Island of Rügen

The island of Rügen is Germany’s largest island in the Baltic Sea and a favorite vacation spot for the country’s residents and their neighbors. It was once home to Germanic tribes, then Slavic tribes who assimilated with the Germans. Then Rügen belonged to the Danes, Prussians, Swedes, French, East Germans, until it became part of the united Germany. The island lies on a chalk plateau subject to erosion, and deposits of snow-white chalk protrude from its surface among oak and pine forests. Tourists are attracted by the long sandy beaches, varied landscapes and festive architecture characteristic of the Baltic seaside.

.

Video: Island of Rügen

” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen> Contents

History of Rügen

The first settlements, as excavations on the peninsulas show, appeared on the island of Rügen as early as the Stone Age. By the beginning of the new era here came Germanic tribes of the Rugians, who, according to most scholars, gave the island its name, and then migrated southward. In the VII century the territory was developed by the West Slavic tribes of the Rujans, who were very warlike and managed to subjugate almost the entire Baltic coast. This was resisted by the Danish tribes both by force and diplomatically. In 1168 the Danes crushed the Slavic wooden fortress on Cape Arkona together with the temple of the god Svyatovit. No further reprisals followed: the local nobility submitted to Denmark, accepted Christianity through the mediation of Bishop Absalon of Roskille, and the Rujan prince Jaromar I married a Danish princess. The Danish rule did not last long, already in the next century the Germans from the mainland ruled the island. The Rujans quickly adopted Germanic customs and language, and by the beginning of the XV century there were no speakers of Slavic dialects left on Rügen.

.

Until the XVII century Rügen belonged to Pomerania, then, under the terms of the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War, withdrew to Sweden. Soon it was reclaimed by the strengthened Brandenburg, at the beginning of the XIX century Rügen was occupied by Napoleon’s troops, and after the defeat of France managed to return for a year under the patronage of Denmark, until finally was not fixed as a possession of Prussia. The heyday of the spa town of Rügen dates back to this time. Before the Second World War they tried to make it a “health factory”, something like a conveyor belt for recreation, after the defeat of Germany there was a contingent of Soviet troops, and this part of the GDR for many years became closed to mere mortals. In the 60’s here built summer camps for children’s recreation, but really engaged in the revival of tourism only after the reunification of the two Germanies. The process is far from complete, but for Germans the island of Rügen is already the most popular weekend and Christmas vacation resort.

.

Natural attractions of the island

Rügen reaches a length of 51.4 km and a width of 42.8 km. The winding coastline is formed by rocky cliffs, sandy beaches and lagoons. Two national parks have been established on the territory of the island. The smallest in Germany is Jasmund, opened on the site of a chalk quarry in the north-east of Rügen. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as an example of virgin beech forests. Mount Pickberg, the highest point on the island, is covered with them, although it is actually just a large, 161-meter hill. Travelers prefer it to the “King’s Chair” – a 118-meter-high chalk rock with a viewing platform, below which there is a corridor tomb of the Bronze Age. A visitor center with multimedia about the park in several languages is also open here, next to the rock.

.

A large part of the territory of the second national park, the “Perednepomeranian Lagoons” occupies the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea on the western side of Rügen. In contrast to Jasmund, it is the largest park in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the third largest in the country. Atlantic herring spawn in the waters of the park, seals swim in the waters of the park, and cranes flying south stop on the coast near pine and broad-leaved forests in the fall. In the southeast of the island lies the Rügen Biosphere Reserve. Tourists walk freely through its wooded hills. In addition to natural beauty, megalithic burials from the Neolithic Age and Bronze Age burial mounds are found here.

.

Architectural Monuments

Rügen has preserved three types of architectural sights of interest to tourists. First of all, it is almost five dozen churches, mostly red-brick, the oldest of which, the monastery of St. Mary, was built in 1193 by the Danes. The village church of 1312 in Landov is unusual: its wooden walls are faced with brick, it is the oldest monument of its kind in Europe.

.

The second trend is the so-called “resort-architecture”. These are houses built by German architects in the XIX – early XX century on the coast of the Baltic Sea, designed for recreation. Their characteristic features – an abundance of decoration, openwork balconies, elegant columns, light colors. Especially many examples of this style on the streets of Zellin, Binz and Gören. No less spectacular hunting castle Granitz near Binz, built in the middle of the XIX century, designed by architect Shinkel and containing a huge collection of hunting trophies. The building is a quadrangle with round corner towers and one large central tower on which there is a viewing platform.

.

Finally, the last object of tourists’ attention is the “Prora Colossus”. More precisely, it is an anti-monument – an example of what resort architecture should not be. Under the Nazis, a gigantic ant-hill building was designed with amenities on the floors, where, according to the creators’ plans, the citizens of the Third Reich were to rest – up to 20,000 people at a time. After the war, Prora’s architectural monstrosity was mostly inhabited by military personnel. Now part of the blocks remain in disrepair, the rest have been restored to cheap hostels and apartments.

