Cape Arkona

Arkona is a chalk and boulder clay cliff about forty-five metres high at the northern end of Rügen, retreating by roughly a quarter of a metre a year as the sea undercuts it. Two lighthouses stand together: a square brick tower of 1827 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and a taller round one of 1902 built when the first proved too low. Behind them are the earthworks of the Jaromarsburg, a fortified Slavic temple site of the Rani that was destroyed in 1168; much of the enclosure has already fallen into the sea as the cliff retreats. The fishing village of Vitt lies below in a hollow.

What you actually see

• The two lighthouses - a Schinkel tower of 1827 beside a taller one of 1902.
• The Jaromarsburg - Slavic temple earthworks eroding into the sea.
• The chalk cliff - a retreating cliff about forty-five metres high.
• Vitt - a thatched fishing village in a hollow below the cape.

When to go

May to September; cars are excluded from the cape and access is on foot, by shuttle or by horse carriage from Putgarten. Winter is stormy and services close.

Honest expectations

Private cars stop at Putgarten and it is about a two-kilometre walk. Much of the temple site has already been lost to erosion. The cape is exposed and windy.

Nearby

Binz lies south; Hiddensee is west by boat.