Bergen auf Rügen

Bergen auf Rügen
Town
Panorama towards Stralsund (SW)
Coat of arms
Location of Bergen auf Rügen (dark red) in Amt Bergen auf Rügen (light red) in Rügen district (grey)
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Rügen
Municipal assoc.	Bergen auf Rügen
Subdivisions	13
Government
• Mayor	Andrea Köster (CDU)
Area
• Total	41.77 km2 (16.13 sq mi)
Elevation	55 m (180 ft)
Population  (2006-12-31)
• Total	14,430
• Density	350/km2 (890/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	18528
Dialling codes	03838
Vehicle registration	RÜG
Website	www.stadt-bergen-auf-ruegen.de

Bergen auf Rügen is the capital of the 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.

Geography

Bergen is in the middle of Germany's biggest island, Rügen, 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 sheets 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.

The city's subdivisions

The following wards are parts of Bergen:

Bergen Süd Dumsevitz Kaiseritz Karow Kiekut

Neklade Streu Tilzow Trips Zittvitz

History

The name's origins stretch back to 1232 when there was a place on Rügen called Gora, a Slavic 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 Prussian Province of Pomerania.

The first industrial enterprises were established in 1823 and 1853, when leather factories set up shop here. In 1883, the first trains 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 schools were closed and new hotels built. Historical downtown was completely renovated and beautified, giving it a new glamour.

Transport

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 beaches. 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).

Specifically, there are direct rail connections from Basel through the Ruhr area, Hamburg and Rostock as well as from Leipzig and Berlin. Furthermore, there are individual trains from Munich, Innsbruck and Hanover. 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.

Recreation

• Right near the historic town centre is the Rugard wood. From the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Turm (tower) at 91 m above sea level, 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 Billroth, German doctor
• Hans Delbrück, German historian and politician
• Wolfgang Jacobi, German composer and music teacher
• Andreas Khol, Austrian politician
• Hans Langsdorff, Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine officer
• Sebastian Pflugbeil, East German civil rights advocate and Minister without portfolio
• Arnold Ruge, German writer
• Holger Teschke, German writer

City partnerships

• Oldenburg in Holstein, Germany
• Svedala, Sweden
• Goleniów, Poland

Pictures

• 
  Marienkirche
• 
  Timbered house at the market square
• 
  Rugard Tower
• 
  Panorama of shallow bays and the Baltic Sea (NE)

Literature

• Wolfgang Rudolph - Die Insel Rügen, ISBN 3-356-00814-5

External links

• Official website of Bergen auf Rügen
• Bergen Marienkirche church and church community

(all in German)