Rügen

Coordinates: 54°27′N 13°24′E / 54.450°N 13.400°E / 54.450; 13.400
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Rügen/Rugia
Map of the island
Rügen/Rugia is located in Germany
Rügen/Rugia
Rügen/Rugia
Geography
LocationBaltic Sea
Coordinates54°27′N 13°24′E / 54.450°N 13.400°E / 54.450; 13.400
Area926.4 km2 (357.7 sq mi)[1]
Length51.4 km (31.94 mi)
Width42.8 km (26.59 mi)[1]
Coastline574 km (356.7 mi)
Highest elevation161 m (528 ft)[1]
Highest pointPiekberg[1]
Administration
Germany
StateMecklenburg-Vorpommern
DistrictVorpommern-Rügen
Demographics
DemonymRugians
Population77,000[1] (2006)
Pop. density79/km2 (205/sq mi)
Mönchgut lagoon countryside

Rügen (German pronunciation:

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
.

The "gateway" to Rügen island is the

Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where it is linked to the mainland by road and railway via the Rügen Bridge and Causeway, two routes crossing the two-kilometre-wide Strelasund, a sound of the Baltic Sea
.

Rügen has a maximum length of 51.4 km (31.9 mi) (from north to south), a maximum width of 42.8 km (26.6 mi) in the south and an area of 926 km2 (358 sq mi). The coast is characterized by numerous sandy

headlands. In June 2011, UNESCO awarded the status of a World Heritage Site to the Jasmund National Park, famous for its vast stands of beeches and chalk cliffs like King's Chair, the main landmark of Rügen island.[4]

The island of Rügen is part of the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, with its county seat in Stralsund.

The towns on Rügen are:

Göhren, Sellin and Thiessow
.

Rügen is very popular as a tourist destination because of its resort architecture, the diverse landscape and its long, sandy beaches.

Geology

Cape Arkona

The chalk cliffs of the Jasmund peninsula belong to the Rügen Chalk unit and were formed during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, around 70 million years ago.[5]

Geography

The main body of the island, known as

sandbar and to Muttland by the Schmale Heide, an embankment at Lietzow and the Wittow Ferry. The northern peninsulas are separated from Muttland by several lagoons or bodden, the largest of which are the Großer Jasmunder Bodden and Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden. Major peninsulas in the south are Zudar and Mönchgut which both face the Bay of Greifswald. Strelasund
separates the island from the southern mainland.

Jasmund National Park, famous for its chalk cliffs, the symbol of Rügen: Victoria-Sicht (Victoria's View) and Königsstuhl (King's Chair) from the Baltic Sea

Rügen has a total area of 926.4 km2 (357.7 sq mi), or 974 km2 (376 sq mi) if the adjacent small islands are included.[1] The maximum diameter is 51.4 km (31.9 mi) from north to south, and 42.8 km (26.6 mi) from east to west.[1] Of an overall 574 km-long (357 mi) coastline, 56 km (35 mi) are sandy Baltic Sea beaches, and 2.8 km (1.7 mi) sandy bodden beaches.[1] The highest elevations are on the Jasmund peninsula: Piekberg (161 m or 528 ft) and Königsstuhl (117 m or 384 ft).[1]

The northern part of the

Having and Hagensche Wiek
.

Binz

In the north-east of the island of Rügen is formed by the peninsula of

cliff (Gellort) on the shoreline is the Siebenschneiderstein – the fourth largest glacial erratic
boulder on Rügen.

German Romantic painter Caspar Friedrich's Chalk Cliffs on Rügen

The northwestern and western sides of Rügen are also highly indented, but a little flatter. Offshore are the larger islands of

Erratics on and around Rügen
).

Land use

The heartland of Rügen is gently rolling, and the area is characterized primarily by agriculture. East of the town of Bergen auf Rügen the land climbs to 90 metres (295') (at Rugard where there is an observation tower) and to 107 metres (351') in the southeastern hill country of the Granitz. The soil on Rügen is very fertile and productive, particularly in Wittow, the breadbasket of the island. There are major cabbage-producing regions.

