Rügen Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Rügen
Geography
Ralswiek Castle
Location in Germany
Location	Baltic Sea
Area	926.4 km² (357.7 sq mi)
Length	51.4 km (31.94 mi)
Width	42.8 km (26.59 mi)
Coastline	574 km (356.7 mi)
Highest elevation	161 m (528 ft)
Administration
Germany
Demographics
Population	77,000
Pop. density	79 /km² (205 /sq mi)

Rügen ( also lat. Rugia; Ruegen) is Germany's largest island by area. 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 (from north to south), a maximum width of 42.8 km in the south and an area of 926 km². 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.

Geography

Rügen is in the northeast part of Germany in the Baltic Sea. The main landmass, Muttland, is surrounded my many peninsulas. There are also two national German park located on the island : Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park and Jasmund National Park.

Images for kids

Mönchgut lagoon countryside
Jasmund National Park, famous for its chalk cliffs, the symbol of Rügen: Victoria-Sicht (Victoria's View) and Königsstuhl (King's Chair) from the Baltic Sea
Binz
German Romantic painter Caspar Friedrich's Chalk Cliffs on Rügen
One of many megalith sites on Rügen: the Lancken-Granitz dolmen
The Celebration of Svetovid on Rügen (1912), Alphonse Mucha, The Slav Epic
Invasion of Rügen by Brandenburg-Prussia at Neukamp in 1678 (etching by Jan Luiken).
1608 map by Eilhardus Lubinus
Ralswiek Castle
KdF Building Prora
Binz, one of several spas on Rügen, featuring the typical Resort architecture of the German Baltic Sea — Kurhaus (spa hotel) at night
The pier of Sellin at night
Sellin Architecture
Rasender Roland ("Rushing Roland") is Rügen's famous historical steam-powered railway, that runs from Putbus to Binz, Baabe, Sellin and Göhren.
Typical avenue on Rügen. The German Avenue Road starts in Sellin on the island and leads down to the far South of Germany (until Lake Constance).
Ferry port Mukran, (part of Sassnitz)
Runway of Rügen Airport at Bergen
Karl Schwarz, 1865
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher around 1815

Rügen facts for kids

Geography

Images for kids

See also