Editing Rügen (section)

== History ==
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{{noflag}} [[Rani (tribe)|Rani]] (Tribe) 7th Century-1168/1169<br>	
{{flagicon image|State Banner of Denmark (14th Century).svg|23px}} [[Principality of Rügen]] ([[Denmark]]) 1168–1325<br>	
{{flagicon image|COA_Pomerania_Wolgast_checkerd_Iberian_style_shield_white_1.svg}} [[Pomerania-Wolgast]] 1325-1368/1372<br>
{{flagicon image|COA_of_Pommern-Barth.png}} [[Pomerania-Barth]] 1368/1372-1451<br>	
{{flagicon image|COA_Pomerania_Wolgast_checkerd_Iberian_style_shield_white_1.svg}} [[Pomerania-Wolgast]] 1451-1478 <br/>
{{flagicon image|Grunwald_Słupsk_i_Szczecin.svg}} [[Duchy of Pomerania]] 1478-1648<br>	
{{flagicon image|Naval_Ensign_of_Sweden.svg}} [[Swedish Pomerania]] ([[Swedish Empire|Sweden]]) 1648-1677 <br>
{{flagicon image|Royal_Standard_of_Denmark_(1731–1819).svg}} [[Denmark-Norway]] 1677-1678<br>
{{flagicon image|Naval_Ensign_of_Sweden.svg}} [[Swedish Pomerania]] ([[Swedish Empire|Sweden]]) 1678 <br>	
{{flagicon image|Royal_Standard_of_Denmark_(1731–1819).svg}} [[Denmark-Norway]] 1678-1679<br>
{{flagicon image|Naval_Ensign_of_Sweden.svg}} [[Swedish Pomerania]] ([[Swedish Empire|Sweden]]) 1679-1807 <br>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_France.svg}} [[First French Empire]] 1807-1813<br>	
{{flagicon image|Naval_Ensign_of_Sweden.svg}} [[Swedish Pomerania]] ([[Swedish Empire|Sweden]]) 1813-1814 <br>
{{flagicon image|Royal_Standard_of_Denmark_(1731–1819).svg}} [[Denmark-Norway]] 1814-1815<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Prussia_(1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]] (From 1871 [[German Empire]]) 1815-1918<br>	
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Germany_(1867–1918).svg}} [[German Empire]] 1871-1918<br>	
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Prussia_(1918–1933).svg}} [[Free State of Prussia]] ([[Weimar Republic]] until 1933) 1918-1947<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Germany_(3-2).svg}} [[Weimar Republic]] 1918-1933<br> 
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Germany_(1935–1945).svg}} [[Nazi Germany]] 1933-1945<br>	
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_USSR_(1936-1955).svg}} [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany]] 1945-1949<br>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_German_Democratic_Republic.svg}} [[East Germany]] 1949-1990<br>	
{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]] 1990-Present}}
{{see also|Early history of Pomerania|Rugii|Rani (Slavic tribe)|Principality of Rugia|Duchy of Pomerania|Swedish Pomerania|Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}

=== Pre-history and the Germani ===
[[File:Großsteingrab Lancken 1 - Lancken-Granitz, Insel Rügen.jpg|thumb|One of many [[megalith]] sites on Rügen: the [[Lancken-Granitz dolmen]]]]
Discoveries in the {{lang|de|[[bodden]]}} indicate that there has been settlement here since the [[Stone Age]]. All over Rügen are numerous stone monuments, such as megalithic tombs and altar stones that have survived to the present day. By the 1st century, the inhabitants of Rügen were part of the [[Germanic peoples|East Germanic]] tribe of [[Rugii]], who occupied roughly the region that was later to become Western Pomerania and who gave the island its name. The Rugii may have originated from [[Scandinavia]] or evolved from [[Indigenous peoples|autochthonous]] tribes. In the [[Migration Period]], many Rugii moved south and founded an empire in [[Pannonia (Roman province)|Pannonia]].

=== Slavic Rani ===
From the 7th century, the West Slavic [[Rani (Slavic tribe)|Rani]] (or Rujani) built an empire on Rügen and the neighbouring coast between [[Recknitz]] and [[Ryck]]. It decidedly affected the history of the Baltic Sea area and the surrounding [[Obodrites|Obodritic]] (in the west) and [[Liutici]]an (in the south) occupied mainland for the next few centuries. Many traces of their life can be found today.

[[File:Slavnost svatovitova na rujane.jpg|left|thumb|''The Celebration of Svetovid on Rügen'' (1912), [[Alphonse Mucha]], ''[[The Slav Epic]]'']]
The basis of their military strength was a combination of the Ranian navy and a favourable location. Denmark, which was at that time very successful in Great Britain and Scandinavia, was neither able to match its Ranian rivals in the Baltic Sea region nor protect its coastline from Ranian armies until well into the 12th century. Meanwhile, the Ranians built numerous castles and temples in the [[Barth, Germany|Barth]]-[[Jasmund]]-Gristow triangle.

