Mönchgut (''Monk's Estates'' in German) is a peninsula of 20.66 square kilometers with 1,374 inhabitants in the southeast 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 ...

island in

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), 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 population; it covers an are ...

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 north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It lies just between the

Greifswalder Bodden The Bay of Greifswald 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 ...

. Mönchgut contains the districts of Göhren and

Thiessow Thiessow is a village and a former 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 th ...

; the peninsula is part of the

Mönchgut-Granitz Mönchgut-Granitz is an '' Amt'' in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The seat of the ''Amt'' is in Baabe. The ''Amt'' Mönchgut-Granitz consists of the following municipalities: #Baabe # Göhren # Lancken-G ...

administration area. It is also a part of the

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

of Südost-Rügen. The name translates as ''the monks' estates''. In 1252,

Jaromar II, Prince of Rügen Jaromar II, Prince of Rügen ( – 20 August 1260) was a Slavic nobleman. He was the ruling Prince of Rügen from 1249 until his death. Life He was first mentioned on 8 November 1231. From 28 September 1246, he was co-ruler with his father ...

sold the area to the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks of

Eldena Abbey Eldena Abbey (), originally Hilda Abbey () is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Only ruins survive, which are well known as a frequent subject of Caspar David Friedrich's paintin ...

, which was founded by one of his predecessors,

Jaromar I, Prince of Rügen Jaromar I was a Prince of Rügen between 1170 and 1218. Background Jaromar was a Ranish nobleman, who was a native of the island of Rügen. Jaromar rose to be ruler of the Principality of Rügen as result of the Danish conquest of Rügen in 116 ...

in 1199 and by that time also belonged to the Danish

Principality of Rügen The Principality of Rügen was a Medieval Denmark, Danish principality, formerly a duchy, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 1168 until 1325. It was governed by a local dynasty of princes of the ''Wizlawiden'' (''Hou ...

. To separate the monks' possessions from the rest of the island, a ditch was dug between

Baabe Baabe () is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Sights * ''Baaber Bollwerk'' viewing point * Thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water re ...

and

Sellin Sellin is a municipality on the Island of Rügen, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. History First mentions of Sellin date to 1295. From 1880 on, the town gained importance as a Baltic Sea spa town. After the '' Wende'' in 1989, the building ...

, known as ''Mönchsgraben'' ("monks' ditch"). Today, a large wooden gate built upon the bridge over the ''Mönchsgraben'' marks the entrance to the ''Mönchgut'' peninsula. The peninsula is composed of several headlands such as ''Reddevitzer Höft'', the ''Kleiner Zicker'' and the ''Großer Zicker''. The bay between the headlands is called Having. Off-shore to the east of the peninsula lies the island

Greifswalder Oie Greifswalder Oie (literally "Greifswald's isle") is a small island in the Baltic Sea, located east of Rügen and north of Usedom on the German coast. The island covers an area of about 54 hectares.Rolf Goetz, ADAC Reiseführer Usedom, ADAC Verlag ...

. While the residents of the area earlier supported themselves through fishing and marine activities, today the area is primarily geared toward tourism. One main attraction is the local history museum in Göhren, an open-air museum located on historical settlements. Here there is also a display of the elaborate local costumes, which Mönchgut is well known for. In 1806,

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1792 until he Coup of 1809, was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Fin ...

started to construct the town of Gustavia on the peninsula, but had to abandon the project when

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

occupied Mönchgut during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Mönchgut also features the final station of the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

railway the Rasender Roland.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monchgut Moenchgut Geography of Rügen Peninsulas of the Baltic Sea