Königsstuhl

Be it Klaus Störtebeker, who is said to have hidden his treasure here, damsels in distress or rulers who are said to have watched battles from here, there are many myths and legends surrounding Germany's most famous chalk cliffs. It is therefore not surprising that the origin of the name is also associated with such legends. In the outdoor area of the National Park Centre, you can immerse yourself in the (name) history of the rock and find out more about its actual origins at the new discovery station "The Königsstuhl".

Wild & romantic, the nature of Jasmund National Park has captivated and continues to captivate visitors and immortalised itself in the (artistic) hearts of society during the Romantic period at the latest. Caspar David Friedrich is the most prominent representative and the one who immortalised the chalk coast and the Stubbenkammer in his painting "Chalk Cliffs on Rügen". The great Rügen lover had truly lost his heart to the island of Rügen and the Stubbenkammer, which he visited several times. But many other representatives of the Romantic era also fell in love with the rugged nature of Jasmund, including Kosegarten, von Chamisso, Schinkel and Brahms.

Find out more about the Romantic era in the Stubbenkammer at romantik.koenigsstuhl.com

Even though the Königsstuhl was already a special place in the Bronze Age - it was not for nothing that the royal tomb was built at the passage to the rock at this time - the fascination with the Stubbenkammer and thus also the rock grew rapidly from the 18th century onwards and formed the foundation for the (tourist) development of the Königsstuhl site with its current National Park Centre.

The view of nature had changed in some social circles, so that the "wild" natural beauties, such as the chalk cliffs on Jasmund, became a destination for these people, especially in the age of Romanticism. Among the locals, the Stubnitz with its chalk cliffs was by no means an attraction in its day, but rather an economic factor. So it seemed all the more inexplicable to the locals that Stubnitz was now being visited by people who "only" wanted to observe and enjoy the landscape.

The tourist advantages of the region were also recognised by the Sagard pastor Heinrich Christoph von Willich, who built the Gesundbrunnen spa in Sagard in 1795 and thus not only made Sagard the first spa on Rügen, but also laid the foundation for the development of Jasmund for tourism. The baths in Sagard on the one hand, Rügen's landscape and unspoilt nature on the other, which had a special appeal to guests in the Romantic era. In those days, as is still the case today, the Königsstuhl and the Stubbenkammer were the main destinations for visitors.

However, the road situation in Stubnitz was very poor around 1800. Overturned carts in narrow forest paths led to the endeavours of Pastor von Willich to improve and smooth the paths. He also set up natural steps on the Königsstuhl from the high shore to the beach to make it easier to climb up and down the white rock. These endeavours can be seen as the first measures to open up a landscape on the island of Rügen for tourism.

In addition, the Sagard pastor built a small hut near the Königsstuhl as a "shelter" for travellers. This hut was built in 1801 and was given the name "Köhlerhütte". Travellers used the hut mainly for lunch parties, but also for overnight stays. Travellers who wanted to cook for themselves could borrow the necessary crockery, pots and pans from the Schwierenz tree house for a fee.

The occupation of the island of Rügen by Napoleonic troops in 1807 brought a break in tourism, and the "Köhlerhütte" was also demolished during this time.

In 1818/19, the first regular inn was built on the Königsstuhl by order of the government. Between 1835 and 1838, a second building in the style of the Swiss houses was built next to it according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. However, fires in 1848 and 1891 made new buildings necessary. The number of tourists increased continuously in the 19th century, so that the villages on the Jasmund peninsula tried to adapt to the circumstances. Hotels were built and rooms were prepared for tourist accommodation. Attempts were made to make the visitors' stay as pleasant as possible.

This also included the expansion of the roads from Sagard to Stubbenkammer. After the victorious war against France in 1871 brought a lively stream of visitors, further road improvements were also made within Stubnitz. Over the years, a network of paths was created which made it possible to travel the length and breadth of Stubnitz. At first it was only carriages, later also cars and buses, which travelled through the Stubnitz and mostly had the Stubbenkammer as their destination.

The villages of Sassnitz and Crampas stood out in the 19th century and experienced their heyday between 1870 and 1890, when guests were taken to the chalk cliffs in fishing boats or on steamboat trips. Dances and picnics were organised in the forest as entertainment. Nevertheless, the Königsstuhl remained the main destination for visitors.

A special attraction of the inn and restaurant located there was the rain of fire, which was already mentioned around 1850. Burning piles of brushwood were pushed down from the rock north of the Königsstuhl, forming a kind of lava flow that poured down to the beach. In 1865, it is mentioned that the landlord Behrendt charged 20 silver coins to watch the spectacle. This attraction also gave the rock its name "Feuerregenfelsen", which is still known today.

In addition to the Königsstuhl and the Feuerregenfelsen, the cliffs along the high shore path from Sassnitz to Stubbenkammer offered several fascinating viewpoints, many of which were equipped with benches.
The most important viewpoints were and are the Ernst Moritz Arndt View to the north of the Wissower Klinken, which slipped in 2005, the Auguste Viktoria View on Kieler Bach, named after a stay by the then German Empress Auguste Viktoria in 1890, and the Victoria and Wilhelm View on Klein Stubbenkammer, named in memory of the stay of the then Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia and the then King Wilhelm 1 on 10 June 1865.

During the last years of the Second World War (1944/45 ), the former inn at Stubbenkammer was used as a military hospital and from then on for military purposes by the Red Army and later as a base for the Coastal Border Brigade of the National People's Army (NVA).

After 1945, Bernhard Halliger (former owner of the Gasthof Stubbenkammer) opened a new restaurant south of the old inn next to an old stable, which is still in operation today under the name "Restaurant am Königsstuhl". Despite the closure of the area by the border brigade, the Königsstuhl remained accessible for a fee. The income was used for the infrastructure and maintenance of the platform.

With the end of the GDR, the site lay fallow. After the Jasmund National Park was proclaimed in 1990, plans were made to set up an information centre about the national park at this still highly frequented site. The idea was realised by WWF Germany and the town of Sassnitz. The planning of such a house began in order to raise awareness of the nature themes of Germany's smallest national park.

The old 19th century network of paths has changed considerably over time. Many of the former tracks have been designated as hiking trails, while others have been renaturalised. The existing hiking trails are maintained and kept in good condition by the national park administration. The only remaining major public road is the L303, which connects Sassnitz with the village of Hagen. The turn-off to the Königsstuhl is only open to bus traffic and, like the large car park opened in Hagen in 1992, helps to relieve the protected area of car traffic.

Since 2004, the former inn, which was extended with a new building, has been home to the KÖNIGSSTUHL National Park Centre on Stubbenkammer and attracts 300,000 visitors every year, including travel groups and school classes from the region and from all over Germany.

You can find out more about the history of the place and the development of the visitor centre through slideshows, historical exhibits and postcards in the visitor centre.