The Großer Jasmunder Bodden belongs to the

Northern Rügener Boddens Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and is a water body on the southern edge of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

in the German state of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

Description

It is a ''

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 and ...

'', a type of lagoon that occurs in northern Europe especially on the coast of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. It lies within the island of

Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) 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 ci ...

, is around 14 kilometres long, an average of six kilometres wide and is up to nine metres deep with an average depth of 5.3m. The Großer Jasmunder Bodden has an area of 58.6 square kilometres; if the ''Breetzer Bodden'', ''Breeger Bodden'', ''Lebbiner Bodden'', ''Neuendorfer Wiek'' and ''Tetzitzer See'' are included the total area of water comes to over 94 square kilometres.

Geography

The bodden is bounded to the north by 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 Jasmund is a peninsula of the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is connected to the Wittow peninsula and to the Muttland main section of Rügen by the narrow land bridges Schaabe and Schmale Heide, respectively. Sassnitz ...

, which are linked by the narrow spit of

Schaabe The Schaabe is a bar (landform), 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 Tr ...

. To the south of the ''bodden'' is the main body of the island of Rügen,

Muttland Muttland comprises the main section of the German island of Rügen Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg- ...

. To the east 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nor ...

it is linked to the

Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden The Kleiner Jasmunder Bodden belongs to the North Rügen Bodden and is a water body on the southern edge of the Baltic Sea in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Description It is a '' bodden'', a type of lagoon that occurs in northern ...

by a ditch and sluice gate. The two ''bodden'' were first separated in 1869 by the construction of an embankment that now carries the B 96 federal road and the

Stralsund–Sassnitz railway Stralsund–Sassnitz railway is a railway line, most of which is located on the German island of Rügen and which is its most important railway. The line is the northernmost German section of the route from Berlin to Stockholm. Course The line ...

. In the west at the

Wittow Ferry The Wittow Ferry () is a ferry service for foot passengers and vehicles (up to a total weight of 30 t each) from the heart of the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen, the Muttland, to the peninsula of Wittow to the north. It has also given ...

the ''bodden'' has a narrow branch running into the lagoon of Rassower Strom and is thereby linked to the

. The western part of the ''bodden'' is further sub-divided into the ''Breetzer Bodden'', ''Breeger Bodden'' and ''Lebbiner Bodden'', which, strictly speaking, are not part of the Großer Jasmunder Bodden. The north of the ''bodden'' is less divided. Only the ''Spykersche See'' near

Spyker Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898. Notable produ ...

pushes east forming a small bay. By contrast the southwestern shore is more indented, with the ''Tetzitzer See'' and the ''Neuendorfer Wiek'' pushing well inland. The extreme southeastern shore of the ''bodden'' near

Ralswiek Ralswiek 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the n ...

is the venue for the

Störtebeker Festival The Störtebeker Festival () is an yearly open-air theatre festival in Germany. It is based on stories around the medieval German privateer Klaus Störtebeker and his Victual Brothers, who later turned to pirates. Founded in 1959, as part of an ...

that takes place every summer.

Environment

The water of the Großer Jasmunder Bodden is a mix of fresh water from the streams that discharge into it and the salty waters of the Baltic and is classed as

brackish water 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 estuary ...

with a salt content of 0.7 to 0.8 per cent. Almost the entire shore is girt with reeds. In places the shoreline forms

sea cliff 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 ...

s that were formed thousands of years ago by breakers in the

Littorina Sea Littorina Sea (also Litorina Sea) is a geological brackish water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 8500–4000 Before Present, BP and followed the Mastogloia Sea (initial Littorina Sea), a transitional stage from the Ancylus Lake. ...

, when the islands of Wittow and Jasmund were still not linked by the Schaabe. The bodden is rich in fish and is also used for bathing and sailing. There are important harbours in

, Polchow,

Breege Breege 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the nort ...

and St. Martin's Harbour in

Sagard Sagard 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the n ...

Important Bird Area

The bodden has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports large numbers of wintering

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

as well as breeding

sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and el ...

s and

white-tailed sea-eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...

Sub-divisions

# Großer Jasmunder Bodden # Breetzer Bodden # Neuendorfer Wiek # Breeger Bodden # Lebbiner Bodden # Tetzitzer See # Mittelsee # Spykerscher See

References

Literature

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosser Jasmunder Bodden Geography of Rügen North Rügen Bodden Important Bird Areas of Germany Important Bird Areas of Baltic islands