Garz (Rügen)

Garz
The birthplace of Ernst Moritz Arndt in Garz
Coat of arms
Garz
Location of Garz (Rügen) within Vorpommern-Rügen district
Coordinates: 54°19′N 13°21′E / 54.317°N 13.350°E / 54.317; 13.350Coordinates: 54°19′N 13°21′E / 54.317°N 13.350°E / 54.317; 13.350
Country	Germany
State	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
District	Vorpommern-Rügen
Municipal assoc.	Bergen auf Rügen
Government
• Mayor	Klaus Meißner
Area
• Total	65.44 km2 (25.27 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	2,213
• Density	34/km2 (88/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	18574
Dialling codes	03838, 038304, 038307
Vehicle registration	RÜG

Garz (German pronun­cia­tion: [ˈɡaʁts]) is a town in the county of Vorpommern-Rügen in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The town is administered by the Amt of Bergen auf Rügen, in the town of the same name.

Garz lies in the south of the island of Rügen, about 5 kilometres from the coast. The surrounding area comprises low rolling hills, and the highest point is the Kanonenberg at 34 metres above sea level. Garz is 22 kilometres from Stralsund on the mainland, and 12 kilometres from the county town of Bergen auf Rügen.

The following municipalities belong to Garz/Rügen: Bietengast, Dumsevitz, Foßberg, Freudenberg, Glewitz, Götzlaffshagen, Grabow, Groß Schoritz, Karnitz, Klein Stubben, Kniepow, Koldevitz, Kowall, Losentitz, Maltzien, Poltenbusch, Poppelvitz, Rosengarten, Schabernack, Silmenitz, Swiene, Tangnitz, Wentorf, Zicker and Zudar.

In Karennz, Kerentia or Charenza were the names given to a Slavic castle that was hard fought for in 1168 and 1234 and at one time, the town was thought to be the former princely residence of Charenza, but today that seems unlikely.

In 1327, a town seal bore the name Chertz in Ruya (Rügen). The name "Garz", however, probably comes from the Slavic gardec or gard and means "fortified place" or "little castle" (as in ). The precursor of Garz is more likely to have been the town of Ruyendal.

Around the turn of the first millennium, the inhabitants of Rügen were from the East Germanic tribe of the Rugi, who, from the 7th century, were followed by the Rani, a West Slavic tribe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a Slavic castle with a rampart and settlement existed here as a royal residence. The well-preserved burgwall was seen by historical writers of the 19th and 20th centuries as that of the legendary prince's residence of Charenza. Recent interdisciplinary research in the years 2004 and 2005, however, has shown that the burgwall at Venz (between Gingst and Trent on the shores of the Neuendorfer Wiek) is much more likely to have been the aristocratic seat and temple castle of Charenza. The latter was surrendered without a fight on 16 June 1168 - one day after the conquest of the Jaromarsburg on Cape Arkona - to the King of Denmark Valdemar I and his army commander, Absalon of Roskilde, after earlier negotiations.