Rügen Things to Do

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The church of Altenkirchen is the second-oldest religious building of Rügen was built in 12th century.
In one aisle you see the Savantevit Stone from Jaromarsburg (my tip about Arkona), built in the church horizontally.
Remarkable the expositions of paintings about region or by regional painters in that church.
A great pleasure also the candles at benches.

Additionally recommandable are the cemetery stones outside that church, and some very old and fascinating trees.

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In the middle of of lovely beech forests Wilhelm Maltas let built himself that hunting palace on the 107 ms high temple mountain. Was completed by Johann Gotthard Steinmeyer, and is an often visited sight.
A special attraction point is the 38 ms high tower, that was constructed 1844 after plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The outlook platform enables lovely views over the island, on the Baltic Sea and the Bodden sea.

Inside some exhibitions are to be seen, some over Schinkel itself, or interstingly about C.D. Friedrich, the famous painter. Remarkably the stairway in the middle tower (Schinkel). 154 steps, out of metal and with lovely ornaments.
Non recomandable for people with fear of heights!

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Cape Arkona is the most northern point of Germany. The 46 ms high cliff line is very impressive. From the far you see the two lighthouses and a bearing tower (navy). One of the lighthoses is built 1826/1827 by Schinkel, one of the most famous architects of Germany. It is the oldest lighthouse of Baltic Sea.
The other one was built 1902, 35 ms high. It is the actual working lighthouse.

Also on Cape you find the last Slavonian temple, 12th century, conquered by Danes, because the Christianisation began in Germany. Please, see that tip.

Not reachable by cars. Transportation to and from Cape Arkona I specify in my transportation tips.

From there you can also have a nice walk belong the beach, and another nice walk will bring you to a really beautiful and unique village named Vitt. Please, about that village have a look to that tip, too.

The authentic and historic narrow guage railway of the Rasender Roland (Racing Roland) is a must see for any steam enthusiast. While I am not a great fan of steam trains myself, the magic of the Rasunder Roland is hard to deny. As you are pulled along in acrid old coaches, you can watch out of the window as the steam hatches over the fields and floats away, or escapes through the dense trees of the forest like spirits startled by the noisy monster ploughing through the empty countryside.

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The Jasmund National Park is the smallest National Park in Germany and famous for its chalk cliffs. The higest cliff with about 118m is called Königsstuhl, and there you also find the National Park Centre. There's an admissions to the centre & to walk on the Königsstuhl, but there are other view points with nice views on the chalk cliffs nearby.

It's not allowed to drive there by car, but there's a large car park next to Hagen (parking fee May 2010: 1,30 € per hour; 5,20 € for 4 to 8 hours; 8 € for 24 hours) and from there you can take the shuttle bus or walk (20-30 minutes). It's a nice walk on which you will pass a nice lake and a bog.
But if you have no problems with a longer walk, I would recommend to hike to the Königsstuhl from Sassnitz. There's a very nice hiking path above the chalk coast with several places that offer fantastic views on the chalk coast. It took us about 3,5 hours and it was lots of up and down with many steps, but it was absolutely worth the effort! For some more photos please see my Sassnitz Travelogues.

From Sassnitz (and at other places) you also can take boat trips along the chalk coast which must be nice as well, from the boat you probably have the best view on all the cliffs.

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The chalk museum is a small but interesting museum at the place of an old chalk quarry. You can learn about all the different types of chalk, how they are produced, and for what it is used. The healing chalk for example is used to treat rheumatic troubles and osteoporosis, and other diseases. But the museum is not only about chalk, you also get some information about geology and there are exhibitions about different types of stones.
Outside you can have a look at the chalk quarry and some of the equipment that was used. There also is a path up to the highest cliff which they call "little Königsstuhl", after it's big brother in the Jasmund National Park.

Open daily from 10:00 to 17:00 Easter to October; open daily except Monday 10:00 to 16:00 November to Easter.
Admission: 3 € adults, 1,50 € children/ students.

On Rügen, you will find alleys everywhere, you just cannot miss them. Some of these alleys are part of the "Deutsche Alleenstraße" (German alley street) which is one of the many theme routes in Germany. This street goes from Rügen to the Bodensee (Lake Constance), starting in Kap Arkona and Sellin.
While these alleys look really nice, they are also the cause of many accidents. As there's a quick change of light and dark you can quickly overlook other people or see them too late. It's therefore recommended to always drive with light on the island. Also the alleys are often small and winding, so you always should be careful!

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Putbus is a small town in the south of Rügen with two large squares. One is the "Circus", a large round square with trees and meadow and a 19m high obelisk in its centre. All around this square are nice classicist houses. Interestingly the circus of Bath in England, where we've been last year, has been the example for this circus. There's another square in Putbus, the market square, which is sourrounded again by lovely classicist houses. Next to this square you find the castle theatre which is one of the oldest theatres of Europe.

In Putbus there's also a castle park with a lake and deer park - but without castle as it unfortunately was removed in 1962. You only see some remainders at the lake. There's also a church in that park which was built in the early 19th century as saloon and was converted to a church about 80 years later.