Summer evening on the island of Rügen on the Baltic Sea

by Silva Wischeropp

This photographic landscape shot of a remarkable coastal formation directly on Jasmund Bay, which is located in Jasmund National Park, was taken in the late summer evening hours shortly after sunset on 4 August 2013.
The photo was taken with the camera model: NIKON D90 (lens: SIGMA 18.0-50.0 mm f/2.8).

Germany's smallest national park is located on the Jasmund peninsula, which is part of the island of Rügen. The original beech forest, called Stubnitz, characterises the approximately 300 square kilometres and forms an impressive coastal formation over numerous chalk cliffs and bays north of the harbour town of Sassnitz. Particularly exposed chalk cliffs such as the 118 metre high "Königsstuhl" or the "Kleine Stubbenkammer" have also become the subject of numerous engravings and paintings. Caspar David Friedrich's painting "Chalk Cliffs on Rügen" from 1818 became a world-famous work of Romanticism. The Wissow Cliffs have also become famous, but were largely destroyed after a major demolition in the winter of 2005. Due to the special geological conditions, the national park has become a habitat for rare animal and plant species.
Water-filled depressions, hollows and finally kettle bogs were created from ice-age dead ice holes, in whose extensive surroundings black alders, wild pears and orchid species can be observed, as well as kingfishers, peregrine falcons and white-tailed eagles. Visitors can find out more at the central meeting point at the Königsstuhl in a multimedia presentation.

In recent years, the chalk cliffs have unfortunately repeatedly collapsed. One cause is high rainfall: The rain seeps away, accumulates in front of impermeable layers and causes instability.
Heavy north-easterly storms are also a danger for the trees standing on the edge of the high bank. Cracks in the forest floor can then be a sign of imminent collapse.