Poel (German pronunciation: [ˈpøːl]) or Poel Island (German: Insel Poel), is an island in the Baltic Sea. It builds the natural northern and eastern boundaries of the Bay of Wismar on the German coast. The northern coast of the island is also on the south side of the large gulf known as the Bay of Mecklenburg, which Wismar Bay enters into. Insel Poel thus forms on its northern side the unofficial latitude of the northern boundary of the Wismar Bay. It is close to the cities of Lübeck, Wismar and Schwerin and is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region.