On the Oie a total of three different deposition phases are evident, so that rocks originating in different parts of Scandinavia may be found on the island.

In 1749 Greifswald ended the lease of Wrangel and transferred the buildings that were at the time present on the island to the ownership of the peasants.

[5] In 1883 the island was sold to the Prussian state by Greifswald as the city could not longer afford to keep the lighthouse and the emergency rescue operations running.

After World War I, only one family remained on the island, that of Fritz Halliger who lived a natural and self-sustaining life with his children, who he himself educated.

[7] Many prominent people such as Asta Nielsen and Thomas Mann visited the island during this time and it became the backdrop to the 1932 movie F.P.1.

In an operation designated Lighthouse, Wernher von Braun oversaw attempts to launch A3 rockets in December 1937, each of which failed.

By the end of World War II the Red Army dismantled most of the rocketry infrastructure, leaving in the early 1950s to make way for the GDR Navy which permitted tourists to visit the island until 1957.

As of the 2000s, the islet is an uninhabited sea bird reserve,[1] save for a single man who works the light house, manages the small emergency yacht harbour (depth ca.