Two German national parks are situated on Rügen: the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park, in the west (including Hiddensee), and the Jasmund National Park, a smaller park including the famous chalk cliffs (Königsstuhl). There is also a nature reserve, the Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve, consisting of the peninsulas in the southeast.

Panoramic view over Rügen from Granitz Castle near Binz

Climate

Köppen map of Rügen

The climate is in the

temperate zone. According to the Köppen climate classification the northern parts of the island and the coastal regions (apart from those lay adjacent to Strelasund) are under the influence of the oceanic climate (Cfb), meanwhile the remaining majority of the area is dominated by the humid continental climate (Dfb).[6]
The winters are not particularly cold, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0 °C (32.0 °F); and summers are mild and temperate, with a mean temperature in August of 16.3 °C (61.3 °F). There is an average rainfall of 520–560 mm (20–22 in) and approximately 1800–1870 hours of sunshine annually.

Administration

Administratively, Rügen is part of the district

Ämter Bergen auf Rügen (municipalities Bergen auf Rügen, Buschvitz, Garz, Gustow, Lietzow, Parchtitz, Patzig, Poseritz, Ralswiek, Rappin, Sehlen and Thesenvitz), West-Rügen (municipalities Altefähr, Dreschvitz, Gingst, Hiddensee, Kluis, Neuenkirchen, Rambin, Samtens, Schaprode, Trent and Ummanz), Nord-Rügen (municipalities Altenkirchen, Breege, Dranske, Glowe, Lohme, Putgarten, Sagard, Wiek) and Mönchgut-Granitz (municipalities Baabe, Göhren, Lancken-Granitz, Middelhagen, Sellin, Thiessow and Zirkow) and the Amt-free municipalities of Binz, Putbus and Sassnitz.[7] Overall, there are 45 municipalities on Rügen, four of which have town status (Bergen, Garz, Putbus and Sassnitz).[8]

History

Historical affiliations

  Rani (Tribe) 7th Century-1168/1169
Principality of Rügen (Denmark) 1168–1325
Pomerania-Wolgast 1325-1368/1372
Pomerania-Barth 1368/1372-1451
Pomerania-Wolgast 1451-1478
Duchy of Pomerania 1478-1648
Swedish Pomerania (Sweden) 1648-1677

Denmark-Norway
1677-1678
Swedish Pomerania (Sweden) 1678
Denmark-Norway
1678-1679
Swedish Pomerania (Sweden) 1679-1807
First French Empire 1807-1813
Swedish Pomerania (Sweden) 1813-1814
Denmark-Norway
1814-1815
Kingdom of Prussia (From 1871 German Empire) 1815-1918
German Empire 1871-1918
Free State of Prussia (Weimar Republic until 1933) 1918-1947
Weimar Republic 1918-1933
Nazi Germany 1933-1945
Soviet occupation zone in Germany 1945-1949
East Germany 1949-1990
Germany Germany 1990-Present

Pre-history and the Germani

Lancken-Granitz dolmen

Discoveries in the

Pannonia
.

Slavic Rani

From the 7th century the West Slavic

Liutician
(in the south) occupied mainland for the next few centuries. Many traces of their life can be found today.

The Celebration of Svetovid on Rügen (1912), Alphonse Mucha, The Slav Epic

The basis of their great military strength was a combination of the Ranian navy and a favourable location. Denmark, which was at that time very successful in Great Britain and Scandinavia, was neither able to match its Ranian rivals in the Baltic Sea region nor protect its coastline from Ranian armies until well into the 12th century. Meanwhile, the Ranians built numerous castles and temples in the Barth-Jasmund-Gristow triangle.

