Königsstuhl (''King's Chair'') is the best-known chalk cliff on the

Stubbenkammer 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, th ...

in Jasmund National Park on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It lies at . Königsstuhl und Viktoria-Sicht

In 2004, Königsstuhl was incorporated into the terrain of

Königsstuhl National Park Centre The Königsstuhl National Park Centre (german: Nationalpark-Zentrum Königsstuhl) is the visitor centre for the Jasmund National Park on the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It was opened in 2004 and, with around 300,000 visitors per year ( 200 ...

. It can be reached along a cliff top path, long in total, that runs from Sassnitz to Lohme, or from the large car park in Hagen (in the municipality of Lohme) away. Since 2004, entry to the National Park Centre, and hence access to Königsstuhl, has been subject to a charge. The narrow yet massive granite steps that lead to the plateau on Königsstuhl, in area, lie over the site of what is suspected to be a Bronze Age

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. From the plateau there is a sweeping view of the Baltic Sea. Königsstuhl itself is best seen from the viewing point of Victoria View (''Victoria-Sicht'') to the south. There is a legend that the name ''Königsstuhl'' ("King's Chair") goes back to an event in 1715 when the

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king Charles XII is supposed to have commanded a sea battle against the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

from this spot. The battle tired the ruler so much that he needed to take a chair. However, the name ''Königsstuhl'' was used in a travel report by the vicar, Rhenan, in 1586, who had been tasked by the Pomeranian duke to find mineral springs; thus it is clear that it had been named much earlier. According to a legend, the name is actually derived from a custom whereby in ancient times the person elected king was the first to climb the cliffs from the sea and sit in the chair on the top. File:Kreidefelsen, Stubbenkammer (2011-05-21) 7.JPG, ''Victoria-Sicht'' (Victoria's View) and ''Königsstuhl'' (King's Chair) from above File:102 - Stubbenkammer.jpg, View towards ''Stubbenkammer'', the area around ''Königsstuhl'' File:Koenigsstuhl_1900.jpg, View from the beach
(around 1900) File:Stamps of Germany (DDR) 1966, MiNr 1180.jpg, ''Königsstuhl'' as featured on an official

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

stamp in 1966 File:Rügen Postkarte 070.jpg, Postcard of ''Königsstuhl'', 1927 File:Fotothek df ps 0001529 Landschaften ^ Insellandschaften.jpg, Before 1970 File:Koenigsstuhl 118 m.jpg, On top of ''Königsstuhl'', at above sea level File:Vom Koenigsstuhl nach Norden.jpg, View from Königsstuhl, northwards

External links

Jasmund National Park pictures and information about the chalk cliffs
(English)
nationalpark-jasmund.de
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Konigsstuhl (Rugen) Rock formations of Germany Hills of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Sassnitz Geography of Rügen