Sundian meadows
The Sundian Meadows or the Sundian Meadows form the eastern part of the Zingst peninsula in the Vorpommern-Rügen district . The name refers to the "Stralsund Meadows" after the city of Stralsund, the former owner of the land.
geography
The Sundian Meadows lie between the Osterwald in the west, Pramort on the eastern tip, the Baltic Sea in the north and the Grabow in the south. They have an east-west extension of about eight kilometers and a north-south extension of about one kilometer. The Sundian Meadows are characterized by barren, sandy soils north of the road to Pramort. This area was used for military purposes in the past and has been renatured since the military base on Zingst was closed, so that a heather landscape could form. Part of the area is now being converted into a swampy landscape. The wet meadows south of the driveway have been drained and are used agriculturally as pastures.
history
colonization
The Sundian meadows were first mentioned as a property of the Hanseatic city of Stralsund in 1290. Some sources say that the Hiddensee Monastery donated the meadows to the city. The first families settled here around the middle of the 17th century. The settlements of Pramort and “Bey den Häuser” emerged. The Pramort settlement was built in the far east of the island at the time, while “Bey den Häuser” was located at today's “Sundwiesen Castle”. Due to the barren soil, the area could hardly be used for agriculture, the managers changed at short intervals. The Swedish register cards characterize the area as "rigid grass and reed beds" and "swampy pastures full of water holes".
At the end of the 19th century, military use of the area began, which was to last for almost a hundred years. The seclusion and the dunes as a bullet trap were well suited for the purpose. In 1895, the Prussian military took their first target practice here:
- An unprecedented spectacle developed in the last few days of the past week on our quiet island. This year's shooting exercises of the Infantry Regiment No. 42, Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau, Stralsund, ... were held, ... it remains to be seen that the same exercises will be repeated here in the next few years. Barther Wochenblatt, July 12, 1895
In 1902 the Baron von Klot-Trautvetter bought the Sundische Wiesen from the city of Stralsund for 310,000 marks in order to build a hunting lodge there. A chronicler reports that the baron fled his house after a heavy storm on New Year's Eve 1903/04. He sold his property at a profit for 1,100,000 marks to the Prussian Count von Eulenburg , who speculated on being able to benefit from a ferry connection through an island piercing near the Straminke. At the same time he increased the rent for the barren land, so that 16 farmers had to give up their now unprofitable farms. When the ferry project failed, von Eulenburg had to sell the land to the Berlin newspaper publisher Rudolf Mosse after the First World War . He planned to grow nettle plants for paper production in the meadows, but did not consider that the nightshade plant would not thrive in shadowless meadows. After this project also failed, the hut baron Hugo Stinnes from the Ruhr area acquired the entire area east of Zingst in order to make big profits by cutting down all the forest areas. It was only with the expropriation of the area in 1923 in favor of the Berlin settler community "Neuland AG" that solid use appeared to prevail. As part of a government settlement program, the meadows were drained and new farms were built.
Military use from 1937 to 1945
At the end of the twenties, the head of the Darß Forestry Office tried to include the Sundian meadows in a Darß- Zingst National Park to be created . In 1934, Hermann Göring , who was then Reichsforst- und Reichsjägermeister , was enthusiastic about the idea. But the newly established air force lacked a bombing and firing range. The originally planned area near Parow and Hohendorf was first-class arable land, and so the choice fell on the Sundian meadows. On June 30, 1937, the residents were forcibly relocated. A military base was built in Zingst and an anti-aircraft shooting range, an airfield and a bombing site were built in the meadows. The empty farms in the Sundian Meadows served as drop targets.
Civil use after 1945
After the Second World War , the Sundian meadows and the Pramort were repopulated. But the agricultural use was now also very difficult due to the military pollution. The residents who returned from 1945 found 14,000 bomb craters alone that had been created by bombing tests by the Luftwaffe. So again the creation of a national park was considered. However, first priority was given to agricultural use. As early as the 1950s, an agricultural production cooperative was using the southern area of the Sundian Meadows mainly for animal breeding. In 1964, the LPG was converted into the state-owned “Zingst-Darß” estate based in the Müggenburg settlement, which also dealt with mink breeding. The largest green forage drying plant in the GDR was built to use the grassland for fodder. Up to 10,000 young cattle grazed on the grassy areas. It was intensively fertilized. Every three to five years the land was plowed and new grass was sown. The former hunting and manor house was used as a children's holiday camp.