The temple hill of

Garz or Venz. The main trading centre of the empire was Ralswiek at the southernmost point of the Großer Jasmunder Bodden
.

Principality under Danish suzerainty

In 1168, the

Principality of Rugia, were commissioned by their overlord, the Holy Roman Emperor, to seize Rügen for the empire, but were defeated in the Bay of Greifswald
.

Under Danish rule the Principality of Rugia changed its character. Danish monasteries were established (e.g. Bergen Abbey in 1193 and

Wizlaw I founded the town of Stralsund and granted Greifswald market rights in 1241. The power of the towns grew rapidly, forcing Rügen's rulers to make concessions—for example, the prince's castle at Barth
was slighted and Schadegast, the princely "twin" of the municipally-controlled Stralsund, was ousted in favour of the latter.

In 1304 a storm surge, known as the All Saints' Flood, devastated the island and flooded the peninsula between Mönchgut and Ruden.

Part of Pomerania

Invasion of Rügen by Brandenburg-Prussia at Neukamp in 1678 (etching by Jan Luiken).
Eilhardus Lubinus

After the death of the last Slav prince of the Wizlawiden (House of Wizlaw) dynasty,

Treaty of Westphalia (see Swedish Pomerania). Rügen was part of Swedish Pomerania from 1648 to 1815. The largest landowners, owning at least one-fifth of the island until 1945, was the House of Putbus
, which was an offshoot of the earlier ruling princes of the Wizlawid dynasty. In 1727, they were created counts of Holy Roman Empire and 1731 counts in Sweden, ultimately Swedish princes in 1807.

Under

Wilhelm Malte I
(1783–1854), 1st prince of Putbus, was the last Governor of Swedish Pomerania and the first under Prussian rule.

Ralswiek Castle

In 1816 the first bathing resort was founded at Putbus. Later more resorts were established, and Rügen remained the most famous holiday resort of Germany until World War II.

German Empire

Rügen was a popular destination for exile of Catholic priests and clergy during Kulturkampf between 1875 and 1879.[9]

Nazi era

KdF Building Prora

The Nazis added a large resort:

Strength through Joy
organisation, which aimed to occupy people's free time. However, Prora was never completed.

In 1936 the first bridge connecting Rügen with the mainland was constructed (

Rügendamm
), replacing the former ferry shuttles.

The operation commanded by Wolfram von Richthofen that bombed the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, was named after the island. An Abwehr Signals intelligence Operation during the same conflict was titled Operation Bodden after the strait separating Rügen from the German mainland.

In the aftermath of World War II, East German and Soviet authorities exiled landholders from the mainland to the island.[10]

GDR era

After the

German Democratic Republic (GDR). In 1952 the island became part of the district of Rostock
.

The island was the focal point of Project Rose (Action Rose) by the GDR government designed to nationalize hotels, taxis and service companies on 10 February 1953. The occasion was supposed to have been a visit by

economic crime or as agents working for the West. Their property was then confiscated and they were sent to prison. Many of the owners and small businessmen were incarcerated in Bützow prison. The hotels were supposed to have been expropriated by the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB). In fact, they were used as accommodation for the barracks-based "people's police" (Kasernierte Volkspolizei
or CPI). As a result of the confiscation of hotels, tourism on Rügen in 1953 came almost to a complete standstill for a time.

In the following nearly four decades, the island became one of the main tourist areas in the GDR. The FDGB played a dominant role in tourist accommodation. In 1963 the FDGB had 7,519 holiday places, the Reisebüro der DDR 2,906 places and a further 5,025 were available for businesses and organizations. In addition, there were 12,245 places for children in summer camps and another 20,800 places for campers. The plots were located mainly near the beaches.[11] Increased holiday capacity was not however generated until the 1970s and 1980s.

Reunited Germany

Binz, one of several spas on Rügen, featuring the typical Resort architecture of the German Baltic SeaKurhaus (spa hotel) at night
The pier of Sellin at night

In 1990, Rügen became part of the new state of

district of Rügen. Since the 2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern district reforms Rügen has been part of Vorpommern-Rügen
.

