Dhe giant red beeches lost their leaves long ago. Their branches reach far beyond the steep bank in the north-east of Rügen. Some trees are so close to the abyss that it is feared that the next winter storm could endanger them. And it will definitely come. Below, on the flint-strewn beach, there are already one or two beech trees that must have fallen from above.
In the cold season, the Jasmund National Park shows itself from another side. Around a million visitors come every year. In contrast to summer, there are hardly any tourists in winter. Even the beach, along which caravans of walkers and fossil collectors sometimes pass, is deserted on some winter days.
Almost everywhere on Rügen looks like the Jasmund National Park in the winter months. The crowds of tourists have left the otherwise popular German holiday island. The hibernation has arrived. Anyone who thinks they know Germany’s largest island inside out from their summer holidays should come back again during the cold season. This other, second face is otherwise hidden from summer vacationers.
Hiking through the Jasmund National Park in winter
Karsten Klaene, ranger in the Jasmund National Park, has a lot to gain from the peace and quiet. He also offers guided tours in autumn and winter. In the middle of the 500-hectare beech forest, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011, it is often so quiet that noises like the croaking of a hooded crow are all the more noticeable.
Klaene recognized her reputation immediately. “We also have ravens,” he says. A number of bird species from chaffinch to spotted woodpecker to white-tailed eagle live in the national park. Klaene wears a jay’s feather on his hat.
Encountering larger mammals such as badgers or deer is rather unlikely. Klaene knows the smallest national park in Germany, with an area of around 3,000 hectares, like the back of his hand. He plans four hours for the approximately eight-kilometer tour from the southern end of the national park to the Königsstuhl. In winter there is a thermos with hot tea in his backpack. The fact that the corona pandemic still exists is soon forgotten on the way.
Source: Infographic WELT/Jörn Baumgarten
The sky is the same shade of gray as the Baltic Sea, which can be seen regularly when hiking the Hochuferweg. “What is special about our national park is the combination of forest, water and chalk cliffs,” says Klaene. There have been beeches on Rügen at least since the Middle Ages. “The oldest today are 300 to 400 years old,” says the ranger. The forest extends almost everywhere to the cliffs.
Sometimes Klaene stops at the Kieler Bach, which trickles idyllically through a curb valley, sometimes he climbs down the wooden steps to the beach to draw attention to a waterfall. And he stops at the Wissower Klinken, where large parts of the chalk cliff fell in 2005. The chalk coast is also constantly changing in this way. “Only change is constant here,” says the ranger.
The Königsstuhl gets a suspension bridge
The best view of the Königsstuhl, the most famous 118 meter high rock formation, is also available in winter from the platform at the Victoriasicht. Although it does not shine as white as in summer sunshine, it clearly stands out from the gray of its surroundings.
The platform from the Victoria view offers the best view of the Königsstuhl
Source: pa/dpa/Königsstuhl National Park Center/Peter Lehmann
The viewing platform on the Königsstuhl itself is to be replaced by a suspension bridge in 2022, the shape of which is reminiscent of a toilet seat. On the 185 meter long circular path, visitors can then take a look at the chalk coast from different perspectives. The opening is planned for the summer at the earliest, the old platform should close long before that.
The National Park Center on the Königsstuhl, which is well worth seeing, is open all year round. Anyone who has hiked through the beech forest can have a multimedia exhibition explain how the Jasmund peninsula came about, which fish live in the Baltic Sea today and why the philosophy of the national park is “let nature be nature”.
Many simply drive past Sassnitz
From the Jasmund National Park it is not far to Sassnitz. Many Rügen visitors simply drive past it on their way to the national park. A stop at the city harbor is definitely worthwhile – even in winter.
Sassnitz doesn’t have a beach, but it does have a 1.4-kilometer pier, a marina for leisure skippers, a submarine that can be visited, a small harbor museum and Rügen’s longest fish sandwich counter. Excursion boats start from here to the chalk cliffs, but in winter the program is significantly reduced. And not at all if the Baltic Sea freezes over at least partially – like in 2010.
Inexplicable fish kills in the lake area on Rügen
In a few weeks, almost 31 tons of dead fish have been recovered from the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden on Rügen. The cause of the mass fish kill has not yet been clarified. The authorities warn against fishing here.
Source: WELT/ Sebastian May
In the GDR there were also around 80 fishing boats in front of the quay. Hardly anything remains of the fishing fleet. Operations in the port have become clear. Ferries no longer leave here either, but in neighboring Mukran. The connection to Trelleborg in southern Sweden, for which Sassnitz was known for decades, was completely discontinued.
