Fischland, Darß and Zingst remained of the last ice age. Darß and Zingst formerly being separate insulas now – together with Fischland – separate as one peninsula the bay area (“The Bodden”) from the open Baltic sea.
Exposed to the mostly westerly winds the western coast continuously shrinks by about 70cm per year whilst the northern tip of the Darß grows up to 10m a year.
Great endeavours are taken to preserve the western coastline. The bay area with extensive vegetation of reed provides hide for nesting birds. Zingst is well known as a resting place for migrating cranes.
Parts of Darß and Zingst belong to the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park (Nationalpark Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft). Public access is limited, partially even denied – giving nature place to recover.
In the past several harbours provided shelter for also commercially successful seafarers.
Tourism besides agriculture nowadays provides the major income for this area.
Baltic coast:
