The whitewashed homes and shops around the Circus define Putbus’s Neoclassical appearance. They are joined by cultural venues, an easy cycling tour and a narrow-gauge railway connecting the town with several Baltic Sea resorts. This gives you a choice of architectural and cultural history, a tour by the Bodden lagoon, or a trip across the island. For your planning, this means choosing between architectural and cultural history, a tour by the Bodden lagoon, and a ride across the island.
Princely residence and Neoclassical townscape
In 1810, Prince Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus planned Putbus as a purpose-built residence town centered around the palace. A Neoclassical ensemble of whitewashed homes and shops stands around the Circus. Putbus’s palace church was created at the end of the 19th century by converting a former concert hall in the park and was consecrated in 1892. The town planning and the conversion of the concert hall into a church thus belong to different building phases: Putbus’s historic character is not limited to a single building.
Exhibitions, museum and stage performances
The Orangery in Putbus hosts changing exhibitions by the RĂĽgen Cultural Foundation. As the program may change, check which exhibition is currently on display before your visit. The Marstall in the palace park was built between 1821 and 1824 as a stable and carriage house for the princely family; today, it is used as a venue for the RĂĽgen Festival. The event program there may also vary.
The 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. Individual productions change, so checking current dates can help with planning. The Rügen Puppet and Toy Museum in Putbus offers a different focus: it displays dolls, toys, plush animals, tin soldiers, ships and model railways spanning three centuries. In Putbus, exhibitions, stage performances and a wide-ranging toy collection sit side by side.
Palace park, biosphere reserve and Bodden circuit
Putbus lies in southeastern RĂĽgen, directly within the Southeast RĂĽgen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Putbus Palace Park is an English landscape park covering about 75 hectares and is one of the most significant surviving park landscapes in northern Germany. The easy Bodden circuit starts in Putbus, passes through Lauterbach and the Goor forest, and returns through the palace park. It is about 12 kilometers long, flat and family-friendly, with views of the RĂĽgischer Bodden. Check the trail conditions before your cycling tour.
A ride on the Rasender Roland
The Rasender Roland is a steam-powered narrow-gauge railway with a 750 mm gauge that has been operating on Rügen since 1895. It connects Putbus with Binz, Sellin, Baabe and Göhren; the route comprises a total of 24.2 kilometers of track. This figure refers to the track length, not the duration of a journey. Unlike the Bodden circuit, the railway connects several places. Timetables vary by season, so check them for your travel dates before planning a train ride.
Discover more destinations: Lonvitz, Lauterbach, Neuendorf, Kasnevitz, Vilmnitz, GĂĽstelitz, GroĂź-Stresow, Pastitz.
See the regional travel overview: Vorpommern-RĂĽgen.
