The Town of Putbus, located in the South of the island, was founded in 1810 by Fürst Wilhelm Malte von Putbus. It received its town charter only in 1960. On the 11.08.1955, the first telegraph station of the island of Ruegen was erected at Putbus. On the 15.08.1889 it was connected to the island's railway system via the 10-km-long railway Bergen - Putbus. On the 22.07.1895, the narrow-gauge railway (Rasender Roland), running between Putbus and Binz, was established (1896: continuation to Sellin, 1899 expansion of the line to Goehren). In 1896, the narrow-gauge railway Putbus - Altefaehr opened (it was shut down in 1967). Since 1997, Putbus (2600 inhabitants, including the districts Lauterbach, Neuendorf, Wreechen etc. - about 5000 inhabitants) with its classicistic town centre has a state-approved place for recreation and leisure. The former Earls of Putbus originated from Stoislav, a brother of Ruegen's Earl Jaromar I. The Ruegen-based part the family became extinct in 1702. In 1727, Emperor Karl VI. ennobled the Danish baron Malte I. to the status of a German State Earl; in 1807 he became a Swedish Earl, too.
In 1854, this lineage also died off and the leadership was passed over to a grandson, the Earl Wylich of Lottum.

Based on designs by Schinkel, the castle of Putbus was rebuilt between 1825-32 and renovated after a fire in 1865. Unfortunately, because of many years of neglect it had to be destroyed in 1962.
The palace garden with its rare trees and a small zoo, covering a total size of 75 hectars, is surely worth a visit. You can find here an orangery which was built in 1824 and used as a green house until 1945. Nowadays it serves as an exhibiton centre). The royal stables were built in 1824 as riding and horse stables and are now used for cultural events. Finally, the kursaal was built in 1846 and rebuilt into a church in 1891/92.
The pedagogium which was established in 1833 and passed to the Prussian state as "pedagogium regium" in 1836 is worthwhile mentioning, too. From 1946 to 1975, teachers were trained here, afterwards it accommodated a school for deaf children. Currently, it is an IT-College.
Text and photographs (Market place, Fürst Malte von Putbus, Orangery, Theatre)  R.R.