Putbus

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White buildings in the Circus, a circular drive in the middle of Putbus.

Putbus (“Pootboos”) is the oldest resort town on the island. With its musical events and museum, it is regarded as Ruegen’s cultural capital. Originally a Slavic settlement, it was documented for the first time in 1253.
One of the best things about Putbus is before you get there. It’s on the Deutsche Alleenstrasse. Driving out of the green tunnel into “the white city” of Putbus, we were struck by the classic architectural columns and bright white buildings around the “Circus” – a circular drive around a central park.

The town is an example of the juxtaposition of drab and pockmarked buildings of the old DDR standing adjacent to the newly patched and painted ones of the reunified Germany. It shouldn’t be long before all of Putbus is restored to its former spendor. There’s a requirement that facades maintain their original structure and character and in one case we saw that only the front wall was left standing, propped up while an entirely new building is being constructed behind it. A main attraction of the town is the Schlossgarten, landscaped in the style of an English garden. The castle no longer exists, but its church, or Schlosskirche, has survived. The town is also the site of an animal park where we saw some rare fallow deer along with a variety of other wildlife.

Putbus is at the western end of the narrow gauge (Kleinbahn) steam rail line which runs from there to the island’s easternmost village of Göhren, which is where we got on board. The antique train is fun for anyone, and a definite must if you have children in tow.