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{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" |colspan="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"| |- !colspan="2" align=center bgcolor="#DEFFAD"|Statistics |- | State:||Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |- | Capital:||Bergen |- | Area:||973.92 km² |- | Inhabitants:||73,301 (2003) |- | pop. density:||75 inh./km² |- | Car identification:||RÜG |- | Homepage:||http://www.kreis-rueg.de |- !colspan="2" align=center bgcolor="#DEFFAD"|Map |- |colspan="2" align=center>|
|}Rügen is a Kreis (district) in the northeastern part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. As it only covers islands it has boundary, however nearest are the district Nordvorpommern and the district-free city Stralsund.
Geography
The district covers the islands Rügen and Hiddensee, and several small islands like Ummanz and Vilm. It is thus the only district of Germany which only covers islands.
The district Rügen was created in 1806 by the Swedish administration of Swedish Pomerania. At first it was named Amt Bergen, in 1810 it was renamed to Kreis Bergen.
With an administrative reform of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania due in 2008 the district is scheduled to be merged into a larger district around the city Stralsund. However an initiative to keep the independence of the district Rügen has already been started.
History
See also: History of RügenCoat of arms
{|
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| valign="top" |The coat of arms derives from the coat of arms of the Principality of Rügen of the 13th century, with the only addition of a crown. The coat of arms were granted on January 18, 1993.
|}Towns and municipalities
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¹ also a Amt
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Ämter
