Binz and other Rügen, Germany Things to Do Tips

Est.: about 1318
Pop.: 5882

Binz is the biggest and the most popular seaside resort on the island of Rügen. The town is especially known for its impressing architecture. Many facades of the various villas and boarding houses are decorated with little corner towers, wooden balconies or terraces.
From the seabridge (370m / 1200ft long) you can take a ship for a tour along the coast of the Baltic Sea or to visit the other seaside resorts.
The "Schmale Heide" (heath land) and the castle of Granitz are close by and perfect for an excursion. For relaxation Binz offers various possibilities for sport and freetime activities.

History:

The village of Binz was first mentioned in 1318. It has been a little fishing village for centuries until it became interesting for tourism in 1870. At the turn of the century Binz has been the most important seaside resort on Rügen. Many hotels, pensions and villas were built, in a kind of architecture that is typical for that period of time. The big health club was built in 1908, according to plans of Otto Spalding. The seabridge, which once has been 550m (1800ft) long, was rebuilt after the destruction of 1941.

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Pop.: 12037

The chalk cliffs
Sassnitz is situated in the south east of the peninsula Jasmund and is the second biggest town on the island of Rügen. The traditional seaside resort is nowadays especially influenced by the port activities and is known because of the ferry traffic to Scandinavia.
Sassnitz is a perfect starting point for a hike through the Stubnitz. The chalk cliffs with the "Königstuhl" ("king's chair"), the most popular and most beautiful natural monument of Rügen, is nearby.

History:

The port of Sassnitz
Sassnitz, a former fishing village with few fishing boats, developed in 1906 because of the unification of the villages Crampas and Sassnitz. During the second part of the 19th century Sassnitz has almost been a fashionable seaside resort. Celebrities like Theodor Fontane and Johannes Brahms spent their vacation here.
With the train ferry to Sweden began in 1909 the ferry traffic in Sassnitz. After 1945 Sassnitz developed into an industrial town because of the chalk factory, fishing and the fish-processing industry. Nowadays the harbour is the most important branch of industry.

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Est.: first mentioned about 1200
Pop.: 1281

The 17 kilometer long and between 3 kilometer and 150 meter broad land strip of the island Hiddensee is situated in front of the west coast of its "big sister" Ruegen. This scarcely 19square kilometers large island can be achieved only with the ferry from Stralsund or Schaprode on Ruegen. The small island is known for its beautiful beaches at the west and the north coast and their nature-protected landscape with singular Flora and Fauna. Although the island, which belongs to the national park "Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft" since 1990, cannot conplain about too few visitors during the summer months, it is still considered as a small paradise to such, which appreciate rural atmosphere and an intact nature. Peace on the island brings among other things the autoprohibition - who does not want to walk, must ride ones bike or a use a horse cart as a taxi.

History:

The name "Hidensey" has first been mentioned in historical documents about 1200. But excavations prove that the island was already settled during the Bronze Age and before. After the migration of the peoples it was the Slavic tribe that settled here first. They were the inhabitants of Hiddensee until the island became Danish property in the beginning Middle Ages.
Farming and fishing was what people did for a living until tourism took over Hiddensee's economy by the end of the 19th Century. First it were only cultural, scientific and economically celebrities, like Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Gerhart Hauptmann, who came here for relaxation. Despite the rising numbers of visitors Hiddensee remained a quiet, idyllic place, which was even during the time of the GDR spared from the extension to a seaside resort for the masses.

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The historic resort has a long, wide and clean beach with fine white sand and good water quality. The mild maritime climate is especially beneficial to the health. But there is more than just elegant promenades and fine sandy beaches and the nearby coastal woodland. The nature reserve in South-east Rügen is a real paradise for nature lovers and especially suitable for strolling, hiking and cycling. For those who like their comfort, a ride on the "Rasender Roland" narrow gauge railway is sure to please; it runs from Putbus to Goehren and also stops at Sellin and Baabe.

The pier at Sellin is a landmark, it is still a shining example of historic engineering today.

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South of Binz and hidden away amongst ancient beeches, the Granitz Hunting Lodge proudly crowns the Tempelberg hill. Built to the architect Steinmeyr’s plans between 1836 and 1846, the Lodge with its 4 corner towers and 38m central tower (designed by Schinkel in 1844) really looks more like a castle than anything else. Inside this central tower, an ornate, cast-iron winding staircase leads up to a platform with a glorious vista of much of the island.

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The brilliant white of the chalk cliffs, the dark green of the ancient beech woods and the immense expanse of blue sea are the lasting impressions of this landscape of extraordinary contrasts in the north-eastern Jasmund peninsula. Towards the east, the cliffs plunge dramatically seawards, creating extraordinary chasms, the largest of which is the Königstuhl with a height of 118m. This landscape was formed during the ice age, when mile high glaciers tore massive blocks of chalk from under the earth’s surface and propelled them into vertical positions. Strata of other materials dating back to the same prehistoric era are found pressed between the chalk blocks.
The Wissower Klinken must be one of the most bizarre features of the famous chalk coastline >br> The unique chalk cliffs of the sheer coastline are the hallmark of the Jasmund peninsula.

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