Wieck auf dem Darß

The Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain (German: Darß-Zingster Boddenkette) is a waterbody on the Baltic Sea coast northeast of Rostock in Germany. It consists of a string of several lagoons or bodden arranged in an east–west direction that are separated from the open sea by the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. The surface area of these lagoons is 197 km2 and the average water depth is only about two metres. The individual lagoons of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain are the: Saaler Bodden Bodstedter Bodden Barther Bodden and Grabow(listed from west to east; not mentioned here are several smaller stretches of interlinking water). The salt content of the water rises from west to east, because only at the eastern end of the bodden chain is there a link to the Baltic Sea via the Gellenstrom stream and the small opening between Großer Werder and Kleiner Werder, where the waters are able to mix. There used to be other links to the sea like the Prerowstrom stream to the north (dammed after 1872) and the Permin and Loop by Fischland to the west (dammed in the 14th century). The rivers Recknitz and Barthe discharge into the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain and, in all, it has catchment area of 1,578 km2. On the south shore of the bodden chain lie the towns of Ribnitz-Damgarten and Barth. The northern part of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain belongs to the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.

Prerow is a municipality in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This Baltic seaside resort on the Darß peninsula is located about halfway between the historic Hanseatic towns of Rostock and Stralsund. It is one of three main settlements on the Darß, the others being the villages of Born and Wieck. Prerow has fine, sandy beaches and a picturesque landscape. It is hard to say where the forest ends and the village begins. The primeval Darß Forest has over 50 km of footpaths and cycle ways, a bridleway and tracks for horse-drawn carriages. West of the forest is West Beach with rugged terrain formed by wind and waves. South of Prerow is the bodden countryside. Visitors can take trips on a steam paddle boat and experience wildlife first-hand, nesting areas and various birds as the seasons change. The seaside resort of Prerow is located within the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park which stretches from Ahrenshoop along the southern coast to the island of Hiddensee. Prerow itself was a fishing village, but has now been a seaside resort for over 130 years. Thanks to its varied climatic environment with the sea, meadows, forest and reeds, combined with good water quality, it was always recognised as a health spa. In 1998, the Minister of Social and Economic Affairs officially recognized the village as a seaside and health resort.

The Prerower Strom, Prerow Strom or Prerowstrom is an arm of the Baltic Sea in northeast Germany. It begins near the island of Schmidtbülten in the Bodstedter Bodden and winds its way through the countryside of the peninsula of Fischland-Darß-Zingst, where it separates Darß from the peninsula of Zingst. It ends at the harbour of the village of Prerow that gives it its name. The Prerower Strom is part of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park.

The Bodstedter Bodden is a lagoon, of the type known as a bodden, that is part of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain and the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park in northeastern Germany. It lies south of the peninsula of Fischland-Darß-Zingst on the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The heavily indented, reed fringed shoreline forms a picturesque landscape with the result that the villages near the shore are popular tourist destinations. The western boundary of the bodden with the Koppelstrom forms the so-called Borner Bülten (Bulte i.e. small swampy, islands of reed). The Koppelstrom is the transition to another lagoon, the Saaler Bodden. To the east the Bodstedter Bodden is separated from the Barther Bodden and Zingster Strom by the Meiningen Narrows. To the south of the bodden is the lake of Redensee and the village of Fuhlendorf. To the northeast, the Prerower Strom, a former estuary, empties into the bodden. The deepest point of the bodden (10 metres in depth) lies just in front of the Meininger Bülten, the small reed islands by Meiningen. The rest of the bodden is only rarely deeper than 3 metres.

