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Zingst ( Polabian ''Sgoni'') is the easternmost portion of the three-part
Fischland-Darß-Zingst Fischland-Darß-Zingst or Fischland-Darss-Zingst''Fischland-Darss-Zi ...
Peninsula, located in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 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 ...
, between the cities of
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...
and
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
on the southern shore of 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 from ...
. The area is part of the
Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
n coast. The Zingst Peninsula forms an eastward-running spit, nearly in length, and has a width of just . Zingst separates the Baltic Sea from the lagoon of
Barther Bodden The Barther Bodden (German for ''Barth Lagoon'') is a ''bodden'' water between the Zingst peninsula and the mainland town of Barth. It is a brackish lagoon that is part of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain. Its largest inflow is the Barthe stream. ...
, which is part of the
Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain The Darss-Zingst Bodden ChainMüller, Felix et al. (2010). ''Long-Term Ecological Research: Between Theory and Application'', ''Coastal Lagoons - Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain'', Sect. 12.3.3, Springer, Heidelberg, London, New York, p. 173. (german: ...
, a large
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
. The shallow waters of the inlet are a major stopover for the migratory European crane. In spring and autumn, up to 3,000 birds gather here on their migration route to and from Spain. Most of the estuary and the eastern end of the peninsula are part of the
Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
at www.naturefund.de. Ac ...
. Until the early 1870s, Zingst was an island, separated from
Darß The Darß or Darss is the middle part of the peninsula of Fischland-Darß-Zingst on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The peninsula's name is of Slavic origin. There is a large forest in the ...
by the
Prerowstrom The Prerower Strom, Prerow Strom
at www.ostseeferieninfo.de. Retrieved 27 Jun 2019. or ...
, a narrow inlet. A storm tide in 1874 closed the inlet, which had connected 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 an ...
'' with the Baltic Sea. A road now connects Zingst and Darß, running along a -wide
isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
. The soils of Zingst consist almost entirely of sand. The sand is white in colour, which makes it popular with sunbathers and tourists. Dunes border the Baltic Sea and enclose low ground about half a metre below sea level. The low-lying land results in boggy conditions in the interior of the peninsula, and these bogs offer habitat to a wide variety of wildlife. The ruins of a Slavic fort, the 'Hertesburg,' are on the Zingst peninsula near Zingst municipality.


Geology, climate and natural region

The peninsula of Zingst or ''the Zingst'' is the easternmost part of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula that lies between the city of Rostock and town of Stralsund on the southern Baltic Sea coast. With a length of just under 20 km and a width of the Zingst stretches aways eastwards from the adjacent peninsula of
Darß The Darß or Darss is the middle part of the peninsula of Fischland-Darß-Zingst on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The peninsula's name is of Slavic origin. There is a large forest in the ...
. It is bounded to the north by the Baltic and to the south by the lagoons of
Barther Bodden The Barther Bodden (German for ''Barth Lagoon'') is a ''bodden'' water between the Zingst peninsula and the mainland town of Barth. It is a brackish lagoon that is part of the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain. Its largest inflow is the Barthe stream. ...
und
Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the river Elde, 7 km (4.35 mi) southeast of Ludwigslust, and 34 km (21.12 mi) northwest of Wittenberge. It ...
, that belong to the
Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain The Darss-Zingst Bodden ChainMüller, Felix et al. (2010). ''Long-Term Ecological Research: Between Theory and Application'', ''Coastal Lagoons - Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain'', Sect. 12.3.3, Springer, Heidelberg, London, New York, p. 173. (german: ...
. The island of Großer Werder, which once lay off the eastern coast of Zingst, has now become attached as a peninsula as a result of sanding up. The land bridge to Darß to the west is only about wide and right on the Baltic Sea. At this spot in 1874 the inlet of
Prerower Strom The Prerower Strom, Prerow Strom
at www.ostseeferieninfo.de. Retrieved 27 Jun 2019. or ...
, which had hitherto lined the lagoon and the Baltic, was artificially closed following the
1872 Baltic Sea flood The 1872 Baltic Sea flood (german: Ostseesturmhochwasser 1872), often referred to as a storm flood, ravaged the Baltic Sea coast from Denmark to Pomerania, also affecting Sweden, during the night between 12 and 13 November 1872 and was, until the ...
. Only since that time has Zingst no longer been an island. The settlement heart of the village of Zingst lies between the ''Freesenbruch'' in the west, the Baltic in the north, the ''Alte Straminke,'' an old sea inlet with its surrounding marshes, in the east, and the channel of
Zingster Strom The Zingster Strom is a distinctive, river-like arm of the Barther Bodden lagoon, south of the Zingst peninsula on Germany's Baltic Sea coast. It lies between the island of Kirr and the Zingst and runs from east to west in a semi-circular arc, bot ...
in the south. The village is barely above sea level, so that it has to be protected from
storm flood 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 no ...
s by dykes. Further east, on the Zingster Strom, is the village of Müggenburg. East of the village of Zingst lies a large forest, very rich in wildlife, called the
Osterwald Osterwald is a community and part of the Joint Community (''Samtgemeinde'') of Neuenhaus in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony. The community consists of the centres of Osterwald, Alte Piccardie and Hohenkörben (Veldhausen parish ...
. Beyond that are the Sund Meadows (''Sundischen Wiesen'') named after Stralsund. The easternmost point of the peninsula is Pramort.


