Baltic Coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Attractions
Länder: Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
The Baltic coastline of Germany extends for some 720km/450mi from Flensburg to the island of Usedom. Bights and fjord-like inlets penetrate far inland - the Flensburger Förde, the Schlei, Eckernförde Bay, the Kieler Förde, Lübeck Bay, Wismar Bay, the Saaler Bodden, the Greifswalder Bodden, the Stettiner Haff. The islands of Fehmarn, Rügen and Usedom are linked with the mainland by bridges.
Ecology
The Baltic is linked with the North Sea only by the Skagerrak and Kattegat, so that there is little exchange of waters between the two seas. The fresh water flowing into the Baltic from the mainland gives it a considerably lower salt content than other seas. The inflow of polluted river water, however, has led to a considerable concentration of harmful substances in the Baltic and endangered its ecological system. Efforts have been made to halt this development, but so far it has not been possible to achieve a consensus between the states bordering the Baltic on a program of action.
Landscape
In contrast to the treeless fen landscapes of the North Sea coast, much of the Baltic coast is attractively wooded (mostly beech forests). Characteristic features of the eastern part of the coast are the shallow bodden - depressions carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age which over the millennia have been drowned by the gradual rise in sea level.
The Baltic has scarcely any tides.
The Baltic coastline of Germany extends for some 720km/450mi from Flensburg to the island of Usedom. Bights and fjord-like inlets penetrate far inland - the Flensburger Förde, the Schlei, Eckernförde Bay, the Kieler Förde, Lübeck Bay, Wismar Bay, the Saaler Bodden, the Greifswalder Bodden, the Stettiner Haff. The islands of Fehmarn, Rügen and Usedom are linked with the mainland by bridges.
Ecology
The Baltic is linked with the North Sea only by the Skagerrak and Kattegat, so that there is little exchange of waters between the two seas. The fresh water flowing into the Baltic from the mainland gives it a considerably lower salt content than other seas. The inflow of polluted river water, however, has led to a considerable concentration of harmful substances in the Baltic and endangered its ecological system. Efforts have been made to halt this development, but so far it has not been possible to achieve a consensus between the states bordering the Baltic on a program of action.
Landscape
In contrast to the treeless fen landscapes of the North Sea coast, much of the Baltic coast is attractively wooded (mostly beech forests). Characteristic features of the eastern part of the coast are the shallow bodden - depressions carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age which over the millennia have been drowned by the gradual rise in sea level.
The Baltic has scarcely any tides.
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Heiligendamm, Germany
Heiligendamm, on the Baltic Coast, is the oldest German seaside resort, founded in 1793 near Doberan and was at that time the summer residence of the Dukes of Mecklenburg.
Kuhlungsborn, Germany
Kühlungsborn (pop. 8,000), on Mecklenburg Bay on the Baltic Coast, has the second highest number of visitors among the resorts on the Baltic coast.
Strelasund
The Strelasund, which separates Rügen from the mainland Baltic Coast, links the western chain of bodden with the Greifswalder Bodden, which in turn is linked by the Peenestrom with the Achterwasser and Oderhaff.
