Cape Arkona

Cape Arkona is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. Prior to the German reunification it was the northernmost point of East Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Witte peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park.

Cape Arkona is a point of interest due to an ancient temple fortress and an old lighthouse.

The temple fortress of Arkona was the religious and political centre of the Slavic principality of Rügen in the early Middle Ages. The temple was dedicated to the local deity of Svantevit, which was illustrated with three heads. In 1168 Arkona was destroyed by Danish invaders (see Absalon). This event preceded the Christianisation.

There are two old lighthouses at the cape, one constructed in 1827, the other one in 1902. The former is one of the oldest still existing lighthouses of the Baltic Sea. It was constructed by the famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel[?].