Rügen
Encyclopedia
Rügen (ˈʁyːɡən) is Germany
's largest island
. Located in the Baltic Sea
, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen
district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea. The Rügendamm
bridge which connects the island by road and rail with the city of Stralsund
on the mainland crosses over the Strelasund
.
Rügen has an area of 926.4 km2, or 974 km2 if the adjacent small islands are included. The maximum diameter is 51.4 km from north to south, and 42.8 km from east to west. Of an overall 574 km-long coastline, 56 km are sandy Baltic Sea
beaches, and 2.8 km sandy Bodden
beaches. The highest elevations are on the Jasmund
peninsula: Piekberg (161 m) and Königsstuhl (117 m).
The core landmass, Muttland
, is surrounded by several peninsulas. To the north lie the peninsulas of Wittow
and Jasmund
, connected to each other by the Schaabe landbridge and to Muttland by the Schmale Heide landbridge, a dam at Lietzow
and the Wittower Fähre ferry. The northern peninsulas are separated from Muttland by several Bodden
, the largest of which are Großer Jasmunder Bodden and Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden. Major peninsulas in the south are Zudar and Mönchgut
which both face the Bay of Greifswald
.
The climate is in the temperate zone. The winters are not particularly cold, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0°C.; and summers are cool, with a mean temperature in August of 16.3°C. There is an average rainfall of 520–560 mm and approximately 1800–1870 hours of sunshine annually.
Two German national parks are situated on Rügen: Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
, in the West (also including Hiddensee
), and Jasmund National Park
, a smaller park including the famous chalk cliffs (Königsstuhl). There is also a nature reserve, Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve, consisting of the peninsulas in the southeast.
. Its subdivisions are the 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
. Overall, there are 45 municipalities on Rügen, four of which have town status (Bergen, Garz, Putbus and Sassnitz).
, Rugii, Rani (Slavic tribe)
, Principality of Rugia
, Duchy of Pomerania
, Swedish Pomerania
, Province of Pomerania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
In the beginning of the first millennium, the island and the surrounding continental areas were settled by the Rugians
after whom the island was named, who might have come from Scandinavia
or evolved from autochthonous
tribes. In the 7th century, West Slavic
R(uj)ani
settled Rügen, assimilating the indigenous population which had not migrated southward in the Migration Period
. Many traces of their life can be found today. Rügen became a Slavic principality, stretching from the Recknitz
to the Ryck
River, with the political center in the ancient town of Charenza and a religious center in the fortified temple of Svetovid
at Cape Arkona
, the northernmost point of Rügen. In 1168 the area was conquered by Denmark
and became the Danish Principality of Rugia
. The principality underwent Christianisation
and German settlement in the course of the Ostsiedlung
. The former monarchs became Danish princes of Rügen. In 1325 Rügen was inherited by the Duchy of Pomerania
.
Rügen was a part of Swedish Pomerania
from 1648 to 1815. Under Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
the town of Gustavia
was constructed on the Mönchgut
peninsula, but was abandoned during the Napoleonic Wars
. Afterwards it became a part of the Prussian
Province of Pomerania. 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
. The Nazis
added a large resort: Prora
, planned by the 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. In 2007 a second bridge, Rügenbrücke, was built to replace the first.
Rügen was a major summer holiday destination in the German Democratic Republic
. Rügen remained a holiday island after German reunification
; it has now surpassed Sylt
as the most popular German island again.
The title given to the operation commanded by Wolfram von Richthofen
, which saw the town of Guernica bombed
during the Spanish Civil War
, was named after the island. An Abwehr
SIGINT Operation during the same conflict was titled 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.
. In 1818, Putbus
' suburb Lauterbach
became Rügen's first seaside resort. In the 1860s Sassnitz
became a seaside resort, followed by Binz
in the 1880s. During World War II
Prora
was constructed as a mass tourist resort but it was never finished. Today the most popular seaside resorts are the Schaabe beaches between Altenkirchen
and Juliusruh
including Drewoldke, Glowe
and Breege
, and the eastern beaches between Sassnitz
and Göhren
including Neu Mukran, Prora
, Binz
, Sellin
and Baabe
. The latter are accessible via an historic narrow gauge railway employing steam locomotives, called Rügensche Bäderbahn. Tourist destinations other than seaside resorts include Cape Arkona
, the wood-covered Stubbenkammer hills on Jasmund
with interesting chalk cliff formations, the wood-covered Granitz hills with the Jagdschloß palace, and the inland places 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 Dranske
, Rosengarten, Wiek
, Suhrendorf and Neu Mukran.
