Rügen Cliffs

The Königsstuhl (King's Chair) is the best-known chalk cliff on the Stubbenkammer in the Jasmund National Park on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It lies at 118 m above sea level.


The narrow yet massive granite steps, that lead to the plateau on the Königsstuhl, 200 m² in area, lie over the site of what is suspected to be a Bronze Age barrow. From the plateau is a sweeping view of the Baltic Sea. The Königsstuhl itself is best seen from the viewing point of Victoria View (Victoria-Sicht) to the south.

There is a legend that the name Königsstuhl ("King's Chair") goes back to an event in 1715 when the Swedish king, Charles XII is supposed to have commanded a sea battle against the Danes from this spot. The battle tired the ruler so much, such that he needed to take a chair.

However, the name Königsstuhl was used in a travel report by the vicar, Rhenan, in 1586, who had been tasked by the Pomeranian duke to find mineral springs, thus it is clear that it had been named much earlier.

According to a legend, the name is actually derived from a custom whereby in ancient times the person elected king was the first to climb the cliffs from the sea and sit in the chair on the top.