Garz | |
|---|---|
 The birthplace of Ernst Moritz Arndt in Garz | |
_COA.png) Coat of arms | |
Location of Garz (Rügen) within Vorpommern-Rügen district
| |
 Location of Garz (Rügen) | |
  Garz  Garz | |
| Coordinates:54°19′N13°21′E / 54.317°N 13.350°E /54.317; 13.350 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| District | Vorpommern-Rügen |
| Municipal assoc. | Bergen auf Rügen |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sebastian Kösling |
| Area | |
• Total | 65.89 km2 (25.44 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 2,256 |
| • Density | 34.24/km2 (88.68/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 18574 |
| Dialling codes | 03838, 038304, 038307 |
| Vehicle registration | VR/RÜG |
Garz (German pronunciation:[ˈɡaʁts]ⓘ) is a town in the county ofVorpommern-Rügen in the German state ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern. The town is administered by theAmt of Bergen auf Rügen, in thetown of the same name.
Garz lies in the south of the island ofRügen, about 5 kilometres from the coast. The surrounding area comprises low rolling hills, and the highest point is theKanonenberg at 34 metres above sea level. Garz is 22 kilometres fromStralsund on the mainland, and 12 kilometres from the county town of Bergen auf Rügen.
The following municipalities belong to Garz/Rügen: Bietengast, Dumsevitz, Foßberg, Freudenberg, Glewitz, Götzlaffshagen,Grabow, Groß Schoritz, Karnitz, Klein Stubben, Kniepow, Koldevitz, Kowall, Losentitz, Maltzien, Poltenbusch, Poppelvitz, Rosengarten, Schabernack, Silmenitz, Swiene, Tangnitz, Wentorf, Zicker and Zudar.[2]
InKarennz,Kerentia orCharenza were the names given to aSlavic castle that was hard fought for in 1168 and 1234 and at one time, the town was thought to be the former princely residence ofCharenza, but today that seems unlikely.
In 1327, a town seal bore the nameChertz in Ruya (Rügen). The name "Garz", however, probably comes from theSlavic"gardec" or"gard" and means "fortified place" or "little castle" (as inStargard). The precursor of Garz is more likely to have been the town ofRuyendal.
Around the turn of the first millennium, the inhabitants of Rügen were from theEast Germanic tribe of theRugii, who, from the 7th century, were followed by theRani, a West Slavic tribe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a Slavic castle with a rampart and settlement existed here as a royal residence. The well-preservedburgwall was seen by historical writers of the 19th and 20th centuries as that of the legendary prince's residence ofCharenza. Recent interdisciplinary research in the years 2004 and 2005, however, has shown that theburgwall at Venz (betweenGingst andTrent on the shores of the Neuendorfer Wiek) is much more likely to have been the aristocratic seat and temple castle ofCharenza. The latter was surrendered without a fight on 16 June 1168 - one day after theconquest of the Jaromarsburg onCape Arkona - to the King of DenmarkValdemar I and his army commander,Absalon of Roskilde, after earlier negotiations.[3][4]
In 1168, the ChristianDanes destroyed the fortress in Garz, as well as theSvetovid temple in the fort atCape Arkona. German settlers arrived from 1240 and the village of Garz emerged.
In 1316, Garz was giventown rights(civitatis Gartz) by the Rügen prince,Vitslav III, and was first mentioned in 1316 and 1319. Thus it is considered to be the oldest town on the island. The 14th-century town church, St. Peter's, initially belonged to the Danish bishopric ofRoskilde.
In 1325 Rügen, including Garz, went intoPomerania. In 1478, Rügen was united with Pomerania and, after theThirty Years' War in 1648 theTreaty of Westphalia saw Garz falling toSweden. It was not until 1815, as a result of theCongress of Vienna that Garz finally became aPrussian town.
Around 1648, the church steeple was destroyed in a storm and replaced with today's tower. In 1765 a large fire destroyed many homes. The older town houses, most of which are oriented with their longer side parallel to the road, were built after that. The town is dominated today, as in the past, by agriculture.
In 1930, thediabetes researcher,Gerhardt Katsch, foundedGermany's first home for the clinical and sociomedical treatment of diabetics in Garz. After the institution moved toKarlsburg inVorpommern, an outpost of the Karlsburg Institute (Central Institute for Diabetes) remained in Garz as a holiday location for treating diabetic children over the summer holidays.
Since 1991, the centre of Garz has been extensively redeveloped as part of anurban development plan. Near Garz,Deutsche Telekom has operated a transmission site since 1993.
From 1818 to 1952 Garz/Rügen belonged to the district ofRügen (Kreis Rügen, from 1939,Landkreis Rügen), from 1952 to 1955 to the district ofPutbus (Kreis Putbus), from 1956 to Rügen again (Kreis Rügen, from 1990 aLandkreis), and, since 2011 to the district ofVorpommern-Rügen.
On 1 January 2001Groß Schoritz was incorporated into the town of Garz/Rügen.[5] On 13 June 2004,Zudar, on the peninsula of the same name, followed suit.[6] In January 2005, Karnitz was also added to Garz.[7]
Following the local elections of 7 June 2009 the following seats were allocated:
The coat of arms was registered as no. 34 in the coat of arms roll of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The town flag has three vertical stripes: blue - white - blue. The blue stripes each occupy a quarter of the flag, the white stripe fills the central two quarters of its length. In the middle of the centre stripe is the town coat of arms, the ratio of the height of the shield to the height of the flag being 3:5. The overall ratio of the flag is 2:3.
Garz's twin town ofNorderney lies inEast Frisia and is one of theEast Frisian Islands off the coast ofLower Saxony. The towns were twinned immediately after thereunification of Germany in 1990.
The town has a well-built network ofcycle paths with a total length of about 42.5 kilometres.
Media related toGarz/Rügen at Wikimedia Commons