Sassnitz
–Neu Mukran is the international ferry terminal on Rügen, with ferry services to
Sassnitz-Mukran is the largest railway ferry terminal in Germany
and the only one in Europe where different tracks allow switching from standard gauge
to broad gauge
.
Local passenger ferries connect the pier
s of Sassnitz
, Binz
, Sellin
and Göhren
with the adjacent islands of Hiddensee
, Vilm
and Greifswalder Oie
. Passenger and car ferries connect Rügen's center of Muttland
, to both Wittow
in Rügen's north via the Wittower Fähre and to the mainland via the Glewitzer Fähre between Stahlbrode near Greifswald
and Glewitz
on Rügen's Zudar peninsula.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's largest island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
. Located in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock...
district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Geography
Rügendamm
The Rügen Bridge is a pre-stressed concrete cable-stayed bridge that spans the Strelasund between the German City of Stralsund and Rügen Island, Germany...
bridge which connects the island by road and rail with the city of Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
on the mainland crosses over the Strelasund
Strelasund
The Strelasund is a sound of the Baltic Sea which separates Rügen from the German mainland. It is crossed by a road and rail bridge called the Rügendamm in Stralsund. It runs in a roughly northwest-to-southeast direction from a small shallow bay just north of Stralsund called the Kubitzer Bodden...
.
Rügen has an area of 926.4 km2, or 974 km2 if the adjacent small islands are included. The maximum diameter is 51.4 km from north to south, and 42.8 km from east to west. Of an overall 574 km-long coastline, 56 km are sandy Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
beaches, and 2.8 km sandy Bodden
Bodden
Bodden are brackish bodies of water along the southwestern shores of the Baltic Sea, primarily in Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern around the island of Rügen. They have a distinctive geological origin and are enclosed by peninsulae, spits and islands, leaving only narrow connections to...
beaches. The highest elevations are on the Jasmund
Jasmund
Jasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz, Sagard and the Mukran international ferry terminal are on...
peninsula: Piekberg (161 m) and Königsstuhl (117 m).
The core landmass, Muttland
Muttland
Muttland comprises the main section of the German island of Rügen, excluding the Rugian peninsulae and small surrounding islands.The predominant land use is agriculture. Grasslands are found in very small proportions. There are nature conservation areas in the south, which are reported as a resting...
, is surrounded by several peninsulas. To the north lie the peninsulas of Wittow
Wittow
Wittow is the northernmost peninsula of the island of Rügen. Wittow was a separate isle until the High Middle Ages, since then it is connected to the Jasmund peninsula of Rügen by the Schaabe spit. Wittow is most famous for Cape Arkona hosting the remnants of a former Rani temple burgh....
and Jasmund
Jasmund
Jasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz, Sagard and the Mukran international ferry terminal are on...
, connected to each other by the Schaabe landbridge and to Muttland by the Schmale Heide landbridge, a dam at Lietzow
Lietzow
Lietzow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
and the Wittower Fähre ferry. The northern peninsulas are separated from Muttland by several Bodden
Bodden
Bodden are brackish bodies of water along the southwestern shores of the Baltic Sea, primarily in Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern around the island of Rügen. They have a distinctive geological origin and are enclosed by peninsulae, spits and islands, leaving only narrow connections to...
, the largest of which are Großer Jasmunder Bodden and Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden. Major peninsulas in the south are Zudar and Mönchgut
Mönchgut
Mönchgut is a peninsula of 29.44 square kilometers with 6600 inhabitants in the southeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It lies just between the Greifswalder Bodden and the rest of the Baltic Sea. Mönchgut contains the districts of Göhren and Thiessow; the peninsula is...
which both face the Bay of Greifswald
Bay of Greifswald
The Bay of Greifswald is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Germany in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With an area of 514 km², it is the largest Bodden of the German Baltic coast....
.
The climate is in the temperate zone. The winters are not particularly cold, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0°C.; and summers are cool, with a mean temperature in August of 16.3°C. There is an average rainfall of 520–560 mm and approximately 1800–1870 hours of sunshine annually.
Two German national parks are situated on Rügen: Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's largest national park situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea...
, in the West (also including Hiddensee
Hiddensee
Hiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East German tourists during German Democratic Republic times and continues to...
), and Jasmund National Park
Jasmund National Park
The Jasmund National Park is a nature reserve in the Jasmund peninsula, in the northeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is famous for the largest chalk cliffs of Germany, the so called Königsstuhl . These cliffs are up to 161 m high above the Baltic Sea...
