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 deity Świętowit, who was depicted with four heads. The temple was housed an important horse oracle in Slavic times, where the behaviour of a white stallion decided about peace and war. Today, only about a quarter of the old fortress are left, as the chalk_promontory it was built on is slowly eroded by the Baltic. Rescue excavations are in progress.
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.
Today, the M/S "Arkona" is 18,591 gt at a length of 164.35 meters (~540 ft.) and has a double capacity of 516 passengers, which are cared for by 243 crew members.
When I arrived at the historic Columbuskaje cruise terminal in Bremerhaven on the morning of June 17th, I did not see the "Arkona" behind the big terminal building, but I was sure she was there, as lots of (mostly elderly) passengers left the building, where they were awaited by dozens of cabs and buses.
The "Arkona" has the typical elegant profile of the early cruise ships of the post-liner era, with a longer foredeck than it is found on today's ships.
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