In 2007 a second bridge, the

Rügen Bridge
(Rügenbrücke), was built to replace the first one built in 1936.

Rügen has now surpassed Sylt as the most popular German island again.

Tourist resorts

Rügen is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Germany. The island receives about one quarter of all overnight stays in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Most visitors come to Rügen between April and October, the peak season being from June to August, but its quiet atmosphere in winter is also appreciated.

The first bathing facility on Rügen opened in 1794 at the mineral-rich spring in Sagard.[12] In 1818, the Putbus village of Lauterbach became Rügen's first seaside resort.[13] In the 1860s Sassnitz became a seaside resort, followed by Binz in the 1880s.[13] During World War II Prora was constructed as a mass tourist resort but it was never finished.[13]

Sellin Architecture

Today the most popular seaside resorts are the

hunting lodge, the classicist buildings of Putbus and the inland villages of Bergen auf Rügen, Ralswiek and Gingst
.

The island offers a huge variety of different beach and shore areas. Rügen is often visited by windsurfers and kitesurfers and offers more than fifteen different locations for surfing. The most popular locations are

Neu Mukran
.

On the peninsula of Jasmund is the Jasmund National Park, which consists of the beech forest of Stubnitz, including the famous chalk cliffs of Rügen. On the Königsstuhl itself is the Königsstuhl National Park Centre, which has a multivision cinema and audio-guide exhibitions with information about the national park in several languages.

Transport

Rail

Rasender Roland ("Rushing Roland") is Rügen's famous historical steam-powered railway, that runs from Putbus to Binz, Baabe, Sellin and Göhren
.

The

Rügen Resort Railway
(Rasender Roland): Lauterbach Mole-Putbus-Binz-Sellin-Göhren (KBS 199).

In addition to regional trains, there are also

Stralsund to Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and the Ruhr. Night train services to Munich
, Basle and the Ruhr area were deleted from the timetable on 9 December 2007, despite massive protests from the local hotel industry.

Bus

The bus service on Rügen is operated by the Rügener Personennahverkehr. Since 1996 it has been continuously expanded, and has developed an integral

Wiek-Dranske and the Altenkirchen-Putgarten
near Cape Arkona. In addition, the bus service is well-linked with the railway, especially in Bergen, but also at other railway stations.

Road

Typical avenue on Rügen. The German Avenue Road starts in Sellin on the island and leads down to the far South of Germany (until Lake Constance).

Until October 2007, individual traffic from the mainland to the island of Rügen was mainly routed along the two-lane Rügendamm causeway, running between Stralsund and Altefähr over the sound of Strelasund.

The cornerstone for a second crossing over the Strelasund was laid on 31 August 2004. This bridge, the Rügen Bridge, running parallel to the Rügendamm, has a length of about 4.1 kilometres (2.5 mi) and a vertical clearance for ships of 42 metres (138 ft), and was on opened on 20 October 2007. In order to relieve the town of Stralsund, a ring road has been built in the last few years, coming from the southwest. The B 96 federal road between Stralsund and Greifswald is also connected via an access road to the A 20 motorway. The B 96 runs from Stralsund via Bergen to Sassnitz. Here a new route with bypasses is planned (the "New B 96").

The main tourist attractions of Cape Arkona, the

Granitz hunting lodge
are, however, car-free in order to protect the countryside, as is the island of Hiddensee which belongs to Vorpommern-Rügen district. All these destinations can be reached using public transport, without needing a car.

Cycling

Rügen has a signposted network of cycle paths. The condition and signing of this network varies considerably from one place to another, from very good in the seaside resorts to poor in the area between Garz and Zudar. There is a circular cycle path around the whole island. During the summer season there is the option on some routes to carry bicycles on the buses. This is always possible on the railways.

