Putbus (German: [ˈpʊtbʊs] ⓘ) is a town on the southeastern coast of the island of Rügen, in the county of Vorpommern-Rügen in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, close to the Baltic Sea.

The terrain around Putbus is undulating and the coastline of the Rügischer Bodden, on which it lies, is characterized by an alternation of flat stretches of shore with steep banks.

The municipalities within the borough are: Altkamp, Alt-Lanschvitz, Beuchow, Darsband, Dolgemost, Dumgenevitz, Freetz, Glowitz, Gremmin, Groß-Stresow, Güstelitz, Kasnevitz, Klein-Stresow, Ketelshagen, Kransevitz, Krakvitz, Krimvitz, Lauterbach, Lonvitz, Muglitz, Nadelitz, Neuendorf, Neukamp, Neu-Lanschvitz, Pastitz, Posewald, Strachtitz, Vilmnitz, Wobbanz, Wreechen and the island of Vilm.

For a town, Putbus has an unusually high proportion of agricultural land and forest that covers 89% of the territory in the borough.

The lords of Putbus had the same status in terms of land ownership as the princes of Rügen and were regarded as a collateral line.

From 1808 to 1823, Prince Malte of Putbus built his residence and a bathing area in Lauterbach along the lines of Bad Doberan.

The town is also notable for the small theatre and the Crown Prince's residence (now a tourist office and museum).

The town is connected to the rest of Rügen by the narrow gauge steam railway known as Rasender Roland and by good roads and cycle tracks.

Putbus is located at the southeastern tip of the island of Rügen, close to the Baltic Sea coast, and has a distinct maritime nature relative to the German inland, the average temperature in all months is above 1 °C (34 °F), and the summer is much cooler than inland areas.

The seats were divided after the last local elections as follows:[7] Harald Burwitz (FDP) was chosen as Mayor of Putbus.

The park also has other unusual dendrological specimens such as giant and ancient sequoias, cedars, yellow-blossomed horse chestnuts and tulip poplars.

In the 18th century a pleasure garden along French lines was created at the initiative of Count Moritz Ulrich I of Putbus.

The Orangery or greenhouse was built in 1824 in place of the belvedere, cancelled in 1804/05, and an ice house (1816–1819), based on plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Until 1945, the Orangery was mainly used to acclimatize non-native shrubs intended for the park and to enable pot plants arranged around the palace during the summer to survive the winter.

At the beginning of 1996 the main building was largely rebuilt in just 16 weeks and, on 24 May 1996, it was handed over to become the artistic exhibition centre for the island of Rügen.

The royal stables were used to keep horses and to store harnesses and coaches for the prince's family and their guests, as well as providing lodgings for the stablehands.

The grounds of the royal stables in Putbus's palace park also include the riding area and the old smithy.

The original site of the palace is indicated today by means of a few metal posts, that make clear the ground plan of the building in the current field.

In 1826 a remodelling was carried out under Schinkel's pupil, Johann Gottlieb Steinmeyer, in which gables were added above the ends of the building and over the portico.

A clearly divided area of parkland fills the inner ring of the square, whose centre point is marked by a tall obelisk.

Until the Second World War, the Pedagogium was the most important educational institution in Western Pomerania after the University of Greifswald.

Since 2002, the Pädagogium has housed the Putbus IT College, a private education and training facility for computer science professionals.

The memorial was made by the sculptor, Werner Stötzer, with an inscription by the Czech author, Julius Fučík.

Between Lonvitz and Lauterbach on the Rasender Roland railway line there is a megalithic tomb (34°21′01.43″N 13°29′55.33″E / 34.3503972°N 13.4987028°E / 34.3503972; 13.4987028) from the New Stone Age.

In 1999 a modern garage was built to plans by Stralsund architect, Niclas Dünnebacke, that is combined with the light railway station.

The antenna of the 4 KW transmitter is a 51-metre-high, insulated, guyed, steel lattice mast with a cross-shaped roof capacitor at the top.

In order to save it from being dismantled, in mid-2010 the media authority ran a tender to find private operators.

[10] From the Putbus events calendar the following regular events with large regional or national following are worth mentioning ntheit: The L 29 state road runs through Putbus, which, as one of Rügen's "tourist side roads", forms part of the German Avenue Route - the section from Rügen to Rheinsberg.

From Lauterbach harbour various excursions are offered during the summer season, including trips around the island of Vilm in the Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve as well as lagoon cruises through the Rügischen Bodden.

On 7 June 1993 a lifeboat belonging to the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) was christened with the name Putbus and has since been stationed in the harbour of Lauterbach.