Activities on Rügen

Exploring the island

Along the Baltic Sea coast you can always find three things: Picturesque beaches, extensive as well as varied landscapes and many cultural highlights steeped in tradition - and Rügen offers it all on one island!

Rügen

Located directly off the Pomeranian Baltic Sea coast, Rügen belongs to Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. The gateway to the island is the venerable Hanseatic city of Stralsund. Rügen Causeway (Rügendamm) and Rügen Bridge (Rügenbrücke) connect the island with the mainland over the two kilometre wide Strelasund. Rügen has a maximum length of 52 km, a maximum width of 41 km and an area of 926km²… [read more] As the coast of Rügen is characterized by a large number of lagoons (Bodden), open bays (Wieke), peninsulas, headlands and smaller islands, the area often feels more like an archipelago. Read More

Culture and sightseeing

The main attraction of the Baltic seaside resort Binz is its great variety of well-kept houses designed in the style that is known as Bäder architecture. The imposing pier offers fantastic views of the Prorer Wiek (the bay where Binz is situated) and the Baltic Sea. Other attractions are the Kurhaus and the Kurpark. In the nearby Granitz, the Schwarzer See (black lake) and the Granitz Hunting Lodge are two of the highlights that can be discovered during a walk. A wonderful experience for young and old is the Park der Sinne (park of senses) on the edge of the Schmachter See. Dedicated sunset watchers will love this lake as well… [read more] While Cape Arkona, the chalk cliffs and the classicistic buildings of Putbus are long-time favourites, the Störtebeker Festival in Ralswiek has become a modern attraction on Rügen and enjoys increasing popularity.

For those interested in history, the Binz-Museum, the Dorfkirche (village church) and the Catholic Church Stella Maris are highly recommended. The former Nazi resort “Kraft durch Freude” (“strength through joy”) which was never completed, but whose structure is still one of the longest building complexes in the world, can be found in Prora, now a district of Binz and approximately five kilometres away from the centre

World heritage site

The Jasmund National Park is a nature reserve on the Jasmund peninsula. Here you can find the most famous landmark of Rügen: chalk cliffs that rise up to 161m above the Baltic Sea and are covered by an ancient beech forest on top. In June 2011, a part of the national park became UNESCO World heritage. The best-known cliff of the park is the Königsstuhl (king’s chair) with a height of 118m. Right next to it, there is the Königsstuhl National Park Centre which provides plenty of information about the island and its history with exhibitions, tours etc.

Together with the Danish island of Møn, Rügen once belonged to a larger plateau of chalk lime, which had been pressed to the earth's surface by tectonic movements. Most of this land mass disappeared due to erosion and faults, leaving the two islands with their characteristic chalk cliffs. Chalk is an important tourist and export commodity for Rügen. Because of its great economic importance, it is called the "White Gold" of Rügen.