, a smaller park including the famous chalk cliffs (Königsstuhl). There is also a nature reserve, Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve, consisting of the peninsulas in the southeast.
Administration
Administratively, Rügen is part of the district Vorpommern-RügenVorpommern-Rügen
Vorpommern-Rügen is a district in the north of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is bounded by the Baltic Sea and the districts Vorpommern-Greifswald, Mecklenburgische Seenplatte and Rostock...
. Its subdivisions are the Ämter Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen (Amt)
Bergen auf Rügen is an Amt in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The seat of the Amt is in Bergen auf Rügen.The Amt Bergen auf Rügen consists of the following municipalities:#Bergen auf Rügen#Buschvitz...
(municipalities Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is...
, Buschvitz
Buschvitz
Buschvitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Garz, Gustow
Gustow
Gustow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Lietzow
Lietzow
Lietzow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Parchtitz
Parchtitz
Parchtitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Patzig
Patzig
Patzig is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Poseritz
Poseritz
Poseritz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Ralswiek
Ralswiek
Ralswiek is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Rappin
Rappin
Rappin is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Sehlen
Sehlen
Sehlen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
and Thesenvitz
Thesenvitz
Thesenvitz is a village and a former municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Bergen auf Rügen.-External links:*...
), West-Rügen
West-Rügen
West-Rügen is an Amt in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The seat of the Amt is in Samtens.The Amt West-Rügen consists of the following municipalities:#Altefähr#Dreschvitz#Gingst#Insel Hiddensee#Kluis...
(municipalities Altefähr
Altefähr
Altefähr is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-Transport:* Altefähr railway station is served by local services between Rostock, Stralsund and Sassnitz.- External links :*...
, Dreschvitz
Dreschvitz
Dreschvitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Gingst
Gingst
Gingst is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Hiddensee
Hiddensee
Hiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East German tourists during German Democratic Republic times and continues to...
, Kluis
Kluis
Kluis is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Neuenkirchen
Neuenkirchen, Rügen
Neuenkirchen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:...
, Rambin
Rambin
Rambin is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Samtens
Samtens
Samtens is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Schaprode
Schaprode
Schaprode is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Trent
Trent, Germany
Trent is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
and Ummanz
Ummanz
Ummanz is a small island situated off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany.Its area is 20 km². Together with the neighboring islands Rügen and Hiddensee it is administrated as the district Rügen....
), Nord-Rügen
Nord-Rügen
Nord-Rügen is an Amt in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The seat of the Amt is in Sagard.The Amt Nord-Rügen consists of the following municipalities:#Altenkirchen#Breege#Dranske#Glowe#Lohme#Putgarten...
(municipalities Altenkirchen
Altenkirchen
Altenkirchen is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approx. 40 km east of Bonn and 40 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Altenkirchen.-References:...
, Breege
Breege
Breege is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consists of the villages Breege, Juliusruh, Kammin, Lobkevitz and Schmantevitz.-External links:*...
, Dranske
Dranske
Dranske is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Glowe
Glowe
Glowe is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consists of the villages:*Glowe*Baldereck*Kampe*Bobbin*Polchow*Ruschvitz*Spyker-External links:*...
, Lohme
Lohme
Lohme is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Putgarten
Putgarten
Putgarten is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Sagard
Sagard
Sagard is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Wiek
Wiek, Rügen
Wiek is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.The body of the well-known American Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest III, killed while on an air raid on Kiel in 1943, was buried at Wiek by the German authorities. It laid there until 1947 when the...
) and Mönchgut-Granitz
Mönchgut-Granitz
Mönchgut-Granitz is an Amt in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The seat of the Amt is in Baabe.The Amt Mönchgut-Granitz consists of the following municipalities:#Baabe#Gager#Göhren#Lancken-Granitz...
(municipalities Baabe
Baabe
Baabe is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Göhren
Göhren, Rügen
Göhren is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:...
, Lancken-Granitz
Lancken-Granitz
Lancken-Granitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Near the villages of Lancken and Burtevitz are several megalith tombs from the Neolithic....
, Middelhagen
Middelhagen
Middelhagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Sellin
Sellin
Sellin is a municipality on the Isle of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Thiessow
Thiessow
Thiessow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Besides Thiessow, the municipality includes the village Klein Zicker.-External links:**...
and Zirkow
Zirkow
Zirkow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
) and the Amt-free municipalities of Binz
Binz
Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the Prorer Wiek and the Schmachter See in the south-east of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide , a tongue of land which joins the Muttland region of Rügen to the Jasmund peninsula...
