Bergen auf Rügen
Encyclopedia
Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the former district of Rügen
in the middle of the island of Rügen
in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 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.
, on the Baltic Sea
coast. The city lies in a hilly area, with the Rugard woods on the city's northeast outskirts reaching a height of 91 m above sea level
. The area around Bergen is predominantly agricultural
. The town itself is built on a glacial moraine
deposited when the ice sheet
s retreated during the last ice age
. Not far from central Bergen, to the northeast, is the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden, a shallow bay, and to the southeast lies another bay, the Greifswalder Bodden, and with the town of Putbus
.
word for "mountain
" ("Berg" in German
) which came from the Polabian language
spoken by the Rani
(Rujani), a Slavic people
who once inhabited the area. When the tribe was subdued by the Danes, who erected the Principality of Rügen ruled by a local dynasty, the Rugard burgh
became an administrative center. With the Danish rule, the principality became Christian
and subject to German immigration in the course of the Ostsiedlung
, and a nuns' abbey was founded near the Rugard with St Mary's church south of the currentmarketplace. While the Rugard stronghold included a suburbium already, the town of Bergen was erected on the neighboring hilltop and not within the Rugard walls, that today are preserved in a park north of the city center.
Already by 1185, work had begun on St Mary's, commissioned by the Prince of Rügen Jaromar I (1170–1218). In 1193 it was completed and then consecrated as the monastery
church. Even today, the church still bears an odd curiosity: the dial on the big tower clock shows 61 minutes. Encouraged by the founding of the monastery, the first inn opened in 1232.
In 1314, Bergen itself was first mentioned in a document under the name villa montis. In 1325, Bergen along with the principality of Rügen became part of the Duchy of Pomerania
by inheritance. Until the 15th century, Bergen was under the monastery's leadership. In 1534, after a decree by the Pomeranian Landtag
in Treptow an der Rega (today Trzebiatów), the Protestant Reformation
was introduced to Pomerania
. Ownership of the monastery was transferred to the Pomeranian dukes.
In 1613, Bergen was granted Lübeck law
city rights. This is exceptional compared to most other Pomeranian cities, that had been granted city rights in the 13th century already. After the Thirty Years' War
, the city became Swedish
as part of Swedish Pomerania
in 1648. In 1815, it became part of the Prussia
n Province of Pomerania.
The first industrial enterprises were established in 1823 and 1853, when leather
factories set up shop here. In 1883, the first train
s reached Bergen station along the railway from Altefähr
. In 1890, the dairy
began operations and the next year, the post office
was built at the marketplace. When in 1898 and 1899, the waterworks
and the power station
came into operation, the infrastructure that Bergen had at its disposal made it worthy of being the district seat.
Four days before the end of the Second World War, undefended Bergen was occupied by the Red Army
on May 4, 1945. After the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded, the new government pressed ahead with further industrialization. In 1952, construction began on the industrial area on the town's western outskirts. In 1953-1958, the dairy was established, which furnished 300 t of milk
daily. In 1955-1956 came the establishment of the VEB
Brot- und Backwaren (Bread
and Baked Goods). In 1957-1958, the slaughterhouse
and meat plant went into production. An efficient food industry was set up in Bergen, supplied by the island and parts of the mainland. Since Reunification and East Germany's accession into the Federal Republic
, a number of marked changes have been wrought upon the town. The population dwindled from its former level of almost 20,000 to 16,500. Many prefabricated concrete structures
, common in the former Warsaw Pact
countries, were modernized and adapted to new demands. Furthermore, a few school
s were closed and new hotel
s built. Historical downtown was completely renovated and beautified, giving it a new glamour.
Bergen has essentially good transport connections. This refers to travel on the island of Rügen and the national rail system
. The road connection with the mainland, on the other hand, could only be described as bad. In summer, the Rügendamm
– the bridge that joins Rügen to the mainland at Stralsund
often becomes a bottleneck. Alleviation will come in a few years when the Strelasundquerung – a second crossing over the Strelasund
and an expressway feeder road – is built.
Individually, the road network serving Bergen is as follows. The B 96 reaches Bergen from Stralsund, where it connects with the B 105 which leads to Rostock
. Bergen is also accessible by car by taking the ferry from Glewitz
. In Bergen, the road further branches into the B 196, affording access to the island's eastern area, where there are bathing beach
es. The B 96 itself leads further on to Sassnitz
.
Those who would rather forgo the car may also reach Bergen by train. Already by the time the first stretches of railway were built on Rügen in 1883, trains were reaching the island from afar. The island's capital, Bergen, has always profited from this, as it lies right on the main transport arteries to the bathing resorts and the harbour at Mukran (Sassnitz).
All parts of the island of Rügen can also be reached from Bergen by the many buslines there.
Until the 1960s, Bergen was also served by a local narrow gauge railway, the Rügensche Kleinbahn, popularly known as Rasender Roland, but the Deutsche Reichsbahn
, which owned it at the time, shut all the lines in the central and northern parts of Rügen down at that time. Part of the system still runs, however.