.

Cape Arkona

Cape Arkona preserved elements of the fortress and sanctuary of the ancient Slavic Ruthenians – the only Slavic fortification of its kind in Germany. It is a double ring-shaped ramparts 13 m high with a length of 300 by 350 m on the 45-meter high bank of the cape. In the IX century in the fortress erected a temple of the god of the Western Slavs Svyatovit, the patron saint of war, with a 4-meter high idol carved out of an oak trunk. In the hands of the deity was a metal goblet, into which the priests annually poured mead and by the reaction of the idol made predictions about the future harvest. The temple was destroyed by Danes in XII century, all valuables were taken to Denmark. To attract tourists, the idol was restored, but how much historical accuracy was observed is unknown.

.

In addition to archaeological monuments, on the island of Rügen tourists see the complex of lighthouses Arkona. The first of them was erected in 1826 according to the project of the largest German architect of his time, Schinkel. The 21-meter-long, three-tiered red-brick building with a small dome bears little resemblance to a traditional lighthouse tower, unlike the later 35-meter-long structure erected in 1902 and still in operation today. Nearby is a radio navigation tower built in 1927, now a museum like the old lighthouse, and a jewelry studio. All three sites are equipped with observation decks. Nearby bunkers from the Wehrmacht and the 1980s remind of the past wars and years of tension between the two Germanies.

.

There is a real danger that the promontory will eventually collapse into the water, so scientists have insisted on precautions when visiting the ramparts. The pedestrian zone begins 2 kilometers from Arkona. You can use bicycles, rent a horse or take a tourist steam train. It is forbidden to climb the ramparts themselves, you can only walk around them. To the beach descend on two steep stairs – “Royal”, built in the XVIII century for the resting here and keeping fit monarch, and “Violet”, surrounded in spring by meadows of modest purple flowers.

.

Resorts of Rügen

The first mineral water resort opened in 1794 in Zagard. It became instantly popular, but its fame faded by 1830, unable to compete with the seaside resort opened in 1818. Now only ruins of gazebos and half-empty alleys in the nearest park remind of Zagard’s former greatness. In the XIX century, Binz became the most popular resort for Germans. Before the Second World War the Nazis staked on Prora, after the war, for obvious reasons, their project of development of resort Rügen was not completed. Now the most popular vacation spot remains Binz with expensive hotels, stores and restaurants, with alleys for walking, excellent beaches.

.

Beaches of the island

The total length of Rügen’s beaches is 56 kilometers. Due to the cool weather, the bathing season here is short. The water is clear near Binz, in Zellina and Gerena near the shore accumulate algae, the descent into the sea is gentle. On Rügen there are more than 15 zones for wind and kitesurfing, the most popular among athletes are Vik, Dranske, Rosengarten.

.

Tourist information

There are two peaks of visitors on Rügen – in July-August and at Christmas. In winter it is around 0 °C, the air is humid all year round. In summer it is cool and quite sunny, although the weather is Baltic fickle. In 1304 Rügen was hit by the first natural catastrophe recorded in writing – a part of the land was washed away and collapsed into the sea. Since then, rockslides have been occurring from time to time, so you need to be vigilant when walking along the cliffs.

.

Rügen’s transportation infrastructure

Buses run between the main towns of Rügen, some of them with trailers for transporting bicycles. The whole island is covered with comfortable bicycle paths with minimal gradients, in resort areas and hotels there are bicycle rentals. Between the resort towns on the ancient narrow gauge railway runs no less ancient steam locomotive with cars. The length of the road – 24 km, the speed of traffic on it – up to 30 km / h.

.

Where to stay

Hotels and apartments on Rügen are numerous, but it is extremely difficult to find a free room at reasonable prices without prior booking in the summer season. The cost of accommodation on the coast in summer is from 6-7 thousand rubles per day in high season, in low season apartments are 3-4 times cheaper. One of the most prestigious and expensive hotels is Travel Charme Kurhaus Binz. Cheap hostel – Jugendherberge in “Prora Colossus”, open from the end of March to the end of October. A week’s stay there for a family with two children will cost about 200 euros. The main cafes and restaurants are concentrated in the spa towns, souvenir shops in Binz.

.

How to get there

You can reach Rügen via a 2.8 km long rail and road bridge from mainland Stralsund. There are direct trains to Binz from Berlin, Hamburg, and Stuttgart. Recent night routes from Munich and Basel have been canceled, despite protests from representatives of the tourist business. Ferries connect Rügen with the island of Borngolm in Denmark, Swedish Trelleborg, Lithuanian Klaipeda, Russian Baltic and St. Petersburg, in the future it is planned to open a flight from Ust-Luga. There is a small airport 8 km from Bergen that receives charters, mostly from Germany.

.