Zingst, Hiddensee & Rügen (Germany)
Barth / EDBH → Gutin / EDCG.
Time for another island trip! We took off at dawn from Barth, passing the old town, which was founded as a successor to several Slavic villages in the 11th century by German settlers. Two ancient fortifications existed, but they were broken down at the behest of Barth’s residents in the medieval era.
Crossing the Fitt, we reached Zingst Peninsula with Zingst itself as its major settlement. Once an island, Zingst was connected with the Fischland-Darß peninsula after a severe storm in 1872 to protect the area behind it from further floodings.
Further east we came across one of (East) Germany’s most beloved vacation islands - Hiddensee. A remote, natural island, Hiddensee served first as a secret spot for artists and writers to gain new inspirations, before being turned into a touristic powerhouse by the GDR government and its FDGB (the only available and tightly controlled workers union in the GDR).
After crossing over to Rügen, Germany’s largest island, we visited its northernmost point, the Gellort. One of its most famous sights is right behind us - the chalk cliff known as Kap Arkona. Once a holy place of the Slavic Rani tribe, it is nowadays home to two lighthouses as well as multiple touristic localities.
Turning south again we visited the island capital Bergen auf Rügen. Looking back on more than 1000 years of history, it was founded in 1232, surrounding St. Mary’s Church, which itself was built about 60 years earlier as a princely church for Lord Jaromar I. of Rügen after the destruction of the Jaromarsburg near Kap Arkona.