, Putbus
Putbus
Putbus is a small town on the southeastern part of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Germany. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destination with numerous seaside resorts....
and Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
. Overall, there are 45 municipalities on Rügen, four of which have town status (Bergen, Garz, Putbus and Sassnitz).
History
See also: Early history of PomeraniaEarly history of Pomerania
After the glaciers of the Ice Age in the Early Stone Age withdrew from Pomerania, in what are now northern Germany and Poland, they left a tundra. First humans appeared, hunting reindeer in the summer. A climate change in 8000 BC allowed hunters and foragers of the Ertebølle-Ellerbek culture to...
, Rugii, Rani (Slavic tribe)
Rani (Slavic tribe)
The Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
, Principality of Rugia
Principality of Rugia
The Principality of Rugia or Principality of Rügen was a Danish principality consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the Wizlawiden dynasty...
, Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
, Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
, Province of Pomerania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Rugians
"Rugi" redirects here. For the Romanian villages by this name, see Păltiniş, Caraş-Severin and Turcineşti.The Rugii, also Rugians, Rygir, Ulmerugi, or Holmrygir were an East Germanic tribe migrated from southwest Norway to Pomerania around 100 AD, and from there to the Danube River valley...
after whom the island was named, who might have come from Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
or evolved from autochthonous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
tribes. In the 7th century, West Slavic
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...
R(uj)ani
Rani (Slavic tribe)
The Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
settled Rügen, assimilating the indigenous population which had not migrated southward in the Migration Period
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
. Many traces of their life can be found today. Rügen became a Slavic principality, stretching from the Recknitz
Recknitz
The Recknitz is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. The Recknitz's glacial valley stretches as far south as the heights at Glasewitz near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches...
to the Ryck
Ryck
The Ryck is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.From its source near Bartmannshagen, part of the Süderholz community northeast of Grimmen, the Ryck flows for about 28 km to the east, reaching Greifswald shortly before its mouth. The larger part of the river outside Greifswald is also...
River, with the political center in the ancient town of Charenza and a religious center in the fortified temple of Svetovid
Svetovid
Sventevith, Sventovid , Svyatovit , Svyatovid , Svyentovit , Svetovid , Suvid Sventevith, Sventovid (Russian and Bulgarian, and alternative name in Serbo-Croatian), Svyatovit (Ukrainian), Svyatovid (alternative name in Ukrainian), Svyentovit (alternative name in Ukrainian), Svetovid (Serbian,...
at Cape Arkona
Cape Arkona
Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park....
, the northernmost point of Rügen. In 1168 the area was conquered by Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and became the Danish Principality of Rugia
Principality of Rugia
The Principality of Rugia or Principality of Rügen was a Danish principality consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the Wizlawiden dynasty...
. The principality underwent Christianisation
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
and German settlement in the course of the Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
. The former monarchs became Danish princes of Rügen. In 1325 Rügen was inherited by the Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
.
Rügen was a part of Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
from 1648 to 1815. Under Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden also Gustav Adolph was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. He was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and his queen consort Sophia Magdalena, eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain. He was the last Swedish...
the town of Gustavia
Gustavia, Rügen
Gustavia was a 19th century unfinished Swedish town on the island of Rügen, the construction of which began and had to be aborted during the Napoleonic Wars.-Background:...
was constructed on the Mönchgut
Mönchgut
Mönchgut is a peninsula of 29.44 square kilometers with 6600 inhabitants in the southeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It lies just between the Greifswalder Bodden and the rest of the Baltic Sea. Mönchgut contains the districts of Göhren and Thiessow; the peninsula is...
peninsula, but was abandoned during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Afterwards it became a part of the Prussian
Provinces of Prussia
The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...
Province of Pomerania. In 1816 the first bathing resort was founded at Putbus
Putbus
Putbus is a small town on the southeastern part of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Germany. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destination with numerous seaside resorts....
. Later more resorts were established, and Rügen remained the most famous holiday resort of Germany until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
added a large resort: Prora
Prora
Prora is a beach resort on the island of Rügen, Germany, known especially for its colossal Nazi-planned touristic structures. The massive building complex was built between 1936 and 1939 as a Kraft durch Freude project. The eight buildings are identical, and while they were planned as a holiday...
, planned by the 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
Rügendamm
The Rügen Bridge is a pre-stressed concrete cable-stayed bridge that spans the Strelasund between the German City of Stralsund and Rügen Island, Germany...