Svedala
, Sweden
Goleniów
, Poland
Rügen (district)
Rügen was a Kreis in the northeastern part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The district of Rügen was created in 1806 by the Swedish administration of Swedish Pomerania. At first it was named Amt Bergen, in 1810 it was renamed to Kreis Bergen. On 4 September 2011, Rügen was merged to...
in the middle of the island of Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Since 1 January 2005, Bergen has moreover been the administrative seat of the Amt
Amt (subnational entity)
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only found in Germany, but formerly also common in northern European countries. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to a U.S...
of Bergen auf Rügen, which with a population of over 23,000 is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's most populous Amt.
Geography
Bergen is in the middle of Germany's biggest island, RügenRügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
, on the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast. The city lies in a hilly area, with the Rugard woods on the city's northeast outskirts reaching a height of 91 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. The area around Bergen is predominantly agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The town itself is built on a glacial moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
deposited when the ice sheet
Ice sheet
An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² , thus also known as continental glacier...
s retreated during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. Not far from central Bergen, to the northeast, is the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden, a shallow bay, and to the southeast lies another bay, the Greifswalder Bodden, and with the town of Putbus
Putbus
Putbus is a small town on the southeastern part of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Germany. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destination with numerous seaside resorts....
.
The city's subdivisions
The following wards are parts of Bergen:
|
|
History
The name's origins stretch back to 1232 when there was a place on Rügen called Gora, a SlavicSlavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
word for "mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
" ("Berg" in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) which came from the Polabian language
Polabian language
The Polabian language is an extinct West Slavic language that was spoken by the Polabian Slavs in present-day North-Eastern Germany around the Elbe river, from which derives its name...
spoken by the Rani
Rani (Slavic tribe)
The Rani or Rujani were a West Slavic tribe based on the island of Rugia and the southwestern mainland across the Strelasund in what is today northeastern Germany....
(Rujani), a Slavic people
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
who once inhabited the area. When the tribe was subdued by the Danes, who erected the Principality of Rügen ruled by a local dynasty, the Rugard burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
became an administrative center. With the Danish rule, the principality became Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and subject to German immigration in the course of the Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
, and a nuns' abbey was founded near the Rugard with St Mary's church south of the currentmarketplace. While the Rugard stronghold included a suburbium already, the town of Bergen was erected on the neighboring hilltop and not within the Rugard walls, that today are preserved in a park north of the city center.
Already by 1185, work had begun on St Mary's, commissioned by the Prince of Rügen Jaromar I (1170–1218). In 1193 it was completed and then consecrated as the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
church. Even today, the church still bears an odd curiosity: the dial on the big tower clock shows 61 minutes. Encouraged by the founding of the monastery, the first inn opened in 1232.
In 1314, Bergen itself was first mentioned in a document under the name villa montis. In 1325, Bergen along with the principality of Rügen became part of the Duchy of Pomerania
Duchy of Pomerania
The Duchy of Pomerania was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania ....
by inheritance. Until the 15th century, Bergen was under the monastery's leadership. In 1534, after a decree by the Pomeranian Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
in Treptow an der Rega (today Trzebiatów), the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was introduced to Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. Ownership of the monastery was transferred to the Pomeranian dukes.
In 1613, Bergen was granted Lübeck law
Lübeck law
The Lübeck law was the constitution of a municipal form of government developed at Lübeck in Schleswig-Holstein after it was made a free city in 1226. The law provides for self-government. It replaced the personal rule of tribal monarchs descending from ancient times or the rule of the regional...
city rights. This is exceptional compared to most other Pomeranian cities, that had been granted city rights in the 13th century already. After the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the city became Swedish
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
as part of Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
in 1648. In 1815, it became part of the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n Province of Pomerania.
The first industrial enterprises were established in 1823 and 1853, when leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
factories set up shop here. In 1883, the first train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s reached Bergen station along the railway from Altefähr
Altefähr
Altefähr is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.-Transport:* Altefähr railway station is served by local services between Rostock, Stralsund and Sassnitz.- External links :*...
. In 1890, the dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
began operations and the next year, the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was built at the marketplace. When in 1898 and 1899, the waterworks
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
and the power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
came into operation, the infrastructure that Bergen had at its disposal made it worthy of being the district seat.
Four days before the end of the Second World War, undefended Bergen was occupied by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
on May 4, 1945. After the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was founded, the new government pressed ahead with further industrialization. In 1952, construction began on the industrial area on the town's western outskirts. In 1953-1958, the dairy was established, which furnished 300 t of milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
daily. In 1955-1956 came the establishment of the VEB
Volkseigener Betrieb
The Volkseigener Betrieb was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany...
Brot- und Backwaren (Bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and Baked Goods). In 1957-1958, the slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
and meat plant went into production. An efficient food industry was set up in Bergen, supplied by the island and parts of the mainland. Since Reunification and East Germany's accession into the Federal Republic
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, a number of marked changes have been wrought upon the town. The population dwindled from its former level of almost 20,000 to 16,500. Many prefabricated concrete structures
Plattenbau
Plattenbau is the German word for a building whose structure is constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of Platte and Bau...
, common in the former Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries, were modernized and adapted to new demands. Furthermore, a few school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s were closed and new hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s built. Historical downtown was completely renovated and beautified, giving it a new glamour.
