The North Rügen Bodden (german: Nordrügener Bodden or ''Rügenschen Innenboddenkette'') are a string of West Pomeranian lagoons, known as ''

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 an ...

'', on the

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 ...

coast of northeastern Germany. They are almost entirely surrounded by the island of Rügen and its peninsulas. For example, in the north they are bounded by the Bug, the peninsulas of

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 ...

and Jasmund and the spit of

Schaabe The Schaabe is a bar, almost twelve kilometres long, on the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It joins the peninsulas of Jasmund and Wittow. Washed up and shaped by the sea, it forms a sickle-shaped shoreline on the bay of Tromper Wiek and ...

. To the south is the

Muttland Muttland comprises the main section of the German island of Rügen, excluding the Rugian peninsulae and small surrounding islands. The predominant land use is agriculture. Grasslands are found in very small proportions. There are nature conservati ...

, the main body of Rügen Island. Amongst the highest points in the surrounding ridges of

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

are the

Rugard The Rugard, at , is the highest elevation in the central region of the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. This push end moraine was formed in the last ice age and lies on the northeastern perimeter of the town of Bergen auf Rügen. There was ...

(118 m above NN) near

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, the Tempelberg (50 m) near Bobbin, the Hoch Hilgor (43 m) near Neuenkirchen, the Banzelvitz Hills (45 m) near

Rappin Rappin is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...

and the Mühlenberg (25 m) between

Buschvitz Buschvitz is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...

and Stedar. To the west the chain of ''bodden'' has a narrow link to the Baltic in the

Vitter Bodden The Vitter Bodden is a type of lagoon called a ''bodden'' between the northern part of the island of Hiddensee (with the Neubessin and Altbessin peninsulas) to the west and north and the peninsula of Bug, the Wieker Bodden and the northern part ...

. Through this narrow strait their waters mix with the salty seawater, so that the waters to the east are always

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

. The string of ''bodden'' is heavily divided. The shores of the North Rügen Bodden alternate between higher belts of terminal moraine and lower, tongue-like basins. Between the villages of Ralswiek and Liezow, on the embankment between the Großer and Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden, the moraines on either side approach to within 1 km of one another. Today the Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden is only linked with the rest of the ''bodden'' by a small canal near

Lietzow Lietzow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...

. The individual elements of the North Rügen Bodden chain comprise the: *

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 ...

Rassower Strom The Rassower Strom is a waterway that lies at the tip of the tongue of land between the lagoons of the Wieker Bodden and Breetzer Bodden and is part of the North Rügen Bodden Chain. On its southern shore is the ferry boat landing stage between ...

Großer Jasmunder Bodden The Großer Jasmunder Bodden belongs to the Northern Rügener Boddens and is a water body on the southern edge of the Baltic Sea in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is a '' bodden'', a type of lagoon that occurs in northern Europe ...

: ** Großer Jasmunder Bodden ** Breetzer Bodden ** Neuendorfer Wiek ** Breeger Bodden ** Lebbiner Bodden ** Tetzitzer See ** Mittelsee ** Spykerscher See * Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden (listed from west to east; not mentioned here are several smaller waterbodies)

External links

North Rügen Bodden
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Rugen Bodden Boddens of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Geography of Rügen

See also

External links