The Anklamer Torfmoor, also called the Anklamer Stadtbruch od ''Städtisches Torfmoor'', is an extensive area of bog on the western shore of the

Stettin Lagoon Szczecin Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Szczeciński, german: Stettiner Haff, since 1945 sometimes also ''Oderhaff'' (Oder lagoon) or ''Pommersches Haff'' (Pomeranian lagoon)) is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated f ...

. Much of the area is part of the Anklamer Stadtbruch Nature Reserve. A

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

on 4 November 1995 caused the dyke to break and the Anklamer Stadtbruch was subsequently permanently flooded, resulting in the formation of the Anklamer Torfmoor, which was opposed by the local inhabitants who were affected. Those responsible at the time decided not to repair the embankments and not to pump out the water. Since then its use for forestry has been limited and trees are dying off. In the past there were several attempts to drain the bog in order to extract

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. Thanks to the old farm tracks that lead into the area, almost all of it may be visited and explored. The bog lies within the borough of

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

. The surrounding municipalities are

Bargischow Bargischow is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Location The railway route between Berlin and Stralsund crosses between the municipality and Woserow. Geography a ...

Bugewitz Bugewitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is the least densely populated municipality in what was East Germany, and the fifth-least densely populated in all of Germany ...

and

Leopoldshagen Leopoldshagen is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Geography Immediately northwest of Leopoldshagen begins the Anklamer Torfmoor, a protected wetland which runs along the western shore of the ...

. In 2020, journalist Andrew Müller in the ''

taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

'' mentioned the 1995 dyke breach and its impact as an "unplanned" example of so-called 'passive rewilding', a form of

rewilding Rewilding may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe, a programme to do so in Europe *** Pleistocene rewilding, a form of species reintroduction **Rewilding Institute, an organiz ...

concept.

References

External links

''Anklamer Stadtbruch''
at web.archive.org. Retrieved 7 Apr 2017.
''Rückdeichung - Wo Salz dem Naturschutz dient.''
In: spektrum.de dated 8 February 2016 {{Coord, 53, 48, 45, N, 13, 51, 25, E, type:waterbody_region:DE-MV, display=title Bogs of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Vorpommern-Greifswald