LOCATION
At 805 km², The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park (Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft) is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s largest national park, situated on 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.
Coordinates: 54°28′N 12°54′E.
SCENIC CHARACTER
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.
The national park is characterized by very shallow water which is home to unique coastal fauna. All parts of the national park are famous for being a resting place for tens of thousands of migrating cranes and geese.
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.
ATTRACTIONS
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 you across important historical salt marshes and also lead to splendid vantage points, such as Pramort and Hohe Düne. There is a wealth of flora and fauna here and 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 also car-free) and Stralsund Museum with its gold treasure. The dune heathland and the Dornbusch area with its headland are also worth a visit.
