Peilturm Kap Arkona

The Peilturm Kap Arkona stands beside the Jaromarsburg at the northern tip of Rügen island. It is a circular brick tower built in 1927 for the German navy. Two lighthouses rise nearby on the chalk cliffs, marking the cape’s edge.

The tower once intercepted radio traffic from ships across the southern Baltic. From 1937 it formed part of a network of eight coastal intercept stations feeding Berlin’s central intelligence bureau. After 1945 the equipment was removed and the building fell into ruin until restoration in 1996.

Visitors climb 111 steps to a viewing platform 20 metres above ground. The wide vista takes in Rügen’s coastline and the fenced enclosure of the Jaromarsburg, where erosion has closed the site. On clear days the Danish island of Møn appears on the horizon.