The temple hill of [[Jaromarsburg]], at the northern tip of Rügen and dedicated to the god [[Svetovid]], was significant well beyond the boundaries of the Ranian empire. After the fall of [[Radgosc]] it became the chief shrine for the pagan northwestern Slavs. The administrative centre of the empire was [[Charenza]], possibly on the site of the present-day hillfort known as [[Garz/Rügen|Garz]] or Venz. The main trading centre of the empire was [[Ralswiek]] at the southernmost point of the [[Großer Jasmunder Bodden]].

=== Principality under Danish suzerainty ===
In 1168, the [[Denmark|Danish]] king, [[Valdemar I of Denmark|Valdemar I]], and his army commander and advisor, Bishop [[Absalon of Lund|Absalon of Roskilde]] [[Siege of Arkona|destroyed the Svetovid temple]] in the hillfort at [[Cape Arkona]], ending both the territorial and religious autonomy of the Rani; their former monarchs became Danish [[Pomeranian duchies and dukes|princes of Rügen]]. The Rani prince [[Jaromar I, Prince of Rügen|Jaromar I]] (died 1218) was a vassal of the Danish king and [[Christianization|Christianized]] the island's inhabitants. In 1184, the Pomeranians, whose rule had previously extended as far as the land of Gützkow and to Demmin and thus made them the immediate neighbours of the now Danish [[Principality of Rugia]], were commissioned by their overlord, the Holy Roman Emperor, to seize Rügen for the empire, but were defeated in the [[Bay of Greifswald]].

Under Danish rule the Principality of Rugia changed its character. Danish monasteries were established (e.g. Bergen Abbey in 1193 and [[Eldena Abbey|Hilda Abbey]], today Eldena Abbey, in 1199). [[German eastward expansion|German colonists]] were introduced into the land and soon they became the largest and most culturally influential group within the population. The Slavic cultural element disappeared, mostly due to the lack of their own Slavic church structures, so that the Rani were [[cultural assimilation|absorbed]] in the period that followed into the now German-influenced people of Rügen. In addition to the colonization of the country and the building of new monasteries and churches, towns were also re-established. In 1234, the Rügen Prince [[Wizlaw I, Prince of Rügen|Wizlaw I]] founded the town of [[Stralsund]] and granted [[Greifswald]] market rights in 1241. The power of the towns grew rapidly, forcing Rügen's rulers to make concessions—for example, the prince's castle at [[Barth, Germany|Barth]] was slighted and Schadegast, the princely "twin" of the municipally-controlled Stralsund, was ousted in favour of the latter.

In 1304 a [[storm surge]], known as the [[All Saints' Flood (1304)|All Saints' Flood]], devastated the island and flooded the peninsula between [[Mönchgut]] and [[Ruden (island)|Ruden]].

=== Part of Pomerania ===
[[File:Belagerung ruegen.jpg|thumb|Invasion of Rügen by Brandenburg-Prussia at [[Putbus|Neukamp]] in 1678 (etching by Jan Luiken).]]
[[File:Rügenkarte-Lubinus.jpg|thumb|1608 map by [[Eilhardus Lubinus]]]]
After the death of the last Slav prince of the ''Wizlawiden'' (''House of Wizlaw'') dynasty, [[Wizlaw III, Prince of Rügen|Wizlaw III]], in 1325, the principality was acquired by the duchy of [[Pomerania-Wolgast]] as a consequence of the 1321 inheritance agreement ({{lang|de|Erbverbrüderung}}), and from 1368/72–1451 was part of the estate of a branch line, the dukes of [[Pomerania-Barth]]. This state of affairs, together with the disputes over the Danish throne that occurred at that time, led to the [[Rügen wars of succession]]. After they had played out, the former principality went in 1354 to Pomerania-Wolgast and thus became part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].

In 1478, Pomerania-Wolgast and [[Pomerania-Stettin]] were united and, 170 years later, the combined state went to Sweden in 1648 as a result of the [[Treaty of Westphalia]] (see [[Swedish Pomerania]]). Rügen was part of Swedish Pomerania from 1648 to 1815. The largest landowners, owning at least one-fifth of the island until 1945, was the [[House of Putbus]], which was an offshoot of the earlier ruling princes of the Wizlawid dynasty. In 1727, they were created counts of Holy Roman Empire and 1731 counts in Sweden, ultimately Swedish princes in 1807.

