From Romantic Ocean Cliffs to an Interactive Info Center
July 1, 2006
In the farthest corner of northeastern Germany on the island of Rügen, 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) of chalk cliffs greet the Baltic Sea. They're part of Jasmund, Germany's smallest national park. Red beech trees, meadows and swamps pattern the rest of the untouched territory that spans 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles).
The largest of the cliffs, dubbed the King's Chair, is 118 meters (387 feet) tall and has always been a highlight for tourists. In the past they usually came by bus and stood on the "throne" for 20 minutes or so to enjoy the view. But two years ago, a new information center equipped with the most modern technological resources was constructed to encourage visitors to stay longer and explore the surrounding nature in more detail.
Back in time as a romantic or adventurer
The info center offers a modern multi-vision show that provides first impressions of the island's history, plants and animals, chalk and flint. In the permanent exhibition, visitors learn more precisely how the gigantic chalk cliffs were formed, how animals live on the ocean floor and how the beech trees in the national park are protected.
The exhibition covers 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet) and doesn't have any text boards, but uses a headphone system instead, said Susanne Schimke, who is responsible for public relations at the center.
Visitors choose to go through the exhibition as a romantic, an adventurer or a child, she said.
"Everyone walks through the same rooms, but they hear something different," Schimke added.
Natural elements like aquariums and a real glacier bring visitors closer to the island. In addition to interactive material, multimedia and three-dimensional animation in the exhibit, the nature itself captivates the guests. Seventy million years ago, the chalk cliffs formed out of living creatures that had chalk-containing exoskeletons and had piled up on the ocean floor.
Continually changing
Although the cliffs are no longer as high as they were when Caspar David Friedrich drew them, they're still imposing and offer an overwhelming view. Even in the 19th century the cliffs probably didn't look just as Friedrich captured them, said national park ranger Susanne Waldmann.
"I always have to disappoint the people who ask about the painting and want to know where it was done," said Waldmann, who also offers tours through the park. "It wasn't here at the throne."
It is assumed that the painting was created west of the King's Chair. But the cliffs can no longer be observed just as they were portrayed in the painting because pieces of the rock continually break off, altering their size and shape.
Bat bunker
No one really knows where the King's Chair got its name. Some believe that a king is buried underneath the cliff. Others say that the Swedish king watched the sea battle between Sweden and Denmark in 1715 from this point. But it was Caspar David Friedrich who first made the chalk cliffs famous and attracted flurries of tourists.
The first building constructed on top of the "throne" in 1893 was a Swiss-style guest house commissioned by the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV. It was used as a military hospital in 1945 and later by the East German government for military purposes.
"The floor was plastered all over with concrete slabs," Waldmann said. "Over there was a loading ramp for trucks and there by the terrace a 48 meter (157 foot) observation tower."
More and more adventurers
The barracks have given way to the new information center. The guest house now functions as a restaurant and, instead of concrete slabs, visitors walk on forest floor and chalk stones.
In 1990, East Germany's Council of Ministers declared the area a national park, on the initiative of the city of Sassnitz, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the World Wildlife Fund Germany.
More and more tourists are venturing to the park. But anyone who wants to hold on to Friedrich's romantic impressions form the past should select the adventurer's version of the audio guide at the exhibition.