Königsstuhl, Jasmund
Chalk and beechwood over the Baltic.
On the Jasmund peninsula of Rügen, Germany's largest island, white chalk cliffs rise straight from the Baltic and are capped by a dense, protected beech forest — a landscape so distinctive it inspired the Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. The highest point, the Königsstuhl or 'King's Chair', stands about 118 metres above the sea.
A curving steel skywalk now loops out from the clifftop at the national park centre, letting you look down the chalk face and along the coast without standing on the fragile, crumbling edge. The ancient beeches here are part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Below, the Hochufer shore path runs for kilometres along the foot of the cliffs past the Victoria viewpoint, where the classic picture of the Königsstuhl's white buttress is taken.
Getting there
The Königsstuhl National Park Centre is reached from the town of Sassnitz on Rügen, about 30 minutes away by park shuttle bus or on foot through the beech forest. Rügen is roughly 4 hours from Berlin by car or direct train to Sassnitz. Private cars park outside the park and transfer in by shuttle.