Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
In the heart of a traditional holiday region, on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst Peninsula and the surrounding waters stretching to the islands of Rügen and Hiddensee, the approximately 800-square-kilometre Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park was established in 1990. It also includes a small part of Rügen’s west coast, parts of the islands of Hiddensee and Ummanz, several smaller islands, and the adjacent Baltic Sea down to a water depth of 10 metres. Towns and villages are excluded.
Weststrand des Darß
Photo: Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
The Darß primeval forest is an almost untouched woodland in the west of the Darß, which in many places merges seamlessly into the Darß West Beach. Here, the sea gradually claims the land, with ancient trees on the beach serving as a symbol of this process.
A few kilometres to the north, at Darßer Ort, new land is being formed. There are few places along the entire Baltic coast where this process of land formation can be observed as strikingly as here. This area may not be entered.
A vast dune landscape, the Sundische Wiese, stretches across the Zingst, the eastern part of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst Peninsula. Since a decades-old military shooting range was decommissioned, nature has once again been able to thrive here undisturbed.
The national park’s extensive shallow-water areas between the Zingst and the islands of Werder, Bock and Hiddensee are home to 163 breeding bird species, including 70 species on the Red List of threatened species. Nature enthusiasts make good use of the various observation towers. Above all, these shallow-water areas form one of Europe’s largest crane roosting sites. In spring and autumn, up to 40,000 “birds of happiness” rest here before continuing their flight to northern or southern Europe. Guided evening walks to the cranes’ arrival sites are part of the national park’s visitor programme; indeed, “crane tourism” has developed here.
Werner K. Lahmann’s booklet not only provides an overview of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park, but also includes a map and numerous practical tips on how to get there, places to visit, hiking routes with distances, accommodation and places to eat. In this way, the national park can also be part of an enjoyable active holiday on the Fischland-Darß-Zingst Peninsula.
Info:
Werner K. Lahmann
German National Parks II
Outdoor Handbook, Volume 268
Conrad Stein Verlag, 2009
€12.90 / CHF 22.90
137 pages, 34 colour illustrations
8 colour map sketches, 1 colour overview map
Format: 16.5 x 11.5 cm
ISBN 978-3-86686-268-5
Information about Conrad Stein Verlag