Under [[Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden]] the town of [[Gustavia, Rügen|Gustavia]] was constructed on the [[Mönchgut]] peninsula, but was abandoned during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. In the years 1678 and 1715, Rügen was briefly wrested from the Swedes by the Elector of Brandenburg, [[Frederick William of Brandenburg|Frederick William]] and by the King in Prussia, [[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]]. For example, a Brandenburg-Danish army landed on the island as part of the [[Invasion of Rügen (1678)|invasion of Rügen in 1678]]. After the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain (1679)|Treaty of Saint-Germain]] in 1679 the island passed from Danish to Swedish ownership again. At the time of [[Napoleonic Wars]], Rügen was held by the [[France|French]] from 1807 to 1813. In the [[Treaty of Kiel]] of 1814, it was transferred initially from Sweden to Denmark and then fell to [[Prussia]], along with New Western Pomerania ({{lang|de|Neuvorpommern}}), thanks to the [[Congress of Vienna|Vienna Convention]] of 1815. In 1818, the island became part of the administrative district of [[Regierungsbezirk Stralsund|Stralsund]] and thus belonged to the Prussian [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]]. [[Wilhelm Malte I]] (1783–1854), 1st prince of Putbus, was the last Governor of Swedish Pomerania and the first under Prussian rule.

[[File:Schloss Ralswiek 2 crop.jpg|thumb|[[Ralswiek]] Castle]]
In 1816, the first bathing resort was founded at [[Putbus]]. Later more resorts were established, and Rügen remained the most popular holiday resort of Germany until [[World War II]].

=== German Empire ===
Rügen was a popular destination for exile of Catholic priests and clergy during ''[[Kulturkampf]]'' between 1875 and 1879.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Christopher|date=2008|title=Religion and confessional conflict|chapter=4|pages=89–90|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199204885.003.0005|publisher=Oxford Academic}}</ref>

=== Nazi era ===
[[File:KdF Building.jpg|thumb|[[Strength Through Joy|KdF]] Building Prora]]
The Nazis added a large resort: [[Prora]], planned by the [[Strength through Joy]] organisation, which aimed to occupy people's free time. However, Prora was never completed.

In 1936, the first bridge connecting Rügen with the mainland was constructed ([[Rügendamm]]), replacing the former ferry shuttles.

The operation commanded by [[Wolfram von Richthofen]] that [[bombing of Guernica|bombed the town of Guernica]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]], was named after the island. An [[Abwehr]] [[Signals intelligence]] Operation during the same conflict was titled Operation Bodden after the strait separating Rügen from the German mainland.

In the aftermath of World War II, East German and Soviet authorities exiled landholders from the mainland to the island.<ref>Exorcising Hitler, The Occupation and Denazifcation of Germany, by Frederick Taylor, Bloomsbury Press</ref>

=== GDR era ===
After the [[Second World War]], Rügen became part of the state of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|Mecklenburg]] within the [[German Democratic Republic]] (GDR). In 1952, the island became part of the [[Bezirk Rostock|district of Rostock]].

The island was the focal point of Project Rose (''Action Rose'') by the GDR government designed to nationalise hotels, taxis and service companies on 10 February 1953. The occasion was supposed to have been a visit by [[Walter Ulbricht]] to the island of Rügen, during which he had been annoyed by the many surviving private hotels and guest houses. Many of the hotel owners were convicted by [[kangaroo court]]s under the pretext of having been engaged in [[economic crime]] or as agents working for the West. Their property was then confiscated and they were sent to prison. Many of the owners and small businessmen were incarcerated in Bützow prison. The hotels were supposed to have been expropriated by the [[Free German Trade Union Federation]] (FDGB). In fact, they were used as accommodation for the barracks-based "people's police" ({{lang|de|[[Kasernierte Volkspolizei]]}} or CPI). As a result of the confiscation of hotels, tourism on Rügen in 1953 came almost to a complete standstill for a time.

In the following nearly four decades, the island became one of the main tourist areas in the GDR. The FDGB played a dominant role in tourist accommodation. In 1963 the FDGB had 7,519 holiday places, the [[Reisebüro der DDR]] 2,906 places and a further 5,025 were available for businesses and organisations. In addition, there were 12,245 places for children in summer camps and another 20,800 places for campers. The plots were located mainly near the beaches.<ref>Dr. Rudolf Petzold, 1964, Die Bäderküste Rügens, Veb Brockhaus Verlag,Leipzig, page 5</ref> Increased holiday capacity was not however generated until the 1970s and 1980s.

=== Reunited Germany ===
[[File:Kurhaus Binz Panorama Nacht.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Binz]], one of several [[spa]]s on Rügen, featuring the typical [[Resort architecture]] of the German Baltic Sea — ''Kurhaus'' (spa hotel) at night]]
[[File:Sellin Seebrücke nachts 1.jpg|thumb|The pier of [[Sellin]] at night]]
In 1990, Rügen became part of the new state of [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] and, together with the neighbouring islands of [[Hiddensee]] and [[Ummanz]], formed the [[Landkreis Rügen|district of Rügen]]. Since the 2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern district reforms, Rügen has been part of [[Vorpommern-Rügen]].

In 2007, a second bridge, the [[Rügen Bridge]] ({{lang|de|Rügenbrücke}}), was built to replace the first one built in 1936.

Rügen has now surpassed [[Sylt]] as the most popular German island again.