Jasmund National Park

Jasmund National Park
The Jasmund National Park (German: Nationalpark Jasmund) is a nature reserve on the Jasmund peninsula, in the northeast of Rügen island in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is famous for containing the largest chalk cliffs in Germany, the highest of which is Königsstuhl (German = "king's chair"), rising to above the Baltic Sea. The highest point in the park as a whole is Pieckberg, at above sea level. The beech forests behind the cliffs are also part of the national park.
Consisting of only , this is the smallest national park in Germany. The park was founded in September 1990 by the last government of East Germany (GDR) prior to the German reunification.
On June 25, 2011, the beech forest in the park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as an extension of the Primeval Beech Forests of Europe site because of its undisturbed nature and its testimony to the ecological history of Europe since the last Ice Age.
Geography
The Nationalpark Jasmund includes the ridge of the Stubnitz north of the city of Sassnitz, which is covered with original beech forest and the cliffs (2200 ha). Also a 500 meter straging watercoridor towards the Baltoc Sea (603 ha) and 200 ha in the west with former Quoltitz chalk quarries, meadows Moors and dry grasslands.
Chalk cliffs
The cliffs of Jasmund National Park belong to the Rügen Chalk unit. The chalk cliffs face constant erosion. With every storm, parts of the cliffs fall, including rocks and fossils of sponges, oysters and sea urchins.
The most majestic part of the cliffs is the Königsstuhl (English: king's chair) which stands at . One of the most scenic and best known of the chalk outcrops, the Wissower Klinken, collapsed into the Baltic Sea on February 24, 2005, in a landslide caused by spring-thaw weather conditions.
Flora and fauna
Because of the special geological characteristics of the Jasmund National Park, it is home to many rare plants and animals.
In the woods of the Stubnitz, behind the cliffs, there are numerous water-filled dells and hollows, most of which came into existence as ice-age dead-ice holes. A wide range of plants are found in this area, for example, black alder, European crab apple, wild service tree, yew and orchids (such as Cypripedium calceolus).
A variety of birds live in the park, including white-tailed eagles, common kingfishers, house martins and peregrine falcons.
Management
Since its creation in 1934, the Jasmund National Park has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. One of the main tasks of the National Park Authority is to ensure that the diverse habitats of the park remain largely undisturbed, whilst still allowing visitors an insight into the nature of the region. In March 2004, the visitor centre, the Königsstuhl National Park Centre, was opened.
Gallery
References
External links
Jasmund National Park pictures and information about the chalk cliffs
Official site
Photos of the park's beech forests
National parks of Germany
Cliffs of Germany
Forests and woodlands of Germany
Protected areas of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Protected areas established in 1990
Geography of Rügen
1990 establishments in East Germany
Landforms of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Primeval Beech Forests in Europe