Environment
Cliff crashed at Cape Arkona – warning of ammunition being found
Chalk and marl masses lie on the beach below the Slavic temple castle at Cape Arkona. photo
© -/dpa
The cliffs at the northern tip of Rügen have broken off. And further cracks can already be seen.
After the recent storm surge, the cliffs at the northern tip of Rügen, at Cape Arkona, canceled across the board. “That’s at least 100 meters,” said Andreas Heinemann, head of the local tourism company.
He estimates the volume to be around 15,000 cubic meters. But that’s difficult to say after looking from the side. “This is a huge demolition.” The floods attacked the cliff. “Then it is undermined and at some point it collapses from above.”
Further cracks can already be seen. “The next layers will break off. Because Cape Arkona itself is a mixture of chalk, sand and clay.” The sand broken off at the Cape in turn contributes to the formation of beaches elsewhere. The demolitions had already formed the island in the past. “That’s the natural coastal dynamic.”
Warning of further coastal crashes
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Environment Minister Till Backhaus warned of further coastal demolitions and ammunition discoveries. “I strongly advise against walks on the cliffs, be it on the cliff edges or below the cliffs,” the SPD politician was quoted as saying in a statement on Wednesday. His ministry was also informed that the storm surge on the Baltic Sea beach in the area of the Riedensee nature reserve near Kühlungsborn and Bastorf had exposed remains of ammunition. People should avoid this area.