Rügen
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Mecklenburg wp rueg.png Rügen (IPA /'ry:gən/) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. Its area is 935 km² (361 mile²) 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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Geography
Rügen is mainly accessible by a bridge (the Rügendamm) connecting 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.
History
Image:Ruegen-kreidefelsen.jpg 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 Świętowit 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.
- 1162-1170 Tezlaw
- 1170-1217 Jaromar I
- 1218-1249 Wislaw I
- 1249-1260 Jaromar II
- 1260-1302 Wislaw II
- 1303-1325 Wislaw III
Image:Caspar David Friedrich 023.jpg Image:Klinken.jpg 1325 In 1325, Rügen was conquered by the Dukes of Pomerania, who established their own principality.
- 1325-1326 Warcislaw IV
- 1326-1368 Boguslaw V, Warcislaw V, Barnim IV
- 1368-1372 Warcislaw VI, Boguslaw VI
- 1372-1394 Warcislaw VI
- 1394-1415 Warcislaw VIII
- 1415-1432 Swietobor II
- 1432-1451 Barnim VIII
- 1451-1457 Warcislaw IX
- 1457-1478 Warcislaw X
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 (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 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.
Rügen regained its status as a holiday island after the German reunification; now it has surpassed Sylt as the most popular German island again.
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.
External links
- Photographs of Rügen (text in German)
- Satellite view of Rügen from TerraServer
See also
bg:Рюген cs:Rujána da:Rügen de:Rügen et:Rügen es:Isla de Rügen eo:Rügen fr:Rügen id:Rügen la:Rugia nl:Rügen nds:Rügen ja:リューゲン島 no:Rügen pl:Rugia pt:Rügen ru:Рюген fi:Rügen sv:Rügen