The Hanseatic City of Stralsund, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with an eventful history, a unique coastal location and impressive Brick Gothic architecture, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Here you can also find the OZEANEUM (https://www.ozeaneum.de/en/), a special museum hosting arguably one of the largest public aquaria in Europe. It is located at the historical Stralsund harbour on the Baltic coast. The museum consists of aquaria displaying primarily sea life of the North and Baltic Sea, exhibitions including current scientific topics, and even a penguin platform on the roof, home of ten Humboldt penguins. The largest aquarium has just been renovated and re-opened recently.

The OZEANEUM offers exclusive guided tours through the exhibitions and aquaria for the ECA participants.

Additionally, you will join in a guided tour through the Hanseatic town of Stralsund and enjoy the old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The excursion programme also offers you a fair amount of time to leisurely walk through the city of Stralsund, do some shopping, taste one of the famous fish buns or enjoy the exhibition and aquaria of the OZEANEUM for yourself.

Local partners: Dr. Dorit Liebers-Helbig, Deutsches Meeresmuseum Stralsund

Costs: 20 €

Rügen is Germany´s largest island and celebrated for its famous landscape and cultural history. During our full-day excursion we will be accompanied by Professor Hans-Dieter Knapp, one of the charismatic figures of the east-German conservation movement, who is native to Rügen and will be able to answer all upcoming questions.

First we will visit the “White Town” Putbus and the palace park with numerous ancient trees. Putbus was founded in 1810 by Prince Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus and was built in the Classicist style. Putbus is also known as “Rose town”, because rose bushes are grown in front of many of the white-painted buildings.

We will then head for the Jasmund National Park in the northeast of Rügen with the impressive chalk cliffs and the famous Königsstuhl. We offer opportunities to walk through the beech forests in the UNESCO World Heritage Site and to experience the interactive exhibitions at the Visitor´s Centre (https://www.koenigsstuhl.com/en/).

The afternoon we will spent in “Lebensgut Frankenthal”. Enthusiastic people founded an association to promote culture and sustainability in the region and startet to rebuild a ruined country house (Hofgut). They will serve a buffet of organic food (included in fee). There will be time to collect spiders in the surrounding meadows, to play outdoor games, or simply to chat and relax

Local partners: Prof. Dr. Hans-Dieter Knapp; Königsstuhl National Park Visitor´s Centre; „LebensGut“ Frankenthal e.V.

Costs: 45 €

The Peene valley is the largest fen complex in western Central Europe (17.810 ha), and is considered as one of the best-preserved valley mire in Germany. Comparing to the Central European landscape, the Peene valley is wild, exciting and rather “natural”. It. The valley extends over 85 km from Lake Kummerow (Kummerower See) in the west to the Oder Laggon (Oderhaff) in the east.

The lower Peene valley is a refuge for enigmatic plant communities and animals – some of them are very rare for Germany as the raised bog large ground beetle (Carabus menetriesi). The valley is important for rare breeding bird species such as white-tailed eagle, spotted crake and European curlew.

The excursion takes place in the lower peene valley. This area consists of percolation mires with a peat thickness up to 8.5 meters. It is regularly flooded by brackish water and characterized by common reed, large sedge communities and purple moor-gras. Furthermore, extensive carrs with European white birch and peat moss are typical for this region and will be part of our excursion.

Local Partner: Jens Kulbe, Zweckverband „Peenetal-Landschaft“

Costs: 25 €