Evening star., 1927-09-11
BRIDGE TO BALTIC
ISLAND PLANNED
Playground Is to Be Con-
nected With German
Mainland.

"The Baltic Island of Rugen, soon
70 be connected with the German
mainland by one of the longest
bridges in the world, is favorlte
playground of vacationtsts from
Northern Europe as well as an I'M.
portant link in the shortest rail
route from Berlin to Stockholm,
saws a bulletin from the NauonaI
Geographic Society
Lard of dark beech forests from
which bold white cliffs 5ut into the
sea. of broad meadows, qualnt VII
lapes and sandy beaches. Rugen
forms n Summer paradise, where
nagan legend and medieval history
give depth and meaning TO a varieq
landscape.
Largest German Island.
"Rugen's total area comprises more
than 375 square miles, making 1t the
largest island Of Germany continues
the bulletin. 1t is separaleu llvll,
the Pomeranian coast of Prussia by
the 2-mile- Stretlasun and is OF
extremely irregular shape. having
long curying promontorieS with deep
havs and broad backwaters when
give a varied and diversified beauty
10 the scenery.
"Gateway to this Summer play
ground is the historic city of Stral-
st,nd, on the mainland, from whleh
terminus trains of the Berlin main
island itself, where the railway con-
island itself. where the railway con-
tinues to connect at Sassnltz Win
the steamship line from SWedeh.
Stralsund, next to Lubbock, was the
most imnortant Hanse town on the
Baltic. 1t is entirely surrounded oy
water. and during the Thirty year
WAR its inhabitants successfully re-
sisted a 1O.week siege by the relentless
Wallenstein, who had sworn to take
it, though it were chained to heaven
with ancient fortifications de-
molished or converted into parkways..
Stralsund is still joy to lovers OF
quaint architecture. Tall, Gaoleo
houses elbow one another above mar
row. cobbled streets. Gothic churcnes
with storied pasts invite the pious
to worship and a town nan oatlns
from the thirteenth century fronts its
snlendid facade upon the market
Climate Is Mild.
''From Stralsund's historic pictur'
esoueness the visitor turns to the
island of Rugen itself, lying just
across the narrow strait. Although
In approximately the same latitude
as Labrador and Kamehatka, Rugen
INDUCES in none of the rigors or
climate of these Far Northern regions,
thanks to the influence of the gulf
stream upon Baltic waters. winters
are cold, to be sure, but Summers
are almost Mediterranean. Day after
day jellyflsh float placidly in a sea
of deepest blue while gentle ocean
breezes stir forests of beech and pine.
1.-THE western part of the island is
low-lying. with meadows OF sea
grass, far-stretching sand beaches
and rolling dunes, among which
nestles an occasional fishing village.
Rising toward the east into higher
country, Rugen thrusts a bold and
indented coast to the sea. Great
white cliffs fall sheer to the waters
edge. On one summit, Offering a
magnificent panorama of ocean and
sky. Charles XII of Sweden is said
TO have had his chair placed so that
he could watch a naval battle be-
tween his followers and the Danes.
ror long stretches of its history
Rugen was under Swedish rule and
among the habits ofsits quaint coun-
try folk.
Deep In the forests behind the
cliffs is a black and silent pool whose
traditions date back to heathen
Germany. According to the Roman
historian Tacitus, this pool was
sacred to the Goddess Hertha, mother
of the earth. and here human saeri-
hces were offered in her honor.
Along the rocky and forested
southeastern and eastern coasts lie
the vacation resorts that have made
Rugen famous. Putbus is the ancient
seat of the princes of that name.
Vilm, Gehren, Sellin and Binz each
draw their Summer thousands.
Sassnitz is the largest town. and 1t
is from here that the train steamers
depart for Trelleberg on the oppo-
site Swedish coast. Terraced hotels,
handsome villas and gay out of-door
restaurants with bandstands give
Sassnitz the air Of a true Summer
metropolis.
Central Farm Lands.
"The rail route from Sassnitz lies
though the farming country of the
island to Bergen, the capital. and
thence to Altefahr. where the ferry
carries trains bodily to Stralsund.
This inland country is typical of the
farm lands of Northern Prussia and
Southern Sweden. There are broad,
fat fields of rye. wheat and sugar
beets, dark, forests and wide
meadows with slow-moving horses
and cows dotted about. There are
quaint farm villages and cheerful
peasants who cling tenaciously in
the more outlying parts of the island
to the dress and customs Of the past.
From this sturdy stock near the
village of Sheritz came the venerable
German patriot and poet of the last
century. Ernest Meritz Arndt, who
accomplished so much toward the
abolition of serfdom in Sweden and
Prussia.
"A little world within itself. of
cultivated farms and storied hills,
of rugged cliffs and bathing beaches,
Rugen, soon to be united to the great
world by modern engineering skill,
still dreams away it's Summer hours
unmoved by approaching commerce"