“There is no more handling in the fish hall,” says Stadthafen Managing Director Thomas Langlotz. Today, the port plays a role primarily in terms of tourism. A new museum is to be built in the former cold store and will commemorate the history of fishing and the port. “Hard work was done here, that should be visible,” says Langlotz. But that’s still in the future.
Amber is the gold of the Baltic Sea
Amber fishing is also hard work – and not for the faint-hearted. High season is in winter. It’s only worth it if there’s been a storm. “Several days from the northeast is best,” says Tina Pellegrin, amber fisherman from Binz. “When the storm calms down, we’ll go into the water.”
In the early hours of the morning, she and her father set off for the coast. Sometimes they stay for six hours or more, scouring the beach and scooping up Baltic gold in the frigid water.
“We always go in pairs, it’s too dangerous alone,” says Pellegrin. When the storm subsides, there are always strong currents. The yield can never be predicted. “If you have a good storm, it’s five, eight or ten kilos.” Sometimes a whole ten-liter bucket fills up.
“I collect every little crumb. But larger pieces are better for jewelry processing.” And also more valuable: because the price per gram increases with size. The largest amber Pellegrin has found so far weighs 361 grams.
The east coast of Rügen is a good area to collect amber
Source: pa/dpa/dpa-ZB/Stefan Sauer
The east coast of Rügen is considered a good area. “I’ve been collecting amber since I could walk,” says Tina Pellegrin. She considers the granny image, which amber necklaces in particular have had for a long time, to be outdated. “The white-yellow amber in particular has nothing to do with the old style,” she says. “And amber has over 200 shades – from black to bone white.”
Her Irish-English father, Finnbarr Corrigan, who runs the business “Der Amberfischer” in Binz, also taught her how to work amber. First the weathering crust has to be removed with the grinder. Then comes the wet grinding by hand, then the polishing machine is used until the stone shines. “It’s winter work. Then we both sit in the workshop,” says Pellegrin. “We don’t have time for that in the summer.”
In Binz, too, things get much quieter in winter
Binz is the island’s tourist hotspot, which scores with a kilometer-long sandy beach. The place has long been a tourist destination. The spa architecture from before the First World War is an indication of this. There are guided tours of the island town all year round.
Snow instead of beach shells: the Binz beach can also be beautiful in winter
Source: pa/dpa/dpa-ZB/Stefan Sauer
Klaus Boy has been making them for three decades. The 72-year-old tells the history of the place since the first Slavic settlement in the seventh century and points to the many villas in white, which come from the Binz boom period, have often been extensively renovated and are often used as hotels and holiday apartments.
While it is sometimes difficult for tourists to find even a towel-wide strip on the beach in summer, there is much less activity in the cold season. Walkers, if necessary with scarves and hats, are almost always out and about. The hustle and bustle around the pier, the Kurhaus and the many restaurants on the beach promenade as in the high season is no longer there.
“There are other guests who come in winter, who are looking for balance, relaxation and are interested in nature,” says Tourism Director Kai Gardeja. “The quietest period is from January until the winter holidays. After that it picks up again, but very gently.”
Lanterns light the way: romantic evening mood in the Baltic Sea resort of Binz
Source: pa/dpa/dpa-ZB/Stefan Sauer
When it gets dark at half past four in the afternoon, it gets a little quieter. The shops are still open on Binzer Hauptstraße, and the first guests are looking at the evening menu in the restaurants. But there is hardly anyone to be seen on the beach. Even the seagulls are long gone.
Tips and information for Rügen
Getting there: There are IC and ICE connections to Binz from all over Germany. Some hotels, guesthouses and landlords offer a pick-up service from the train station. Arriving by car takes you to the island just after Stralsund via the toll-free Rügen Bridge.
Accomodation: Binz, with around 14,000 beds plus 5,000 in neighboring Prora, is the number one tourist destination on the island. In summer the place is fully booked, in winter the period between Christmas and the beginning of January is the main season. From autumn to spring, restaurants and cafés are often only open to a limited extent.
Information desk: ruegen.de; Binz Bay Tourism: binzer-bucht.de/die-binzer-bucht/binz/; City port Sassnitz: stadthafen-sassnitz.de; Jasmund National Park: koenigsstuhl.com/ein-phaenomen-von-welt; National Park Center Königsstuhl: koenigsstuhl.com; Floating viewing platform: koenigsweg.koenigsstuhl.com