The fishing village of Vitt lies on the German

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 ...

island 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 ...

, more precisely on the

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 Arko ...

peninsula near

Cape Arkona Cape Arkona () is a 45-metre (150-foot) high cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It forms the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park. The protected landscape of Cape Arko ...

. The village is part of the municipality of

Putgarten Putgarten is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The municipality is managed by the '' Amt'' of Nord-Rügen with its seat in Sagard. Putgarten is the northernmost municipality in the state of Mec ...

. Because of its location in a coastal gully on the

cliffed coast A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast. Formation In coastal areas in whic ...

, called Liete, Vitt is not visible from afar. However, from the edge of the gully there is a view over the thatched roofs of the village. It is a popular tourist destination; often described as "the most romantic place on Rügen".http://www.vitt-ruegen.de/ ''Vitt auf Rügen''] at www.vitt-ruegen.de. Accessed on 19 May 2012.''Das Fischerdorf Vitt auf Rügen''
at suite101.de. Accessed on 19 May 2012. The ''Marco Polo'' guide rates it as one of the top 15 highlights on the island of Rügen.Sucher, Kerstin and Wurlitzer, Bernd (2011) ''Rügen, Hiddensee, Stralsund'', Marco Polo, p. 5, .

Name

The name Vitt is derived from the word ''Vitte(n)/Witte'' ( German language, German: "depot of a

Hanseatic town The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German tow ...

where fish was processed"; Swedish: = "landing place, trading post and stockyard"). Actually Vitt was only a temporarily occupied ''Vitte'' from the outset where fish that had been caught were processed (c.f.

Vitte Raymond Vitte (1949–1983) was an American actor who starred mostly in comedy and drama films in the 1970s and early 1980s. He made numerous guest appearances on television shows and was a cast member of the show ''Doc'' in 1976. Vitte, who ha ...

). The name could however also come from ''Vit'', a common Slavic name (for the founder of a settlement), or ''witt'' for "white" because of its white houses. Because there is no record of its foundation, the exact age of the village is unknown. According to the reports of Danish historian,

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. ...

, the village was probably already in existence by the 10th century as a fishing and trading port belonging to the Slavic

Jaromarsburg The Jaromarsburg was a cult site for the Slavs, Slavic tribe of Rani (Slavic tribe), Rani dedicated to the god Svantovit and used from the 9th to the 12th century. It was located on the northeastern tip of the Baltic Sea island of Rügen at Cape ...

on Cape Arkona. It was first mentioned in the records on 25 May 1290, when the Rügen prince, Witzlaw II, granted the place the right and freedom to fish. Above the village is the little

Vitt Chapel The fishing village of Vitt lies on the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen, more precisely on the Wittow peninsula near Cape Arkona. The village is part of the municipality of Putgarten. Because of its location in a coastal gully on the cliffe ...

, whose construction began in 1806 and was finally completed in 1816. It was built because more and more visitors came to hear the shore sermons of

Altenkirchen Altenkirchen () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("co ...

pastor,

Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten (1 February 1758 – 26 October 1818), also known as Ludwig Theobul or Ludwig Theoboul, was a German poet and Lutheran preacher. Kosegarten was born in Grevesmühlen, in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. After s ...

, and there was no room for several of the visitors in the fishing huts during bad weather. The village, which is under heritage protection is very well preserved and receives a constant stream of tourists. In the small harbour, trips in fishing boats around Cape Arkona may be booked. Vitt is best accessed on bicycle, horse-drawn coach or with the ''Arkona-Bahn'' from Putgarten. No private cars are allowed because driving around the cape is only allowed with special permission.

References

External links

''Vitt auf Rügen'' homepage

{{Authority control Vorpommern-Rügen Putgarten Towns and villages on Rügen Wittow