Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park

Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft
IUCN category II (national park)
Coastal vegetation
Location	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Nearest city	Rostock, Stralsund
Area	805 km²
Established	1 October 1990

The Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park (Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft) is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's largest national park situated at the coast of the Baltic Sea. It consists of several peninsulas and islands in the Baltic Sea, belonging to the district of Vorpommern-Rügen.

The national park includes:

• the Darß peninsula
• the western coast of the island of Rügen
• the island of Hiddensee
• the island of Ummanz
• several tiny islets between the above places

The national park is characterised by very shallow water housing a unique coastal fauna. All portions of the national park are famous for being a resting place for tens of thousands of cranes and geese.

Its area is 805 km².

Composition

Approximately half the area of the park is open Baltic Sea; more than another quarter covers parts of the lagoons in the Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain including the West Rügen Bodden. Thus it protects these shallow water areas (in the Baltic Sea, the National Park boundary is based on the ten-metre depth contour) with their rich flora and fauna. The differing salt content of the brackish water habitats of the Baltic and the bodden (shallow lagoons) contribute significantly to the local diversity of nature. For example, the Baltic Herring visits the shallow bays regualarly spawn here.

The territory of the national park includes parts of the Darß and the peninsula of Zingst as well as most of the island of Hiddensee. In addition, a narrow strip of land on the island of Rügen, next to the bodden lies within the national park. Pine and beech woods, such as the Darß Forest, cover much of the land. In treeless areas there are bogs, resulting from coastal flooding.

Sources

• "Nationalparkplan - Bestandsanalyse" (in German) (PDF). Landesamt für Forsten und Großschutzgebiete Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2002. pp. 209. http://www.nationalpark-vorpommersche-boddenlandschaft.de/vbl/publikationen/ba.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 

• "Nationalparkplan - Leitbild und Ziele" (in German) (PDF). Landesamt für Forsten und Großschutzgebiete Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 2002. pp. 76. http://www.nationalpark-vorpommersche-boddenlandschaft.de/vbl/publikationen/luz.pdf. Retrieved 11 November 2009. 

• Frank Gnoth-Austen, Rudolf Specht: Jasmund, Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft. Vehling, Werl 1995, ISBN 3-536-00476-8 (Deutsche Nationalparke, Vol. 2).
• Norbert Rosing, Sarah Fuchs, Klaus Nigge: Deutsche Nationalparks. Tecklenborg, Steinfurt 1997, ISBN 3-924044-29-5.
• Literature der Nationalparkverwaltung Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft in the catalogue of the German National Library (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek)
• Literature about Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park in the State Bibliography (Landesbibliographie) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

External links

• Official website of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park (German)