Just a stone’s throw from Berlin, there’s plenty to discover in the summer. From idyllic swimming lakes to beautiful city beaches, you can get into the vacation spirit right nearby. However, if you want to experience the true feeling of the sea and the coast, you should travel to Rügen. There, Binz awaits you —one of Germany’s most beautiful Baltic Sea resorts— and just a few kilometers away lies the Jasmund National Park with its impressive chalk cliffs and beech forests, which are part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
The national park stretches from the town of Sassnitz in the south to the village of Lohme in the north on the Jasmund Peninsula. It was founded in 1990 and, with an area of approximately 3,070 hectares —or about 30 square kilometers—is Germany’s smallest national park. About 20 percent of its area consists of the Baltic Sea. The 161-meter-high Piekberg is also the highest point on Rügen. The striking chalk cliffs rise up to 118 meters above the sea and were formed around 70 million years ago. More than 650,000 trees, mostly European beech, grow in the national park.
A special feature of the national park is its ancient beech forests. Since 2011, they have been part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site “Ancient Beech Forests of Germany” and are among the last virtually untouched beech forests in Europe. Here, nature can develop largely free from human interference.
The national park’s landmark is the famous Königsstuhl. The chalk cliffs, which rise up to 118 meters, the dazzling white rocks, and the turquoise waters of the Baltic Sea make the landscape unique. The coastline is constantly changing naturally due to wind and waves. The chalk coast has also been designated a National Geotope.
Since 2023, the modern Königsstuhl Skywalk has offered a completely new perspective on the chalk coast. The cantilevered viewing platform juts out over the cliffs, is accessible to people with disabilities, and offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Baltic Sea. It replaces the former viewing platform at the Königsstuhl.
The national park’s flora is also extremely diverse. Among other species , red beeches, English oaks, ash trees, and maple trees grow here, along with numerous fern species, over 300 types of moss, and rare orchids. Especially in the spring, wood anemones and wild garlic transform large parts of the forest into an impressive white carpet of flowers. The wildlife is equally impressive. The national park is home to , among others , white-tailed eagles, black woodpeckers, eagle owls, red deer, wild boars, foxes, and otters. In addition, numerous bat species as well as many butterflies and beetles are native to the area.
One of the most popular hiking trails is the Hochuferweg. The roughly ten-kilometer-long hike leads from Sassnitz to the Königsstuhl and takes about three hours. The trail winds through ancient beech forests along the chalk coast and offers spectacular views of the Baltic Sea at various points along the way.
