Störtebeker Festival

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

Patzig is a municipality, located on the island of Rügen, in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

The Großer Jasmunder Bodden belongs to the Northern Rügener Boddens and is a water body on the southern edge of the Baltic Sea in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is a bodden, a type of lagoon that occurs in northern Europe especially on the coast of Pomerania. It lies within the island of Rügen, is around 14 kilometres long, an average of six kilometres wide and is up to nine metres deep with an average depth of 5.3m. The Großer Jasmunder Bodden has an area of 58.6 square kilometres; if the Breetzer Bodden, Breeger Bodden, Lebbiner Bodden, Neuendorfer Wiek and Tetzitzer See are included the total area of water comes to over 94 square kilometres. The lagoon is bounded to the north by the peninsulas of Wittow and Jasmund, which are linked by the narrow spit of Schaabe. To the south of the bodden is the main body of the island of Rügen, Muttland. To the east near Lietzow it is linked to the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden by a ditch and sluice gate. The two bodden were first separated in 1869 by the construction of an embankment that now carries the B 96 federal road and the Stralsund–Sassnitz railway. In the west at the Wittow Ferry the bodden has a narrow branch running into the lagoon of Rassower Strom and is thereby linked to the Baltic Sea. The western part of the bodden is further sub-divided into the Breetzer Bodden, Breeger Bodden and Lebbiner Bodden, which, strictly speaking, are not part of the Großer Jasmunder Bodden. The north of the bodden is less divided. Only the Spykersche See near Spyker pushes east forming a small bay. By contrast the southwestern shore is more indented, with the Tetzitzer See and the Neuendorfer Wiek pushing well inland. The extreme southeastern shore of the bodden near Ralswiek is the venue for the Störtebeker Festival that takes place every summer. The water of the Großer Jasmunder Bodden is a mix of fresh water from the streams that discharge into it and the salty waters of the Baltic and is classed as brackish water with a salt content of 0.7 to 0.8 per cent. Almost the entire shore is girt with reeds. In places the shoreline forms sea cliffs that were formed thousands of years ago by breakers in the Littorina Sea, when the islands of Wittow and Jasmund were still not linked by the Schaabe. The bodden is rich in fish and is also used for bathing and sailing. There are important harbours in Ralswiek, Polchow, Breege and St. Martin's Harbour in Sagard.

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

Rügen (German pronunciation: [ˈʁyːɡn̩] ; Rani: Rȯjana, Rāna; Latin: Rugia, Ruegen) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where it is linked to the mainland by road and railway via the Rügen Bridge and Causeway, two routes crossing the two-kilometre-wide Strelasund, a sound of the Baltic Sea. Rügen has a maximum length of 51.4 km (31.9 mi) (from north to south), a maximum width of 42.8 km (26.6 mi) in the south and an area of 926 km2 (358 sq mi). The coast is characterized by numerous sandy beaches, lagoons (Bodden) and open bays (Wieke), as well as projecting peninsulas and headlands. In June 2011, UNESCO awarded the status of a World Heritage Site to the Jasmund National Park, famous for its vast stands of beeches and chalk cliffs like King's Chair, the main landmark of Rügen island.The island of Rügen is part of the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, with its county seat in Stralsund. The towns on Rügen are: Bergen, Sassnitz, Putbus and Garz. In addition, there are the Baltic seaside resorts of Binz, Baabe, Göhren, Sellin and Thiessow. Rügen is very popular as a tourist destination because of its resort architecture, the diverse landscape and its long, sandy beaches.

The Nonnensee is a lake in the borough of Bergen auf Rügen, Vorpommern-Rügen district, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is located northwest of the town of Bergen auf Rügen and is a very shallow lake. As a result, attempts were made as early as 1859/60 to drain the lake for agricultural land. Since about 1970 the lake was artificially drained and dried out. In 1993 the pumping station was shut and the lake re-established. Only a few tree stumps that jut out of the water, indicate that it was temporarily dry land. The lake is part of the protected area known as the North Rügen Bodden and Nonnensee (Nordrügensche Bodden und Nonnensee) and is a breeding place and sanctuary for many bird species as well as a recreation area for the nearby town. For example, a five kilometre long circular path runs around the lake with benches and two bird hides from which the rich variety of bird life can be observed. The lake lies at an elevation of 16.1 metres and has a surface area of 0.7 km².

