again became available, and from 1957 to 1990 it was used as a sanatorium for the health service.

-- Most of the historic buildings have been bought by an investor whose ambition is to restore its reputation as an elegant holiday destination. The classical buildings were renovated first, and in May 2003 the Kempinski Grand Hotel opened its doors. U.S. President George W. Bush stayed there during a July 2006 visit to Germany.

* SECURITY:

-- A 2.5-metre high steel fence, topped with razor wire, has been placed in a ring around Heiligendamm and police will control access through airport-style X-ray machines. To prevent anyone from tunneling beneath the fence, construction workers have rammed 50-cm long steel grating into the ground.

Sources: Reuters/G8 website - www.g-8.de