Cape Arkona
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Image:Kap Arkona2.jpg
View of Cape Arkona
Cape Arkona (German: Kap Arkona) is a cape on the island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip of the Wittow peninsula, just a few kilometres north of the Jasmund National Park. The temple fortress of Arkona, today called Jaromarsburg, was the religious centre of the Slavic Rani in the Early Middle Ages. The temple was dedicated to the deity Svantevit, who was depicted with four heads. The temple housed an important horse oracle in Slavic times, where the behaviour of a white stallion could decide peace or war. Today, only about a quarter of the old fortress is left, as the chalk-promontory it was built on is slowly eroded by the Baltic. Rescue excavations are in progress. In 1168 Arkona was destroyed by Danish invaders (see Absalon). This event preceded the forced Christianization of the region's inhabitants. 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. In 1927, the cape's name was given to a German liner, the SS Cap Arcona. Prior to the German reunification, Arkona was often considered the most northern point in the German Democratic Republic. However, the site Gellort is located about one kilometre northwest.  Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
af:Kaap Arkona bg:Аркона cs:Arkona da:Arkona de:Kap Arkona es:Cabo Arkona fr:Kap Arkona ko:케이프 아르코나 it:Capo Arkona mk:Аркона nl:Kaap Arkona nn:Kapp Arkona pl:Arkona ru:Мыс Аркона sr:Рт Аркона sv:Kap Arkona vi:Mũi Arkona uk:Аркона | |||||
