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

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...

cliff on the Stubbenkammer in

Jasmund National Park 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, the ...

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 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 ...

. 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 ( 20 ...

. It can be reached along a cliff top path, long in total, that runs from

Sassnitz Sassnitz (, before 1993 in german: Saßnitz) is a town on the Jasmund peninsula, Rügen Island, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The population as of 2012 was 9,498. Sassnitz is a well-known seaside resort and port town, a ...

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 The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

barrow. 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

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

king

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of ...

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 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