), replacing the former ferry shuttles. In 2007 a second bridge, Rügenbrücke, was built to replace the first.
Rügen was a major summer holiday destination in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. Rügen remained a holiday island after German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
; it has now surpassed Sylt
Sylt
Sylt is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia...
as the most popular German island again.
The title given to the operation commanded by Wolfram von Richthofen
Wolfram von Richthofen
Dr.-Ing. Wolfram Freiherr von RichthofenIn German a Doctorate in engineering is abbreviated as Dr.-Ing. . was a German Generalfeldmarschall of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War...
, which saw the town of Guernica bombed
Bombing of Guernica
The bombing of Guernica was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica, Spain, causing widespread destruction and civilian deaths, during the Spanish Civil War...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, was named after the island. An Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
SIGINT Operation during the same conflict was titled 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.
Tourist resorts
Rügen is one of the most visited holiday destinations in Germany. The first bathing facility on Rügen opened in 1794 at the mineral-rich spring in SagardSagard
Sagard is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
. In 1818, Putbus
Putbus
Putbus is a small town on the southeastern part of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Germany. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destination with numerous seaside resorts....
' suburb Lauterbach
Lauterbach
-Places:Austria* Lauterbach, Austria, a village in Brixen im Thale in the Kitzbühel MountainsGermany* Lauterbach, Baden-Württemberg in the district of Rottweil* Lauterbach, Hesse in Vogelsberg district* Lauterbach, Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis...
became Rügen's first seaside resort. In the 1860s Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
became a seaside resort, followed by Binz
Binz
Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the Prorer Wiek and the Schmachter See in the south-east of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide , a tongue of land which joins the Muttland region of Rügen to the Jasmund peninsula...
in the 1880s. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Prora
Prora
Prora is a beach resort on the island of Rügen, Germany, known especially for its colossal Nazi-planned touristic structures. The massive building complex was built between 1936 and 1939 as a Kraft durch Freude project. The eight buildings are identical, and while they were planned as a holiday...
was constructed as a mass tourist resort but it was never finished. Today the most popular seaside resorts are the Schaabe beaches between Altenkirchen
Altenkirchen
Altenkirchen is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approx. 40 km east of Bonn and 40 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Altenkirchen.-References:...
and Juliusruh
Juliusruh
Juliusruh is a village on the northern coast of the island of Rügen in northeastern Germany. Juliusruh is part of the municipality of Breege. Juliusruh and Breege combined have 821 inhabitants in an area of 15,99 km² ....
including Drewoldke, Glowe
Glowe
Glowe is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consists of the villages:*Glowe*Baldereck*Kampe*Bobbin*Polchow*Ruschvitz*Spyker-External links:*...
and Breege
Breege
Breege is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality consists of the villages Breege, Juliusruh, Kammin, Lobkevitz and Schmantevitz.-External links:*...
, and the eastern beaches between Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
and Göhren
Göhren, Rügen
Göhren is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:...
including Neu Mukran, Prora
Prora
Prora is a beach resort on the island of Rügen, Germany, known especially for its colossal Nazi-planned touristic structures. The massive building complex was built between 1936 and 1939 as a Kraft durch Freude project. The eight buildings are identical, and while they were planned as a holiday...
, Binz
Binz
Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the Prorer Wiek and the Schmachter See in the south-east of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide , a tongue of land which joins the Muttland region of Rügen to the Jasmund peninsula...
, Sellin
Sellin
Sellin is a municipality on the Isle of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
and Baabe
Baabe
Baabe is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
. The latter are accessible via an historic narrow gauge railway employing steam locomotives, called Rügensche Bäderbahn. Tourist destinations other than seaside resorts include Cape Arkona
Cape Arkona
Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park....
, the wood-covered Stubbenkammer hills on Jasmund
Jasmund
Jasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz, Sagard and the Mukran international ferry terminal are on...
with interesting chalk cliff formations, the wood-covered Granitz hills with the Jagdschloß palace, and the inland places of Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is...
, Ralswiek
Ralswiek
Ralswiek is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
and Gingst
Gingst
Gingst is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
.
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 Dranske
Dranske
Dranske is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
, Rosengarten, Wiek
Wiek, Rügen
Wiek is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.The body of the well-known American Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest III, killed while on an air raid on Kiel in 1943, was buried at Wiek by the German authorities. It laid there until 1947 when the...
, Suhrendorf and Neu Mukran.
