Rügen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rügen (IPA: ['ry:gən]) is an island in the Baltic Sea, located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Its area is 935 km² and its population was 73,000 in 2001. It is Germany's largest island and along with the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz is administered as part of the Rügen District.
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[edit] Geography
Rügen is mainly accessible by a bridge, the Rügendamm, which connects the island by road and rail with the city of Stralsund on the mainland. There are also ferry connections from Stralsund, Greifswald and Wolgast. The island has some crowded tourist resorts along the eastern coast as well as quieter locations in the west. Several of the holiday resorts are accessible via a narrow gauge railway employing steam locomotives called the Rügensche Kleinbahn.
The island's largest town, and also the district seat, is Bergen auf Rügen, which lies roughly in the centre of Rügen.
There are three nature reserves on the island:
- Vorpommern Lagoon Area National Park (Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft); the west coast of Rügen and the island of Hiddensee are parts of this large national park.
- Jasmund National Park; a small park including the famous chalk cliffs (Königsstuhl).
- Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve; a nature reserve consisting of the peninsulas in the southeast.
[edit] History
Rügen was first populated about 4000 BC. The migrants were probably members of the Funnelbeaker culture, which exploited the island's flint deposits.
It was later settled by migrants from Scandinavia, a Germanic tribe called Rugians who gave their name to the island. In the 7th century Slavic peoples came and settled there. They were called the Rojane. Many traces of their life can be found today. Rügen became a Slavic principality with the political and religious centre in the fortified temple of Swietowit at Cape Arkona, the northernmost point of Rügen. In 1168 the area was decimated by Danish invaders. The then-weakened principality underwent Christianisation. A monarchy was established in Rügen under Danish influence. In 1325, Rügen was conquered by the Dukes of Pomerania, who established their own principality.
Rügen was a part of Swedish Pomerania from 1648 to 1815; afterwards it became a part of Prussia. 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.
In 1936 the bridge connecting Rügen with the mainland was constructed. The Nazis added a large resort: Prora, planned by the Kraft durch Freude ("Strength through joy") organisation, which aimed to occupy people's free time. However, Prora was never completed.
In East Germany Rügen was a major summer holiday destination. Rügen remained a holiday island after German reunification; now it has surpassed Sylt as the most popular German island again.
[edit] Recent events
In February 2006, dead swans found on Rügen tested positive for H5N1 (the avian influenza virus subtype that is a pandemic threat). A domesticated cat was found dead with the H5N1 strain, marking the first known case of H5N1 in mammals in the European Union.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Kings of Rügen
- Photographs of Rügen (text in German)
- Satellite view of Rügen from TerraServer
