LOCATION
The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park (Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft) is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s largest national park, situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea. It consists of several peninsulas, islands and lagoon shore areas in the Baltic Sea, belonging to the district of Vorpommern-Rügen.
The national park is characterized by very shallow water housing a unique coastal fauna. All portions of the national park are famous for being a resting place for tens of thousands of cranes and geese.
Its area is 805 km².
The Western-Pomeranian Boddenlandschaft National Park is the largest nature reserve on the Baltic coast. A landscape of cliffs and dunes, spits and lagoons stretching from the Darss-Zingst peninsula up towards the west coast of Rügen, and the perfect destination for anyone who loves beaches or woodland.
Coordinates: 54°28′N 12°54′E.
SCENIC CHARACTER
National parks are large areas with especially valuable, original natural landscape that are influenced in large parts of the people. In the national parks may nature freely develop and evolve according to their own laws.
ATTRACTIONS
Situated in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the far north-east of Germany, the Western-Pomeranian Boddenlandschaft National Park is a remarkable landscape consisting of cliffs and dunes, spits and lagoons. It gets its name from the 'Bodden’ – shallow bays cut off from the Baltic containing a mixture of salt water and fresh water – that can be explored on boat tours.
A variety of guided and independent walks introduce visitors to the national park’s fascinating coastline and woodland, which includes Osterwald Forest on the Zingst peninsula and Darss Forest, the largest unbroken area of woodland in the park.
The trails through Osterwald Forest lead to splendid vantage points, such as Pramort and Hohe Düne, and across important historical salt marshes. There is also a wealth of flora and fauna. Visitors may be able to spot wildlife such as red deer and wild boar. The Western-Pomeranian Boddenlandschaft National Park is a crane roost of international importance, the largest in Europe. Every autumn, around 30,000 cranes arrive here, creating an unforgettable spectacle for any holiday maker.
Other attractions of the region include the Ahrenshoop artists’ colony, the lighthouse and Natureum on Darsser Ort, the national park centre on Hiddensee (the largest island in the national park and car-free) and Stralsund Museum with its gold treasure. The dune heathland and the Dornbusch area with its headland are also worth a look.
