Bug is the name both of the westernmost tongue of land (''Landzunge'') on the

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Wittow Wittow is the northernmost peninsula of the island of Rügen. Wittow was a separate island until the High Middle Ages, but since then has been connected to the Jasmund peninsula of Rügen by the Schaabe spit. Wittow is most famous for Cape Ark ...

on the German island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...

, as well as the name of the former village there. Bug begins south of the village of Dranske and belongs territorially to that municipality.

Origin of the name

One theory suggests the name ''Bug'' goes back to a landowner, Baronet Antonius de Buge, first mentioned in 1284. Another suggests that the word Bug is derived from the German word ''Biegung'' = "bend". It is also possible that it may have come from a Slavic word ''bug'' =

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

Geography

The peninsula of Bug runs in a southwesterly direction from the village of Dranske for a distance of 8 km and has an area of 500 ha. It is only 55 metres wide at its narrowest point in the northeast; in the southwest its maximum width measures about 1,500 metres. To the west of the Bug is the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

with the northern part of the island of

Hiddensee Hiddensee () is a Auto-free zone, car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the Germany, German coast. The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East Germany, East Germ ...

. To the southwest is the lagoon of Vitter Bodden. A large inlet separates the peninsula from the main body of Rügen itself, comprising the lagoon of

Wieker Bodden The Wieker Bodden is a lagoon or ''bodden'', that is largely surrounded by the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It is part of the North Rügen Bodden Chain. Location The Wieker Bodden lies between the peninsula of Bug (Rügen), Bug to the ...

in the northeast, and the Buger Bodden and the channel of the Rassower Strom in the southeast. Its southernmost point is the ''Buger Haken'' ("Hook of Bug"). Other spits on the ''

bodden Bodden are briny bodies of water often forming lagoons, along the southwestern shores of the Baltic Sea, primarily in Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. These lagoons can be found especially around the island of Rügen, Usedom and ...

'' side, from north to south, are the ''Blevser Haken'', ''Eckort'', '' Fischer Haken'' and ''Neubessin'' (not to be confused with the nearby ''Neubessin'' on the island of Hiddensee).

Geology

The Bug is the largest spit on the island of Rügen, and is still growing. The '' windwatts'' of '' Altbessin'' and '' Neubessin'' in front of the island of Hiddensee to the west are growing towards Bug. Only a regularly dredged

shipping channel In physical geography and hydrology, a channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river, river delta or strait. While ''channel'' typically refers to a natural formation, the cognate term ''canal'' de ...

separates Bug from the island of Hiddensee.

Flora and fauna

The southern part of the Bug belongs to the

Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
at www.naturefund.de. Ac ...

. The Bug was a military out-of-bounds zone for many years. That enabled nature to develop relatively undisturbed. The Bug has woods, dunes and species-rich wet areas. The woods are mostly laid out as a

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

. As in the northeast of the neighbouring island of Hiddensee the formation of new land in the south of Bug provides a habitat for numerous invertebrates, like worms and mussels. This rich source of food draws rare native bird species as well as many migrating birds.

History

* 1540 – Christoph von der Lancken establishes large

fish trap A fish trap is a animal trapping, trap used for fishing, catching fish and other aquatic animals of value. Fish traps include fishing weirs, lobster trap, cage traps, fish wheels and some fishing net rigs such as fyke nets. The use of traps ar ...

s for catching fish. * 1615 – the Bug is totally flooded by 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 ...

. * 1658 – construction of a post station as an intermediate station on the

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

route * 1683 – the post line from

via Bug to

is opened. The Swedish postal ship, ''Hiorten'', plied this route from 1692 to 1702. * 1700 – the Bug is now treeless as a result of clearing and mostly consists of sandy steppe and pastureland. * Between 1806 and 1810 – closure of the post route * 1822 – the Bug-Ystad route is opened again, this time with

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s. * 1835-1930 - the Bug grew annually by six metres a year thanks to sand deposition. * 1865 – construction of a telegraph station at the postal harbour of Bug * 1872 - the Bug is cut off from Wittow by the floods of 12/13 November 1872. * 1887/1888 – reforestation of Bug * 1895 – construction of a forester's lodge, start of pilot operations * 1914-1945 - used as a military air base * 1916 – extension for the seaplane base * 1931–1937 – clearing of the Bug: demolition of the customs station, eviction notices served on the inhabitants, in Dranske almost all buildings were knocked down * 1935–1945 – Bug

air base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

* 1946/1947 – the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

blow up and dismantle the installations on the Bug. The asphalt airfield was blown up and planted. * 1947 – the Bug is uninhabited, in the south nature spreads unhindered. * 1954 – a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

is built. * 1960s – East German People’s Navy set up a speedboat base * 1965 – the NVA opens Dranske/Bug duty station for the 6th Flotilla of the

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

. * to 1990 – the Bug is an out-of-bounds area. * 1990/1991 – use of the fast patrol boat base by the

Bundesmarine The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

* 1991–1999 – concepts of use put forward * 1999 – Naval History and Local History Museum established at the Drankse post office (later moved to the old school) * since 2001 – renovation of the Bug, demolition of all old buildings and plans for a holiday and leisure centre * since 2003 – project stalls due to lack of sufficient funding from its private investors * 2019 – Airstrip built for small planes to land

References

External links

Bug Wittow website, ''Naval History and Local History Museum of Dranske/ Bug''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bug (Rugen) Spits of the Baltic Sea Peninsulas of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Geography of Rügen Training establishments of the Luftwaffe Wittow