Steps To The Beach: Königstreppe and Veilchentreppe
Several metres west of Cape Arkona is the Königstreppe ("King's Staircase"), whose 230 steps climb up the 42-metre-high cliff 230. The Swedish king, Frederick I – Rügen then belonged to Sweden – had a daymark erected near the present-day steps during the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) in order to warn the population. Hence the spot was known as the Königssteig or "King's Climb".
In 1833, for the arrival of the steamboat Hercules during its Imperial Russian chronometer expedition, the Prussian king, Frederick William III - Rügen was now Prussian - had a landing stage and flight of steps built. From this point in 1865, the first telegraph cable was laid under the Baltic Sea to Sweden. With the rise of the island's coastal resorts, tourism at Cape Arkona grew. Many travelers came by excursion boats that moored at the pier at the foot of the steps. The landing stage was, however, completely destroyed by the storm flood of 1953. The new Königstreppe steps were completed in 1995 at the same historic spot, taking a year to build.
South of the remnants of the ramparts at Jaromarsburg are the Veilchentreppe ("Violet Staircase"), a descent to the beach that runs from Arkona to Vitt. The name comes from the violets that grow around the staircase in spring.
Read more about this topic: Cape Arkona
Famous quotes containing the word steps:
“I lie and wait for morning, and the birds,
The first steps going down the unswept street,
Voices of girls with scarves around their heads.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)