Putbus: Residential Town, Culture and Park

Putbus combines a planned residential town with cultural venues, an extensive park and opportunities to explore the surrounding area by train or bicycle. If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay, architecture and history, theatre and exhibitions, or routes through the countryside can each provide a different focus for your trip.

Residential town and neoclassical architecture

Prince Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus planned Putbus as a residential town around his palace in 1810. Its historic character is also reflected in the neoclassical ensemble of whitewashed residential and commercial buildings grouped around the Circus. The town layout and buildings thus tell the story of Putbus as a planned residential town; the Circus gives the town centre a clear architectural focal point.

The palace church is another example of the town’s history. It was created in the late 19th century by converting a former spa hall in the park and was consecrated in 1892. The Marstall in the palace park also connects architectural history with contemporary culture: it was built between 1821 and 1824 as a stable and coach house for the princely family and is now used as a venue for the Rügen Festival. The programmes of individual events may vary.

Exhibitions, theatre and events

The orangery in Putbus hosts changing exhibitions by the Rügen Cultural Foundation. This makes it a suitable place to visit if you’d like to include art and culture in your trip. As the exhibitions change, it’s a good idea to check what’s currently on before visiting.

The Rügen Puppet and Toy Museum displays dolls, toys, stuffed animals, tin soldiers, ships and model trains from three centuries. Its collection therefore spans a variety of toy types and long periods of time. Putbus Theatre is a venue for Theatre Vorpommern and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Its repertoire includes drama, musical theatre, cabaret, children’s performances, concerts and guest performances throughout the year. The performances on offer depend on the current programme.

Palace park and countryside

Putbus Palace Park is an English landscape garden covering around 75 hectares and is one of the most significant surviving park landscapes in northern Germany. It stands in marked contrast to the ordered architectural forms around the Circus: here, the focus is on landscape garden design. The Bodden Loop passes through the palace park on its return leg, linking it to a longer cycling tour.

Putbus’s location also gives it a scenic setting: the town lies in the southeast of Rügen, directly within the Southeast Rügen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. For planning your trip, this means combining urban and cultural history with a location within a designated protected area. The park, buildings and excursion options can each be seen as a different aspect of a stay in Putbus.

By train or on the Bodden Loop

The Rasender Roland is a steam-powered narrow-gauge railway with a track gauge of 750 mm. It has been running on Rügen since 1895 and connects Putbus with the Baltic seaside resorts of Binz, Sellin, Baabe and Göhren. The route has a total of 24.2 kilometres of track. The train and cycling route offer different perspectives for planning your trip: the railway links Putbus with the seaside resorts listed above, while the Bodden Loop is a tour of around 12 kilometres starting in Putbus. The railway timetable varies by season, so check it when planning your trip.

The easy Bodden Loop runs from Putbus via Lauterbach and the Goor forest, returning through the palace park. It is flat and family-friendly and offers views of the Rügischer Bodden. If you’d prefer to plan a manageable cycling tour rather than a train journey, you can use the approximate distance and circular route as a guide. Check the path conditions before setting off.

Discover more destinations: Lonvitz, Lauterbach, Neuendorf, Kasnevitz, Vilmnitz, Güstelitz, Groß-Stresow, Pastitz.

View the regional travel guide: Vorpommern-Rügen.