Rügen

Rügen (Polish Rugia) is the largest German island. It is situated off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. Its area is 935 km² and its population was 73,000 in 2001. Together with the neighboring smaller islands Hiddensee and Ummanz it is administrated as the district Rügen.

Geography

Rügen is mainly accessible by a bridge (the Rügendamm) connecting the island 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. There are three nature reserves on the island:

Related Topics:
Rügendamm - Stralsund - Greifswald - Wolgast - Narrow gauge - Rügensche Kleinbahn

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• 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.