Stoltera bei Rostock, Protected coastal area in Rostock, Germany

Stoltera bei Rostock is a roughly 3-kilometer stretch of Baltic coastline running west from Warnemünde to the Geinitzort, named after geologist Eugen Geinitz. Its steep cliff drops up to 20 meters to the sea, and the 70-hectare strip is largely protected as the Stoltera nature reserve. A coastal forest of red and common beeches, sessile and red oaks, birches and sweet chestnuts covers the slope.

The name Stoltera comes from Low German, where 'Stolter Ort' describes a steep point of land jutting into the Baltic. The area became protected to safeguard the special habitats and the glacial geology found along the coastline.

The name Stoltera probably derives from Low German "Stolter Ort", a steep headland, though another reading links it to the personal name Stolter and the old word Aa for a stream. Ships carried the name, among them the freighter MS Stoltera of the Deutsche Seereederei Rostock and two sea rescue boats of the GDR service, and from 1976 to 1991 a Städteexpress of the Deutsche Reichsbahn ran between Rostock and Berlin under it.

The coastal hiking trail and the Baltic Sea Cycle Route both run through the Stoltera. Two educational paths, one on astronomy and one on natural history, branch off the main route. The cliff edge is unsecured in places, so keep to marked paths and wear sturdy footwear.

The cliff is a nesting site for sand martins and several beetle species. The name Stoltera has been carried by ships, including the freighter MS Stoltera of the Rostock state shipping company and two sea rescue boats of the GDR rescue service, and by a Städteexpress train that ran between Rostock and Berlin from 1976 to 1991.