Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen | |
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![]() Panorama | |
Location of Bergen auf Rügen (dark red) in Amt Bergen auf Rügen (light red) in Rügen district (grey) Vorpommern-Rügen | |
Municipal assoc. | Bergen auf Rügen |
Founded | 1313 |
Subdivisions | 13 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Andrea Köster (CDU) |
Area | |
• Total | 51.42 km2 (19.85 sq mi) |
Elevation | 55 m (180 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 13,689 |
• Density | 270/km2 (690/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 18528 |
Dialling codes | 03838 |
Vehicle registration | RÜG |
Website | www.stadt-bergen-auf-ruegen.de |
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of
Geography
Location
Bergen is in the middle of Germany's biggest island,
South of the town is the Kiebitzmoor ("Peewit Moor") and to the northwest is the lake of Nonnensee which was reactivated a few years ago.
Subdivisions
The following wards are parts of Bergen:
- Bergen Süd
- Dumsevitz
- Kaiseritz
- Karow
- Kiekut
- Neklade
- Streu
- Tilzow
- Trips
- Zittvitz
Bergen Süd
Bergen Süd is the most populous district of Bergen. It consists mainly of
Rotensee
Rotensee is the second most populous district in Bergen and is situated in the west of the town. Just like Bergen Süd, Rotensee is made of plattenbau houses, built in the 1980s. Not until 2000 were the first houses renovated. Due to the declining population of the town, a number of houses were demolished or dismantled. Rotensee has two day care centres, a regional day school, the socio-cultural community centre/"multi-generational house" (NBZ Rotensee) and a special-needs school.
Tetel
Tetel is the smallest district in Bergen. It is located southeast of Bergen auf Rügen near Zittvitz. Three families live in Tetel. The oldest house is about 120 years old.
History
Name
The origin of the name stretches back to 1232 when there was a place on Rügen called Gora, a
On 6 November 1995, it was renamed from Bergen/Rügen to Bergen auf Rügen.
Middle Ages
Bergen's history goes back over one thousand years. The first settlements on the present day territory of Bergen are, however, considerably older. During the Early Middle Ages, Rügen was settled by a
When the tribe was subdued by the Danes, who erected the Principality of Rügen ruled by a local dynasty, the Rugard burgh became an administrative centre. With Danish rule, the principality became Christian and subject to German immigration in the course of the Ostsiedlung. While the Rugard stronghold included a suburbium already, the town of Bergen was erected on the neighbouring hilltop and not within the ramparts of the Rugard, that today are preserved in a park north of the town centre.
Soon after the
In 1325, Bergen, along with the Principality of Rügen, became part of the Duchy of Pomerania by inheritance. Until the 15th century, Bergen was under the monastery's administration. Fires, such as that in 1445, almost destroyed the entire town, the monastery and parts of the church.
Early Modern era
In 1534, after a decree by the Pomeranian
In 1613, Bergen was granted Lübeck law town rights. This is exceptional when compared with most other Pomeranian towns, which had already been granted town rights in the 13th century. After the Thirty Years' War, the town became Swedish as part of Swedish Pomerania in 1648. In 1815, it became part of the Prussian Province of Pomerania.
19th century
The first industrial enterprises were established in 1823 and 1853, when
20th century
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Luftbild_Bergen_auf_R%C3%BCgen_Zentrum_Dammstr_Marktstr_Kirche_St_Marien_-_Foto_Wolfgang_Pehlemann_Steinberg_Ostsee_DSCN5769.jpg/220px-Luftbild_Bergen_auf_R%C3%BCgen_Zentrum_Dammstr_Marktstr_Kirche_St_Marien_-_Foto_Wolfgang_Pehlemann_Steinberg_Ostsee_DSCN5769.jpg)
Four days before the end of the
Population growth
Year | Population |
---|---|
1600 | ca. 1,650 |
1630 | just 400 |
1788 | ca. 1,500 |
1890 | 4,000 |
1989 | 19,200 |
2000 | 15,615 |
2006 | 14,430 |
Transport
- .
Bergen has essentially good transport connections. This refers to travel on the island of Rügen and the
Individually, the road network serving Bergen is as follows. The B 96 reaches Bergen from Stralsund, where it connects with the B 105 which leads to Rostock. Bergen is also accessible by car by taking the ferry from Glewitz. In Bergen, the road further branches into the B 196, affording access to the island's eastern area, where there are bathing beaches. The B 96 itself leads further on to Sassnitz.
Those who would rather forgo the car may also reach Bergen by train. Already by the time the first stretches of railway were built on Rügen in 1883, trains were reaching the island from afar. The island's capital, Bergen, has always profited from this, as it lies right on the main transport arteries to the bathing resorts and the harbour at Mukran (Sassnitz).
All parts of the island of Rügen can also be reached from Bergen by the many buslines there.
Until the 1960s, Bergen was also served by a local
Recreation
- Not far from the historic town centre is the Rugard Forest (Rugardwald). From the Ernst Moritz Arndt Tower, at 91 m above sea level, there is a stunning panoramic view far across Rügen.
- In the northern part of the Rugard Forest, a summer luge track was opened on 25 June 2005.