Geology

The original island of Zingst is, geologically, a very young landscape. Its formation process began with the end of
Weichselian glaciation The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...
, about 12,000 years ago. This left behind a
Young Drift Old and Young Drift are geographic names given to the morainic landscapes that were formed in Central Europe; the Old Drift during the older ice ages and the Young Drift during the latest glaciations – the Weichselian in North Germany and th ...
landscape. As a result of the melting ice sheet, the underlying land lifted and the hollows were filled with water and the predecessor to the Baltic Sea,
Lake Ancylus Ancylus Lake is a name given by geologists to a large freshwater lake that existed in northern Europe approximately from 9500 to 8000 years B.C being in effect one of various predecessors to the modern Baltic Sea. Origin, evolution and demise The ...
, was created. The tops of the ridges remained exposed as islands. The major outline of the coasts in the southern area of the Baltic Sea were formed by the
Littorina transgression Littorina Sea (also Litorina Sea) is a geological brackish water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 7500–4000 BP and followed the Mastogloia Sea, a transitional stage of the Ancylus Lake. This stage and form of the body of wat ...
, about 7,000 to 2,500 years ago. About 5,000 years ago, the sea reached its present level and the cores of today's Darß and Zingst became islands. 4,500 years ago, the salt water inflow from the North Sea reduced greatly and, since then, the Baltic Sea has slowly become less salty.
Coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...
(abrasion, dispersal and deposition) has extended the original islands in the course of time to their present form. About 1,500 years ago, the ever-lengthening spits cut off the bays lying behind them, forming a string of lagoons known as the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain. Finally, in 1874, the Prerower Strom channel between the Darß and Zingst was artificially closed. Towards the end of the 20th century the former island of Great Werder became connected to the Zingst as the strait between them silted up. This area is a
windwatt A ''Windwatt'' is a mudflat exposed as a result of wind action on water. They occur especially in the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park on Germany's Baltic Sea coast. The term is German.
. The process of land formation continues at the eastern end of the peninsula today. Zingst lies between the accretion zones of ''Darßer Ort'' and ''Bock. Sediment is transported in a west-to-east direction, and the beach at Zingst loses 40 cm annually. The loss was mainly caused by storm surges, so this process is now severely weakened.


Climate

Zingst exhibits a North Mecklenburg coastal climate. The annual average temperature is . The number of frosty days is 11.1 and the number of hot summer days (temperatures over ) is 7.9. Precipitation is a relatively low per year. The average humidity is very high as a result of its coastal location. As a result the number of dull days is 146.


Flora and fauna

The
Osterwald Osterwald is a community and part of the Joint Community (''Samtgemeinde'') of Neuenhaus in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony. The community consists of the centres of Osterwald, Alte Piccardie and Hohenkörben (Veldhausen parish ...
forest is the only
raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...
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 ...
, but it has been partially dried out as a result of human intervention. The tree species here include
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
,
English oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...
,
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
and
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
. Other trees introduced by humans include
alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
,
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
and firs. A feature is the
redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
s, planted in 1955. Amongst the animal population are
tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, an ...
,
red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...
and
short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...
. Pine martens are also common.


Settlement

East of the Prerowstrom, surrounded by countryside and the Freesenbruch, is the town of Barth (population 8,000), which was created by the unification of the settlements of Pahlen, Hanshagen and Rothem ho. Hanshagen and Pahlen date to the 13th century. The nearby town of Zingst has a population of about 3,200.


Rocket experiments

At the former
National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...
training area in the Sundisch meadows from 1970-1992 various experiments were conducted using high-altitude research rockets. In the early 1970s, five Polish Meteor 1E missiles were launched from here. From 21 October 1988, Russian MMR06-M missiles were launched. Even after
the Wende The Peaceful Revolution (german: Friedliche Revolution), as a part of the Revolutions of 1989, was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the West, the end of the ruling of the Socialist Unity ...
, trials continued. Between 14 February 1992 and 10 April 1992, 19 Russian MMR06-M missiles were fired from Zingst. Although further rockets were available, the launch of MMR06-M missiles on Zingst had to be stopped in April 1992 because the army needed to clear the site to make the out of bounds area safe.


References


External links


Zingst WebcamZingst FerienwohnungThe Sund MedowExhibition Sund Medow
{{Authority control Peninsulas of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Seaside resorts in Germany Rocket launch sites in Germany Spa towns in Germany Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) Fischland-Darß-Zingst