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. Ch ...

cliff on the Stubbenkammer in Jasmund National Park on 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 ...

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 ...

. It lies at . In 2004, Königsstuhl was incorporated into the terrain of Königsstuhl National Park Centre. It can be reached along a cliff top path, long in total, that runs from Sassnitz 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 () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

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 king

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

is supposed to have commanded a sea battle against the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an 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. History Early history Denmark ...

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: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