- Bergen Rotensee Socio-cultural Neighbourhood Centre, since February 2005 with club-cinema. Readings, concerts and creative arts are held here.
Culture and sights
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Bildstein_Marienkirche_Bergen.jpg/170px-Bildstein_Marienkirche_Bergen.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Bergen_auf_R%C3%BCgen_-_Sankt-Marien-Kirche_%281%29_%2811402548605%29.jpg/170px-Bergen_auf_R%C3%BCgen_-_Sankt-Marien-Kirche_%281%29_%2811402548605%29.jpg)
Museums
The museum of the town of Bergen is located in one of the carefully restored buildings of the former abbey. The exhibition covers the following:
- Ground floor: prehistory and early history of Rügen, from the Stone Age to the end of the Slavic period in 1168, when Christianity came to the island
- Upstairs: Bergen's town history from the foundation of the abbey to the mid-19th century.
Buildings
- The former abbey church, Jaromar I, and was completed before 1193, apart from the westwork. The triple-aisled basilica church is the oldest surviving brick building in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The gravestone recessed into the outer wall of St. Mary's Church is believed to be that of the Prince. Of note is the Roman mural, the only example in northern Germany of the complete painting of a church. In the 14th century it was expanded into a hall church.
- St. Boniface's Church, seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Rügen.
- The monastery buildings of Bergen Abbey, founded in 1193, date to the 12th and 13th centuries. Some were knocked down in 1600 and after 1829, leaving only remnants of the refectory in the carriage house and two two-storey brick houses from 1732.
- Many town houses, mostly two-story timber framedbuildings, for example those in Kirchplatz 13 with its brick facade.
- Many notable front doors, for example, Mühlenstraße 4
- Memorial stone at the "cemetery" entrance in Billrothstraße for twelve murdered prisoners at SStroops and buried in 1947 in Bergen.
- 1964 memorial on Rugardweg to resistance fighters
- Adjacent to the historic town centre is the woodland area of Rugard. From the Ernst Moritz Arndt tower, completed in 1877 and which stands at a height of 91 m above NN, there are extensive views over large parts of the island.
- A sommerrodelbahnopened on 25 June 2005 in the northern part of the Rugard.
- The Bergen Rotensee "socio-cultural community centre", with cinema club, open since February 2005. Readings, concerts and creative art exhibitions are at held here.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Theodor_Billroth.jpg/140px-Theodor_Billroth.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1987-0611-042%2C_Diana_Gansky.jpg/140px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1987-0611-042%2C_Diana_Gansky.jpg)
Notable people from Bergen auf Rügen
- Arnold Ruge (1802–1880), writer.[2]
- New York State
- Theodor Billroth (1829–1894), doctor and surgeon and amateur pianist and violinist.
- Hans Delbrück, (1848–1929), German historian and politician.[3]
- Max Delbrück (1850–1919), an agricultural chemist.[4]
- Karl Albrecht, (DE Wiki) (1859–1929), Protestant theologian, philologist and orientalist
- Gertrud Berger (1870–1949), painter of landscapes and still life associated with Greifswald.
- Hans Langsdorff (1894–1939), naval officer, commanded German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee
- Andreas Khol (born 1941), Austrian politician
- Holger Teschke, (DE Wiki) (born 1958), German writer
- Nils Jörn (born 1964), historian and archivist
- Devid Striesow (born 1973), actor
Sport
- Diana Gansky (born 1963), discuss thrower; silver medallist at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Ines Pianka (born 1969), volleyball player, team captain, 1996 Summer Olympics
- Steffi Nerius (born 1972), javelin thrower; silver medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics
City partnerships
Pictures
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St. Mary's Church
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Timbered house at the market square
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Rugard Tower
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Panorama of shallow bays and the Baltic Sea (NE)
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Monastery
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Market
Literature
- Gustav Kratz: Die Städte der Provinz Pommern – Abriss ihrer Geschichte, zumeist nach Urkunden. Berlin 1965 (Nachdruck 1996 durch Sändig Reprint Verlag, Vaduz, ISBN 3-253-02734-1), pp. 39–42 (Volltext).
- Wolfgang Rudolph: Die Insel Rügen. Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 1999, ISBN 3-356-00814-5.
- Sabine-Maria Weitzel: Die romanischen Wandmalereien im Chor und Querschiff der St.-Marien-Kirche in Bergen auf Rügen – Original und Erfindung. In: Baltische Studien. Pommersche Jahrbücher für Landesgeschichte. Neue Folge Band 91 (Band 137 Der Gesamtreihe) 2005, Kiel 2006, pp. 39–60.
- Gerold Schmidt: Der Kirchenmaler und Mosaikkünstler des Historismus Prof. August Oetken (1868–1951). In: Das Melanchthonhaus Bretten. Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher 1997, pp. 167–212.
References
- Statistisches Amt Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2023.
- New International Encyclopedia. Vol. XVII. 1905. p. 394.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). 1922. .
- New International Encyclopedia. Vol. VI. 1905. p. 90.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Bergen auf Rügen travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Official website of Bergen auf Rügen
- Bergen Marienkirche church and church community
- (all in German)