Chalk Cliffs and other Rügen, Germany Things to Do Tips

One of Rügen's major sights are the chalk cliffs. The most famous of them - and probably the most stunning - are located north of Sassnitz, in the National Park Jasmund.

Many people know the chalk cliffs from Caspar David Friedrich's picture - but this scenery is gone for ever. In spring 2005 the cliffs called "Wissower Klinken" collapsed. Only small relicts remained.

Anyway, further north from the "Wissower Klinken" you find the most dramatic scenery of the chalk cliffs called "Königsstuhl". It is in the heart of the National Park and you have to pay and entrance fee of 6 Euro to walk to the cliff - a true rip-off. I admit they built a National Park centre with exhibits on Geology, History, Flora and Fauna, but what if you just want to see the cliffs? Do what we did - turn right before paying at the cash desk and walk the so called round path to Victoria's view. The views are still better since you can have a look of the Königsstuhl cliff, not only the views FROM the Königsstuhl cliff!

The views are amazing especially if you have good luck and the sun comes out ... we had for a short while. The contrast of the whilte chalk cliffs, the green woods and the blue water/sky was amazing (Please see the opening pic on my Rügen page!).

Drive to the big parking ground in Hagen (small fee) from where a shuttle bus runs every 10 minutes to the entrance of the National Park centre. There is also a public bus from Sassnitz, but it doesn't run very often. Another option is to take a boat (runs on schedule) from Binz, Sellin, Sassnitz to see the cliffs from the sea.

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Directions: A few km north of Sassnitz, in the Northeastern part of the island.
Website: www.koenigsstuhl.com

Another good reason to go to Rügen are the many kilometres of (white) sandy beaches and the seabridges leading some hundred metres into the sea. Such seabridges were built in the early 20th centuries, some of them have restaurants (Sellin) and at each of them stop ferries which take you to other villages and towns (Binz, Sellin, Göhren).

The beaches are very beautiful, but please notice that the water is usually quite cold. It rarely warms up to more than 20 Celsius, when I was there end of May it was 13/14 Celsius. Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Anyway, it is fun to lie down in the sand and relax, play some volleyball of frisbee or whatever - given the co-operating weather :-)

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Putbus is a creation of Prince Malte of Putbus. In 1808 he founded this small town, the architecture and structure in classicistic style.

So you find a "Circus", in the middle a "green", surrounded by white buildings in classicistic style, a column in the centre; further a market square, again bordered by white classicistic buildings, a large beautiful garden (the castle was torn down by the communists) with theatre, orangerie, mausoleum etc.

Another attraction in Putbus is the railway station with depot, the home of the "Racing Roland" called narrow gauge steam train.

All in all I found Putbus to be the nicest of the small towns of the island. Not crowded and very pleasant for a relaxing walk plus interesting architecture and trains!

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With a population of approx. 17'000 Bergen is the biggest town, and also the administrative centre of Rügen. It is located in the centre of the island on a hill.

The most important building in Bergen is the church St. Mary. It was built 1180 - 1193 in Romanesque style with brickstones. Since 1250 it is used as parish church, before that time it was part of the Benedictine convent.

The decoration is a mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque pieces. During a renovation in the late 19th century very beautiful late Romanesque frescos were found which you can see now.

Don't miss the shops in the adjoining former convent buildings, the nice market square and the viewing tower "Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Turm" a few minutes away.

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The hunting castle Granitz is probably the most popular architectural site on Rügen. It is situated on a hill in the woodlands of Granitz, a few km east of Binz.

The castle was built 1836 - 46 from drawings by the architects Steinmeyer and Karl-Friedrich Schinkel, commissioned by the Prince of Putbus.

The reddish colour of the castle sticks out in the landscape. It is a fortress-like building with four round corner towers and a 38 metres high tower in the centre. Most impressive is the elaborate cast-iron spiral staircase in the central tower.

Not much of the original interior is preserved. I found it to be a little disappointing for this reason. The highlight would have been the view from the top of the central tower, but I had bad luck weather wise - rainy.

The castle is open seven days a week, entrance fee was 3 Euro.

Please see my transportation tips for information on how to get there.

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A specialty of the local architecture on Rügen are the beautiful hotels and apartment houses built at the turn of the 19th/20th century. The so-called "Bäder"-architecture features styles from several regions in Europe, all this thrown together; it is characterised by filigree verandas, balconies, bay windows, turrets and outside stairs.

The Wilhelmstrasse in Sellin is a very good example for this style of houses, most of them are beautifully renovated. The specialty of this street is that it seems to lead straight to heaven (slightly ascending), with lime-trees to both sides, paved with cobblestones. And when you finally reach the end of the street you are surprised by the amazing view of the cliffs and the stairs leading down to the beach, the seabridge in front of you.

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One of the most funny activity on Ruegen is a ride on the narrow gauge steam railway called "Racing Roland". Not only for kids, but these enjoy the ride particularly!

The first portion of the railway line was opened 22 July 1895 (Putbus - Binz). Later the railway network became really extensive, but nowadays only 27 km between Göhren, Sellin, Binz and Putbus remained.

Maximum speed is 30 kmph, which offers you the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery - rural charm, with rolling hills, green pastures, cows, small villages etc.

See also my transportation tip.

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When on Ruegen, don't miss a side trip to Stralsund. Usually you will pass through Stralsund - by either car or train - to get to Rügen, and you might notice the mighty church spires rising up in the old town.

Stralsund is a very good example for a hanseatic town. Many excellent buildings from medieval, but also Renaissance or Baroque times are well preserved. It is famous for the churches and the Gothic town hall in particular.

There are for sure still a lot of renovation works to do in Stralsund, but I am sure you'll enjoy the stroll through the old town.

I plan to build a small Stralsund page here in the (hopefully soon) future, so if you are interested you might have a look at this for more info.

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Website: www.stralsund.de