Ship

Ferry port Mukran, (part of Sassnitz)

Two car ferries belonging to the Weiße Flotte operate every half-an-hour between the Zudar peninsula on Rügen and Stahlbrode on the mainland, halfway between Stralsund and Greifswald .

Another Weiße Flotte car ferry, the Wittow Ferry runs from the heartland of Rügen (Muttland) to Wittow.

A ferry sails from Sassnitz ferry port in Mukran to the Danish island of Bornholm, to Swedish Trelleborg, to Klaipėda (formerly Memel) in Lithuania, to Baltiysk (formerly Pillau) and to Saint Petersburg.

The island of

Wiek and Breege to Hiddensee. Tourist services include ferry connections from Lauterbach to Gager, and between Sassnitz, Binz, Sellin and Göhren. There are also round-trips mainly from Sassnitz, but also from Lohme
, to the Königsstuhl. Pleasure steamers also ply between the resorts and Peenemünde on Usedom, where there is a connection to the Usedom Railway (UBB).

Ferries

Neu Mukran
is the international ferry terminal on Rügen, with ferry services to

Sassnitz-Mukran is the largest railway ferry terminal in

broad gauge.[14]

Local passenger ferries connect the piers of Sassnitz, Binz, Sellin and Göhren with the adjacent islands of Hiddensee, Vilm and Greifswalder Oie. Passenger and car ferries connect Rügen's centre of Muttland, to both Wittow in Rügen's north via the Wittow Ferry and to the mainland via the Glewitz Ferry (Glewitzer Fähre) between Stahlbrode near Greifswald and Glewitz on Rügen's Zudar peninsula.

Aviation

Runway of Rügen Airport at Bergen

Wende
, the first sightseeing flights over the island were offered on the former agricultural airfield. In May 1993, the first tarmac runway was inaugurated. Since then, charter flights to Berlin, Hamburg and other cities in Europe have been available.

The

Baltic Sea Airport Stralsund also offers flights to and from the region of Western Pomerania. The larger Rostock–Laage Airport
offers regular international destinations.

Notable people

Significant Rüganer:

Karl Schwarz, 1865

Individuals associated with the island

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher around 1815

See also

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ Milewski 1930, p. 306.
  3. .
  4. ^ See inter alia "Fünf deutsche Buchenwälder werden von UNESCO zum Weltnaturerbe erklärt" [Five German beech forests declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO]. ARD-Tagesschau (in German). 25 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  5. from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  6. .
  7. ^ "Landkreis Rügen homepage/Regionales: Städte, Gemeinden, Ämter". Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  8. .
  9. ^ Clark, Christopher (2008). "4". Religion and confessional conflict. Oxford Academic. p. 89-90.
  10. ^ Exorcising Hitler, The Occupation and Denazifcation of Germany, by Frederick Taylor, Bloomsbury Press
  11. ^ Dr. Rudolf Petzold, 1964, Die Bäderküste Rügens, Veb Brockhaus Verlag,Leipzig, page 5
  12. .
  13. ^ .
  14. ^ a b c d e "Fährhafen Sassnitz Gmbh (homepage), Verkehre, Liniendienste". Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  15. ^ "Bornholm". Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Deutsche Bahn Pressemitteilung vom 03.07.2009, 16:12". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  17. ^ "Arndt, Ernst Moritz" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 627–628.
  18. ^ "Ruge, Arnold" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 821.
  19. ^ "Schwarz, Karl" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). 1911.
  20. ^ "Billroth, Albert Christian Theodor" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 945.
  21. ^ "Delbrück, Hans" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 952.
  22. ^ Christian Schwochow, IMDb Database Archived 18 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ^ "Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht von" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 90.
  • Milewski, Tadeusz (1930). "Pierwotne nazwy wyspy Rugji i słowiańskich jej mieszkańców". Slavia Occidentalis (in Polish). IX: 292–306.

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