Jasmund National Park (German: Nationalpark Jasmund) is a nature reserve located on the Jasmund peninsula in the northeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is known for having the largest Rügen chalk cliffs in Germany. The highest of these cliffs is called Königsstuhl (German for "king's chair"), which rises to 118 meters (387 feet) above the Baltic Sea. The highest point in the entire park is Piekberg, standing at 161 meters (528 feet) above sea level. The beech forests behind the cliffs are also included in the national park.
The park covers an area of 30 kilometers (12 square miles), making it the smallest national park in Germany. It was established in September 1990 by the last government of East Germany (GDR) before the country was reunified.
On 25 June 2011, the beech forest within the park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as an extension of the Primeval Beech Forests of Europe site. This addition recognizes the forest's untouched condition and its role in showing the ecological history of Europe since the last Ice Age.
Geography
Jasmund National Park includes the Stubnitz ridge, which is located north of the city of Sassnitz. The ridge is covered with ancient beech forests and has cliffs that cover 2200 hectares. There is also a water corridor that stretches 500 meters toward the Baltic Sea, covering 603 hectares. In the west, there are 200 hectares of land that include the former Quoltitz chalk quarries, meadows, moors, and dry grasslands.
Chalk cliffs
The cliffs of Jasmund National Park are part of the Rügen Chalk unit. These cliffs are constantly being worn away by erosion. During storms, pieces of the cliffs break off, including rocks and fossils of sponges, oysters, and sea urchins.
The most impressive part of the cliffs is the Königsstuhl, which is 118 meters (387 feet) tall. One of the most scenic and well-known chalk outcrops, the Wissower Klinken, collapsed into the Baltic Sea on February 24, 2005, during a landslide caused by melting snow and ice.
Flora and fauna
Jasmund National Park has unique rock and land features that support many rare plants and animals.
In the Stubnitz area, behind the cliffs, there are many small valleys and low areas filled with water. Most of these were formed by holes left behind when ice from the Ice Age melted. A wide variety of plants grows here, such as black alder, European crab apple, wild service tree, yew, and orchids, like Cypripedium calceolus.
Many types of birds live in the park, including white-tailed eagles, common kingfishers, house martins, and peregrine falcons.
Management
Since it was created in 1934, Jasmund National Park has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. A main job of the National Park Authority is to keep the different habitats as natural as possible, while letting visitors learn about the area's natural environment. In March 2004, a visitor center called the Königsstuhl National Park Centre was opened.
Gallery
- The Königsstuhl (King's Chair)
- A Sentinel-2 satellite photo of the park
- View of Königsstuhl from the south
- Victoria-Sicht (Victoria's View) and Königsstuhl from above
- Victoria-Sicht and Königsstuhl from the Baltic Sea
- View of the white cliffs
- The chalk cliffs
- Stubbenkammer
- Wissower Klinken (April 2004)
- Wissower Klinken (August 2005)
- Victoria-Sicht (Victoria's View)
- Black alder swamp
- Sea urchin without fossils