Transport
- Bergen auf Rügen railway stationBergen auf Rügen railway stationBergen auf Rügen is a railway station in the town of Bergen auf Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The station lies on the Stralsund-Sassnitz railway and Bergen auf Rügen–Lauterbach Mole railway and was opened in 1883. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn and Pressnitztalbahn...
is served by trains to and from BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, DusseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Hannover, PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, RostockRostockRostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, StralsundStralsund- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
and StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
Bergen has essentially good transport connections. This refers to travel on the island of Rügen and the national rail system
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
. The road connection with the mainland, on the other hand, could only be described as bad. In summer, the Rügendamm
Rügendamm
The Rügen Bridge is a pre-stressed concrete cable-stayed bridge that spans the Strelasund between the German City of Stralsund and Rügen Island, Germany...
– the bridge that joins Rügen to the mainland at Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
often becomes a bottleneck. Alleviation will come in a few years when the Strelasundquerung – a second crossing over the Strelasund
Strelasund
The Strelasund is a sound of the Baltic Sea which separates Rügen from the German mainland. It is crossed by a road and rail bridge called the Rügendamm in Stralsund. It runs in a roughly northwest-to-southeast direction from a small shallow bay just north of Stralsund called the Kubitzer Bodden...
and an expressway feeder road – is built.
Individually, the road network serving Bergen is as follows. The B 96 reaches Bergen from Stralsund, where it connects with the B 105 which leads to Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
. Bergen is also accessible by car by taking the ferry from Glewitz
Glewitz
Glewitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
. In Bergen, the road further branches into the B 196, affording access to the island's eastern area, where there are bathing beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es. The B 96 itself leads further on to Sassnitz
Sassnitz
Sassnitz is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2007 was 10,747....
.
Those who would rather forgo the car may also reach Bergen by train. Already by the time the first stretches of railway were built on Rügen in 1883, trains were reaching the island from afar. The island's capital, Bergen, has always profited from this, as it lies right on the main transport arteries to the bathing resorts and the harbour at Mukran (Sassnitz).
All parts of the island of Rügen can also be reached from Bergen by the many buslines there.
Until the 1960s, Bergen was also served by a local narrow gauge railway, the Rügensche Kleinbahn, popularly known as Rasender Roland, but the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR
The Deutsche Reichsbahn or DR was the operating name of state owned railways in the German Democratic Republic ....
, which owned it at the time, shut all the lines in the central and northern parts of Rügen down at that time. Part of the system still runs, however.
Recreation
- Right near the historic town centre is the Rugard wood. From the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Turm (tower) at 91 m above sea levelSea levelMean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, one has a stunning panoramic view far across Rügen. - In the northern part of the Rugard wood, a summer luge track was opened on 25 June 2005.
- Bergen Rotensee Socio-cultural Neighbourhood Centre, since February 2005 with club-cinema. Readings, concerts and creative arts are at home here.
Sightseeing
- Marienkirche (church) – Commissioned by Prince Jaromar I in 1185, it is Rügen's oldest maintained building. The gravestone embedded in the church's outer wall is said to be the prince's.
- Stadtmuseum Bergen
Sons and daughters of the city
- Theodor BillrothTheodor BillrothChristian Albert Theodor Billroth was a German-born Austrian surgeon and amateur musician....
, German doctor - Hans DelbrückHans DelbrückHans Delbrück was a German historian. Delbrück was one of the first modern military historians, basing his method of research on the critical examination of ancient sources, the use of auxiliary disciplines, like demography and economics, to complete the analysis and the comparison between...
, German historian and politician - Wolfgang Jacobi, German composer and music teacher
- Andreas KholAndreas KholAndreas Khol is an Austrian politician of the center-conservative Austrian People's Party, President of the Nation Council from 2002 to 2006....
, Austrian politician - Hans LangsdorffHans LangsdorffHans Wilhelm Langsdorff was a German naval officer, most famous for his command of the Panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate. He held the rank of Kapitän zur See....
, ReichsmarineReichsmarineThe Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
and KriegsmarineKriegsmarineThe Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
officer - Sebastian Pflugbeil, East German civil rights advocate and Minister without portfolio
- Arnold RugeArnold RugeArnold Ruge was a German philosopher and political writer.-Studies in university and prison:Born in Bergen auf Rügen, he studied in Halle, Jena and Heidelberg. As an advocate of a free and united Germany he was jailed for five years in 1825 in the fortress of Kolberg, where he studied Plato and...
, German writer - Devid StriesowDevid StriesowDevid Striesow is a German actor. He starred as "Sturmbannführer Herzog" in Stefan Ruzowitzky's 2007 film The Counterfeiters, which was awarded the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for that year.-External links:...
, German actor - Holger Teschke, German writer
City partnerships
Oldenburg in Holstein, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Svedala
Svedala
Svedala is a locality and the seat of Svedala Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 9,593 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Goleniów
Goleniów
Goleniów is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland with 22,399 inhabitants . It is the capital of Goleniów County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship ; previously it was in Szczecin Voivodeship . Town area is 12.5 km², geographical situation 53°33'N and 14°49'E...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...