Military use from 1956 to 1991
After 1945 the barracked people's police maintained a shooting range in the area of the Hohe Düne near Pramort. After the founding of the National People's Army (NVA), the area of the northern Sundian meadows was used again as an anti-aircraft firing range. The southern part was also a restricted military area, but could still be used for agriculture. Various experiments with sounding rockets were carried out on the training area between 1970 and 1992 . In contrast to the Nazi era, however, no residents were forcibly resettled, but rather a "voluntary" departure by restricting the living conditions in the area. The last resident did not leave Pramort until 1988. The NVA troop base existed until December 31, 1990. On October 1, 1990, the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park was founded. The Sundian Meadows became part of Protection Zone I (core zone). The road to the Pramort was closed to motor vehicles. The NVA built a viewing platform and was forced to adhere to various environmental requirements. After the anti-aircraft training center of the NVA was dissolved, a Bundeswehr garrison was established in Zingst with the same personnel. Further use of the military training area on the Sundian Meadows was also considered.
From 1991 until today
At the end of 1991 the Bundeswehr gave up the location on the Sundian Meadows. The barracks in Zingst also closed its doors on May 31, 1993. After the site was closed, all military and agricultural buildings were dismantled except for the former guard building, which now serves as the information center of the national park. The meadows continue to be used extensively as pastureland. The cattle graze here from May to November. Fertilization, mowing and plowing are stopped. In autumn, the entire area is closed to general visitor traffic from afternoon to morning in order to prevent the cranes resting here from worrying . A limited number of guided visitors will be allowed through between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The former manor house was acquired by the Kiel entrepreneur Hans-Hermann Johnson, who opened it on July 17, 1994 as the “Schlößchen” hotel.
From 2009 a new sea dike was built on the peninsula. It originated in the middle of the peninsula north of the old road to Pramort. The renaturation of the areas of the peninsula north of the sea dike began in 2014. The old dike was slit open in several places so that water could flow into the area, previous pumping stations were dismantled. Here an area of beach lakes, moors, reed beds and mixed forest is to be kept free from any use. The old road to Pramort has been abandoned. A cycle path was built on the new dike and a farm road next to the dike.
Flora and fauna
The landscape of the Sundian Meadows can be divided into three areas, the Baltic Sea coast with the dune field behind, the renaturation area, now common heather , north of the driveway and the willow areas south of the driveway with the lagoon coast. In the dune area plants grow like beach grass and beach rye with their long deep roots in moist Spülsaumgebieten salt herb and Salzmiere . In the area north of the driveway, dwarf shrubs such as crowberry and heather dominate . There are a few pine forests. In the south-lying areas on the coast Bodden growing Bodden-rush , flood bent grass , thrift , samphire and Salzmiere.
In the area of the Sundian Meadows and the surrounding bank areas, nine of the fourteen known geese species and 35 different coastal bird species rest during the bird flight time. The black-headed gull is at home here all year round . The red kite can also be found in the Sundian Meadows. Of the plovers passing through here, the golden plover is likely to be the most common. Also avocets , Alpine beach runner and Ruff populate the meadows. Thousands of birds can also be seen migrating from neighboring Pramort .
Extensive grazing cattle
Wild geese rest in the meadows
View of the "Hohe Düne"
View from Pramort over the Grabow
The dike just before the start of the national park
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Protection zones of the national park
- ↑ Storm surge protection renaturation Ostzingst. An interim balance sheet , State Office for Environment and Nature Stralsund (Hrsg.), Stralsund 2009, online (.pdf), p. 29.
- ↑ Storm surge protection renaturation Ostzingst. An interim balance sheet , State Office for Environment and Nature Stralsund (Hrsg.), Stralsund 2009, online (.pdf), p. 29.
Coordinates: 54 ° 25 ′ 41.2 ″ N , 12 ° 51 ′ 19.4 ″ E