Schmale Heide

The Schmale Heide is a 9.5 km long and about two kilometers wide between the Spit Ostseebad Binz and the town of New Mukran at Sassnitz on the island of Rügen. It is located on the territory of the municipality of Binz and is bounded to the north-west of the Little Jasmund and to the east of the Prorer Wiek.

Formation

The design of the heavily indented coastline of Rügen was an interplay of sea-level changes and uplift processes after the last ice age ( Weichselian ).

It is assumed that the area of today's Pomeranian Baltic coast after the last Ice Age glacier advance (North Rügen- Ostusedomer Season ) ice-free since about 13 000 years ago, but was widely mainland. The level of the oceans was caused glacial considerably lower than today. Years ago, about 9000, a meltwater ( the Ancylus Großsee ) accumulated on the sea level reached a maximum of eight feet below sea level. However, this flowed for a total period of about 1000 years partly rapidly in the ocean off, which led to a renewed mainland phase ( Ancylus regression). It was not until 8000 years ago began - according to a general rise in sea - the sea level in the Baltic Sea basin by flooding of the land bridge between Denmark and Scandinavia to rise rapidly to 15 m ( Littorina ) and reached almost 5500 years ago to today's stand

Since that time the sea level fluctuated by only one to two meters and a coastline compensation process began, which continues today. Here, the cliff coast of Rügen in particular eroded by waves and ocean currents and deposited sediments as sand and gravel island between the cores as spits and hooks again.

The Schmale Heide is located in an old glacier basin between the island cores Jasmund Granitz. As geological drilling at Prora in the middle of the Spit prove the surf of the Ancylus Great Lake has deposited an eleven -meter-high sediment layer here already, which was later increased by the Littorina again for another ten meters. Here, a beach ridge before the other could settle on, making the Spit the Schmale Heide reached its present width of about two kilometers. In interphase was deposited by the currents and waves material - to a greater extent than today - of flint nodules that were washed out of the chalk cliffs of Jasmund peninsula. This led to the creation of unique flint fields in New Mukran the north of the Schmale Heide, which are under protection since 1935.

Nature Reserves

The purpose of protection of the nature reserve " Schmale Heide and flint fields " consists primarily in the conservation of approximately 14 exposed flint walls in an area of ​​2000 × 200 m. Order to curb the spreading vegetation here, mid-19th century were already fenced parts of the flint fields and occupied with game, which should counteract by browsing the encroachment after about 1840 the Narrow Heath had been reforested with pines. From the mid 1970s until the early 1990s, this was attempted again using European mouflon. Currently, the flint fields are freely accessible in their full extent.

East of the flint fields in 1994 a new nature reserve " Schmale Heide and flint fields - extension" emerged, which serves to protect the dunes area near the beach, in the thriving part of an existing rare plant vegetation. In this area must to protect the sensitive dune vegetation not leave the marked paths.

Influences on the landscape

The landscape of the Schmale Heide is - in contrast to Schaab - has been decisively shaped since the 1930s by the construction of the KdF Prora bath and an adjoining decades of military use with the associated infrastructure. In addition to the approximately five -kilometer complex of buildings along the Prorer Wiek, which partly served as a barracks, large parts of the heathland and the Prora, a wooded ridge in the southern part of the Schmale Heide, as military training areas and establishing ammunition depots, hangars and were workshops used.

The since the early 1990s, again accessible beach on the Prorer Wiek has been able to regain its popularity as a beach.