The Ernst Moritz Arndt Tower (German: Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Turm) stands on the top of the Rugard, the highest point of the central region of the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It is listed as a historic structure by the county of Rügen.

The Duwenbeek is the largest stream on the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. The stream originates on the northern edge of the borough of Bergen auf Rügen, flows around the Nonnensee on its eastern side and empties into the bay of Koselower See in front of the island of Ummanz and hence into the Baltic. It flows through the Rügen municipalities of Bergen auf Rügen, Parchtitz and Kluis and forms parts of the boundaries of the municipalities of Bergen, Trent and Gingst.

The Rugard, at 91 m above sea level (NN), is the highest elevation in the central region of the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. This push end moraine was formed in the last ice age and lies on the northeastern perimeter of the town of Bergen auf Rügen. There was probably a castle here from the 9th century to the year 1325 A.D., in which princes of the Slavic Rani tribe resided. These princes ruled Rügen and parts of the adjacent mainland. The Slavic name Rugard (German: Rujanenburg) dates to that period. The site had an inner and outer ward and covered an area of 2.3 hectares. When the Rani's princely line ended in 1325 with the death of Wizlaw III, the castle lost its importance and fell into disrepair. Some of its ramparts have survived, however, and may still be made out today. In the Middle Ages there was a mill here and the area was used for agriculture. Until 1830, when Prince Wilhelm Malte I of Putbus (1783-1854) had the ramparts reforested, the Rugard was treeless. Karl Friedrich Schinkel captured its former appearance in his 1821 painting Der Rugard auf Rügen ("The Rugard on Rügen"). Over time, a forest grew up, consisting mainly of spruce and pine trees, interrupted by small stands of oak, birch and poplar as well as many other deciduous and coniferous trees. The native beech is barely represented. In 1984, a 2.5 km nature trail was established that runs through the Rugard Forest (Rugardwald) where visitors are able to learn about the variety of animal and plant life in this historic countryside from the various information boards. From the Ernst Moritz Arndt Tower on the top of the Rugard, visitors have a panoramic view over the entire island. This tower was built in the 1870s as a monument to Ernst Moritz Arndt, who was born in Groß Schoritz on Rügen. The foundation stone was laid on 26 December 1869, the 100th anniversary of the poet. They chose a design by Berlin architect and builder, Hermann Eggert, and began construction in Autumn 1872. However, the work was not completed until 1877 due to a lack of money. In the 1930s the forest around the Rugard reached such a height that there was no longer a clear, all-round view from the topmost gallery of the tower. Between 1935 and 1937, a Nazi Thingplatz was built here, which was mainly used by the Hitler Youth. During thorough renovations carried out from 2000 to 2002, it was decided to replace the 1955 wooden dome with a dome of glass and steel (whilst maintaining its historical shape) and thus provide a higher viewing platform.

The Church of St. Boniface (German: St. Bonifatius) in Bergen auf Rügen is the seat of the only Roman Catholic parish on the German island of Rügen. Other churches in the parish are the Chapel of Stella Maris in Binz, the Church of the Sacred Heart, in Garz/Rügen and Stella Maris in Sellin. The parish is the northernmost in the Archdiocese of Berlin and has about 1,700 members.

Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen in the middle of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's most populous Amt.

Rügen was a Kreis (district) in the northeastern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The district was bordered entirely by the Baltic Sea. The nearest districts were Nordvorpommern and the district-free city Stralsund. The district covered the islands Rügen and Hiddensee, and several small islands like Ummanz and Vilm. It was thus the only district of Germany which consists solely of islands.