Schaabe

The Schaab is a nearly twelve -kilometer Spit on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It lies between the peninsulas Jasmund and Wittow.

Washed up and shaped by the Sea, it forms a crescent shape limiting the Tromper Wiek and separated on the other side of the Great Jasmund Bodden and the Breeger of the Baltic Sea. The fine sand washed up, creating a huge natural bay formed by the towns Glowe and Juliusruh ( in the municipality of Breege ) is limited.

In contrast to the second major Spit on the island of Rügen, the Schmale Heide between Jasmund and the Granitz, which was marked by the construction of the KdF -Bad Prora and decades of military use with the associated infrastructure that Schaabe between Glowe and Juliusruh up is on a forester and the only continuous road and the adjacent paved bicycle path undeveloped.

Formation

The Schaabe began to form about 4500 years ago when complaints was still an island archipelago. Only the island cores, especially Wittow and Jasmund, sticking up out of the sea. Through the power of the ocean surf, coupled with an ongoing land uplift, the coasts of this island cores were gradually eroded and the sediments, reinforced by the ocean current, bloated on spits. This process continues until today.

Through archaeological finds could be demonstrated that the southern part of Schaab in the area of ​​today's Glowe until the time of the early Slavic settlement, so the 7th or 8th century, silted. This also means that the sailors from the then important Slavic settlement near the present-day Ralswiek - had a significantly shorter access to the open sea - at the junction of the Great and Little Jasmund.

Similarly, the flint fields in the northern part of the Schmale Heide, but to a much lesser extent, the Schaab also show up in the northern part at many points behind the main dune ridges of flint, which were raised in earlier times, when the sea level was even higher by the surf here. This proves that the leaching of flints from the chalk cliffs of Jasmund and Wittow in favor of the now sandy beach has waned over the centuries.

Today

Behind the wide white beach protects a ten kilometer long and up to seven meters high Küstenschutzdüne the hinterland from storm floods. Through an elaborate planting of beach grass (Ammophila arenaria ) is achieved a stabilization of the dune, which counteracts the removal by wind and surf and promotes height growth. Behind the main dune follows a kleinbuckelige dunes (one to five meters above sea level), which in the years 1866, 1881, 1901, 1952 and most recently in 1957 with pine ( black pine ), birch, sessile oak and pedunculate oak was planted. This coastal protection forest has an area of ​​168 hectares and extends to the south-west to the bay shore. Prior to this reforestation Schaabe centuries was also called " Narrow Wittower Heide".

Due to the different soil moisture on Wiek and lagoon side of Schaab, different vegetation found on both sides.