Mönchgut (''Monk's Estates'' in German) is a peninsula of 29.44 square kilometers with 6600 inhabitants in the southeast of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) 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 city of Stralsund, where ...

island in

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It lies just between the

Greifswalder Bodden The Bay of Greifswald Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Mönchgut contains the districts of Göhren and

Thiessow Thiessow is a village and a former municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Since January 2018, it is part of the new municipality Mönchgut Mönchgut (''Monk's Estates'' in German) is a peninsula of ...

; the peninsula is part of the Mönchgut-Granitz administration area. It is also a part of the

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

of Südost-Rügen. Ruegen halbinsel moenchgut

The name translates as ''the monks' estates''. In 1252,

Jaromar II, Prince of Rügen Jaromar II, Prince of Rügen ( – 20 August 1260) was a Slavic nobleman. He was the ruling Prince of Rügen from 1249 until his death. Life He was first mentioned on 8 November 1231. From 28 September 1246, he was co-ruler with his father ...

sold the area to the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks of

Eldena Abbey Eldena Abbey (german: Kloster Eldena), originally Hilda Abbey (german: Kloster Hilda) is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Only ruins survive, which are well known as a frequent ...

, which was founded by one of his predecessors,

Jaromar I, Prince of Rügen Jaromar I was a Prince of Rügen between 1170 and 1218. Background Jaromar was a Ranish nobleman, who was a native of the island of Rügen. Jaromar rose to be ruler of the Principality of Rügen as result of the Danish conquest of Rügen in 11 ...

in 1199 and by that time also belonged to the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Principality of Rügen The Principality of Rügen; da, Fyrstendømmet Rygien; pl, Księstwo rugijskie; la, Rugia was a Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a loca ...

. To separate the monks' possessions from the rest of the island, a ditch was dug between

Baabe Baabe is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Sights * ''Baaber Bollwerk'' viewing point * Thatched houses * Mönchgut Coastal Fishing Museum The Mönchgut Coastal Fishing Museum

and

Sellin Sellin is a municipality on the Island of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. History First mentions of Sellin date to 1295. From 1880 on, the town gained importance as a Baltic Sea spa town. After the '' Wende'' in 1989, the building ...

, known as ''Mönchsgraben'' ("monks' ditch"). Today, a large wooden gate built upon the bridge over the ''Mönchsgraben'' marks the entrance to the ''Mönchgut'' peninsula. The peninsula is composed of several headlands such as ''Reddevitzer Höft'', the ''Kleiner Zicker'' and the ''Großer Zicker''. The bay between the headlands is called Having. Off-shore to the east of the peninsula lies the island

Greifswalder Oie Greifswalder Oie (literally "Greifswald's isle") is a small island in the Baltic Sea, located east of Rügen on the German coast. The island covers an area of about 54 hectares. The isle forms part of the municipality of Kröslin. Geography The ...

. While the residents of the area earlier supported themselves through fishing and marine activities, today the area is primarily geared toward tourism. One main attraction is the local history museum in Göhren, an open-air museum located on historical settlements. Here there is also a display of the elaborate local costumes, which Mönchgut is well known for. In 1806,

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

started to construct the town of Gustavia on the peninsula, but had to abandon the project when

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

occupied Mönchgut during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Mönchgut also features the final station of the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

railway the Rasender Roland.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monchgut Moenchgut Geography of Rügen Peninsulas of the Baltic Sea