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German island in the Baltic
Kirr
is an
island
in the
Darss-Zingst Bodden Chain
south of the
Zingst Peninsula
on the German
Baltic Sea
coast. It is separated from the peninsula by the
Zingster Strom
. The island is a
nature reserve
within the
Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park
. It was formerly and is sometimes still called
Großer Kirr
or
Große Kirr
("Great Kirr"). This is to distinguish it from the northwestern part of the island, which was still a separate albeit much smaller island in the Zingster Strom in the second half of the 20th century, that used to be called
Kleiner Kirr
or
Kleine Kirr
("Small Kirr").
Geography
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]
The island has a length of 3.5 km, a maximum width of 1.5 km and only rises one metre above sea level. It lies in the lagoon of
Barther Bodden
on the
Baltic Sea
coast of north Germany, just a few metres south of the Baltic seaside resort of
Zingst
. On the east side of the island is the small hamlet of
Klein Kirr
; in the north are the ruins of an old farmstead.
Flora and fauna
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The island is covered by
salt marshes
and dissected by
creeks
. It is an ideal breeding ground for numerous birds, especially
waders
like
dunlin
,
ruff
,
redshank
,
black-tailed godwit
,
oystercatcher
,
avocet
and
lapwing
as well as the
black-headed gull
. In autumn the island acts as a resting place for several thousand
crane
over several weeks as they migrate south. As a consequence of its natural importance, walking on the island or landing boats there without permission is forbidden.
History
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Around 1700, the Kirr had three owners, the
Amt
of Barth (331.6 hectares), the town of Barth (219 hectares) and the Horn family from Divitz (20 hectares). The island was managed by a farmstead and was mainly used by several tenants who grazed cattle and raised crops. They were also allowed to fish around the island. Today the Kirr is still used for
cattle pasture
. In order to get the cows to their grazing fields there is a cattle ferry to the island from the village of
Muggenburg
.
External links
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]