Two sandy spits on the Świna barrier (Wolin and Uznam) provide a very detailed succession of Holocene coastal foredunes and dunes and are regarded as key sites along the southern Baltic Sea coast. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating is proven to be a powerful tool for the reconstruction of Holocene coastal spit evolution and foredune accretion; quartz extracted from the coastal sediments in the study area provides excellent properties for OSL dating. The OSL age from the innermost dune indicates that spit development of the Świna barrier started immediately after rapid sea-level rise of the Littorina transgression decelerated at ~ 6.6 ka. A significant change in the foredune progradation rate occurred during the late Subatlantic transgression at ~ 1.2 ka (800 AD), when migration rates decreased from 2.6 ± 0.7 m a − 1 to 1.3 ± 0.4 m a − 1 . Progradation accelerated again during the “Little Ice Age” between 1550 and 1850 AD. The systematic dating of 28 samples reveals six hiatuses during foredune succession, at ~ 2100 BC, ~ 900 BC, 200 BC–200 AD, ~ 600 AD, ~ 1000 AD, and ~ 1600 AD. The timing of these hiatuses correlates with the phases of transgressive dune development in the surrounding area (Troszyn and Świna) and with phases of increased aeolian activity in other parts of North- and West-Europe. We conclude that four of these phases of foredune erosion/instability and aeolian sediment mobilisation were caused by general climate shifts to cooler and stormier conditions at ~ 2200 BC, ~ 900 BC, ~ 600 AD, and at ~ 1600 AD, the latter corresponding to the “Little Ice Age”. The period of increased aeolian activity around 1000 AD is probably to a phase of intensive forest clearance in Central Europe. In contrast, the systematic foredune accretion and foredune plain growth correlates to periods of positive sediment budget, milder and calmer climate, and an intact vegetation cover.