Ferries
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
–Neu Mukran is the international ferry terminal on Rügen, with ferry services to
- TrelleborgTrelleborgTrelleborg is a locality and the seat of Trelleborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 25,643 inhabitants in 2005. It is the southernmost town in Sweden.-History:...
(SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, served by ScandlinesScandlinesScandlines is a major German-Danish ferry operator.It consists of a parent company, Scandlines AG, and under this parent company a German subsidiary named Scandlines Deutschland GmbH and a Danish subsidiary named Scandlines Danmark A/S...
), - RønneRønneRønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,904 . Once a municipality in its own right, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality....
(BornholmBornholmBornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, served by BornholmstrafikkenBornholmstrafikkenBornholmerFærgen is a Danish ferry company which connects the island of Bornholm to Denmark, Sweden and Germany.-History:1866The Dampskibsselskabet på Bornholm af 1866 A/S was formed.1963Car ferry Bornholmerpilen enters service....
), - KlaipėdaKlaipedaKlaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
(Memel, LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, served by DFDS LiscoDFDS LiscoDFDS Lisco was a Lithuanian ferry company that operated passenger and freight services across the Baltic Sea from Lithuania to Sweden and Germany. Following DFDS's acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010...
), - BaltiyskBaltiyskBaltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...
(Pillau, Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, served by DFDS LiscoDFDS LiscoDFDS Lisco was a Lithuanian ferry company that operated passenger and freight services across the Baltic Sea from Lithuania to Sweden and Germany. Following DFDS's acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010...
), - Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, served by TransRussiaExpress) - Ust-LugaUst-LugaUst-Luga is a settlement and railway station in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Luga River near its entry into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland, about west of St. Petersburg....
(near Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
; planned).
Sassnitz-Mukran is the largest railway ferry terminal in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the only one in Europe where different tracks allow switching from standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
to broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
.
Local passenger ferries connect the pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
s of Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
, Binz
Binz
Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the Prorer Wiek and the Schmachter See in the south-east of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide , a tongue of land which joins the Muttland region of Rügen to the Jasmund peninsula...
, Sellin
Sellin
Sellin is a municipality on the Isle of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:*...
and Göhren
Göhren, Rügen
Göhren is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-External links:...
with the adjacent islands of Hiddensee
Hiddensee
Hiddensee is a carfree island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Rügen on the German coast.The island, located 54°33' north longitude 13°07' east, has about 1,300 inhabitants. It was a popular vacation destination for East German tourists during German Democratic Republic times and continues to...
, Vilm
Vilm
The Baltic Sea island of Vilm lies in the bay south of the much larger island of Rügen, it is one of Germany's most remote and tranquil spots. Covering less than 1 km², Vilm is the remnant of a moraine left as the glaciers retreated about 6000 years ago. Since its formation the shape of the...
and Greifswalder Oie
Greifswalder Oie
Greifswalder Oie is a small island in the Baltic Sea, located east of Rügen on the German coast. The island covers an area of about 54 hectares.-History:...
. Passenger and car ferries connect Rügen's center of Muttland
Muttland
Muttland comprises the main section of the German island of Rügen, excluding the Rugian peninsulae and small surrounding islands.The predominant land use is agriculture. Grasslands are found in very small proportions. There are nature conservation areas in the south, which are reported as a resting...
, to both Wittow
Wittow
Wittow is the northernmost peninsula of the island of Rügen. Wittow was a separate isle until the High Middle Ages, since then it is connected to the Jasmund peninsula of Rügen by the Schaabe spit. Wittow is most famous for Cape Arkona hosting the remnants of a former Rani temple burgh....
in Rügen's north via the Wittower Fähre and to the mainland via the Glewitzer Fähre between Stahlbrode near Greifswald
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
and Glewitz
Glewitz
Glewitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
on Rügen's Zudar peninsula.
See also
- List of islands in the Baltic Sea
- BornholmBornholmBornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
- GotlandGotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
, ÖlandÖland' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people... - SaaremaaSaaremaaSaaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
, HiiumaaHiiumaaHiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:... - Åland IslandsÅland IslandsThe Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
- BuyanBuyanIn Slavic mythology, Buyan is described as a mysterious island in the ocean with an ability to appear and disappear. Three brothers – Northern, Western, and Eastern Winds – live there...
- ProraProraProra is a beach resort on the island of Rügen, Germany, known especially for its colossal Nazi-planned touristic structures. The massive building complex was built between 1936 and 1939 as a Kraft durch Freude project. The eight buildings are identical, and while they were planned as a holiday...