Zingst (German pronunciation: [ˈt͡sɪŋst]; Polabian Sgoni) is the easternmost portion of the three-part Fischland-Darß-Zingst Peninsula, located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, between the cities of Rostock and Stralsund on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. The area is part of the Pomeranian coast. The Zingst Peninsula forms an eastward-running spit, nearly 20 km (12 mi) in length, and has a width of just 2 to 4 km (1.2 to 2.5 mi). Zingst separates the Baltic Sea from the lagoon of Barther Bodden, which is part of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain, a large estuary. The shallow waters of the inlet are a major stopover for the migratory European crane. In spring and autumn, up to 3,000 birds gather here on their migration route to and from Spain. Most of the estuary and the eastern end of the peninsula are part of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. Until the early 1870s, Zingst was an island, separated from Darß by the Prerowstrom, a narrow inlet. A storm tide in 1874 closed the inlet, which had connected the bodden with the Baltic Sea. A road now connects Zingst and Darß, running along a 100 m (330 ft)-wide isthmus. The soils of Zingst consist almost entirely of sand. The sand is white in colour, which makes it popular with sunbathers and tourists. Dunes border the Baltic Sea and enclose low ground about half a metre below sea level. The low-lying land results in boggy conditions in the interior of the peninsula, and these bogs offer habitat to a wide variety of wildlife. The ruins of a Slavic fort, the 'Hertesburg,' are on the Zingst peninsula near Zingst municipality.

Pruchten is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

Zingst is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the peninsula of Zingst.

Barthe is a river of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The river has a length of about 35 kilometers. It discharges into the Barther Bodden, which is connected to the Baltic Sea.

The Kranich Museum opened to the public on 24 September 2011. It is located in the village of Hessenburg in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is one of 2,000 manor houses in the region and was specially restored to house a collection of international contemporary art that explores the crane, a bird that stops on the West Pomeranian plains every spring and autumn on its migratory flight from northern Europe to Spain and North Africa.

Saal is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The community is under administration of the small city of Barth. Saal has first been documented in a deed of the city of Barth in the year of 1255. At this time there was an already abandoned Slavic castle by the mouth of the Saal creek into the Saal “bodden”. The population around 1255 consisted of indigenous Slav, migrants from Westphalia and Denmark. The first church already existed and was completely made of wood and sanctified to the “Holy Cross”. From today's village Tempel, at the time a commandery, knights templar arrived at Saal. The order of knights was in search to expanding Northeast, and had to take provisions securing its continuity as the Holy Land was lost. The order induced the erection of the church, which until this date dominates impressively the scenery and gives a different impression of Gothic architecture. Everything at this church is characterized by ‘shiftings’: windows, portals. The frayed walls are evidence of both planned or symbolic annexes and continued constructions. The entry to the underground walkway, behind the altar, can still be seen. It is said to end somewhere by the “bodden”. Underneath the bell tower (1731) standing aside from the actual church, is a hollow space, which however, had never been explored. According to the legend a part of the templar treasure was brought here around 1300. One of the templar stole a part of the treasure and hid it in one of the column foundations. It was said to be the vanished imperial regalia of John Lackland, which he lost in unclear circumstances in 1216. Legend: Until 1309 the templar rebuilt the castle at the „bodden“ and used it as a port facility. Today, only the castle ramparts testify of the once great times. The Vitalian Brotherhood under Stoertebeker (.../succession order of the templar in Portugal) had used the castle until 1391 and are said to have brought the treasure under the bell tower to this place. After they were involved in a fight with the Danes on the Ribnitz Sea, they had to flee and never returned to Saal. The treasure is said to be still somewhere there. Today the templar in Saal are forgotten; only Stoertebeker is sometimes spoken about. Suggestion: Who ever comes to Saal, should not miss visiting an ancient stone circle, the apostle stones.

Stalag Luft I was a German World War II prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near Barth, Western Pomerania, Germany, for captured Allied airmen. The presence of the prison camp is said to have shielded the town of Barth from Allied bombing. About 9,000 airmen – 7,588 American and 1,351 British and Canadian – were imprisoned there when it was liberated on the night of 30 April 1945 by Soviet troops.

Barth is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is situated at a lagoon (Bodden) of the Baltic Sea facing the Fischland-Darss-Zingst peninsula. Barth belongs to the district of Vorpommern-Rügen. It is close to the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. In 2011, it held a population of 8,706.