Everything about The North Frisian Islands totally explained
The
North Frisian Islands are a group of islands in the
Wadden Sea, a part of the
North Sea, off the western coast of
Schleswig-Holstein,
Germany. The German islands are in the traditional region of
North Frisia and are part of the
Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park and the
Kreis (district) of
Nordfriesland. Occasionally
Heligoland is also included in this group.
Sometimes the North Frisian Islands include also the
Danish Wadden Sea Islands on the western coast of
Jutland,
Denmark. They belong to
Sønderjyllands Amt and
Ribe Amt. The ethnic group of
Frisians lives only on the German-ruled islands.
The German islands
There are four larger islands and ten tiny islets. The names of the large islands are
Sylt,
Föhr,
Amrum, and
Pellworm. The islets are called
Halligen. In
medieval times the present-day
peninsula Nordstrand and Pellworm as well as the Halligen were part of the large island of Strand. This island was torn to pieces in a
disastrous storm tide in
1634.
Sylt (
Söl'ring North Frisian:
Söl' ; ) is the largest of the North Frisian Islands, consisting of about 100 km². It is accessible by a
causeway called the
Hindenburgdamm; this causeway is only accessible to trains. In the summer months the island is crowded with tourists, including those who have a preference for
nudism. Sylt's image is that of a meeting point for the jet-set. The main town on the island is
Westerland. The northern end of Sylt, the
Ellenbogen ("elbow"), is Germany's northernmost point.
Lager Sylt, the
Nazi concentration camp on
Alderney was named after the island.
Compared with Sylt,
Föhr (
Fering North Frisian:
Feer; ) is a relatively silent island. Its area is 82 km². Sixteen old
hamlets are scattered over the island, some of which already existed in the
13th century. The main town is
Wyk on the south eastern shore. Wyk is a popular German seaside resort. There is no bridge or causeway connecting Föhr and the mainland; so ferries are the only connection. The ferry port, the harbour and Föhr marina are in Wyk.
Amrum (
Öömrang North Frisian:
Oomram) is only 20 km², but it's popular with tourists, though less crowded than Sylt. The western half of the island features a beach 12 km in length and 1 km in width. The villages are situated on the eastern shore, with Wittdün being the most important of them.
Pellworm (
Mooring North Frisian:
Pälweerm) and the peninsula of
Nordstrand (
Mooring:
Nordströön) are the remains of the submerged island of
Strand. The main town of this sunken island was
Rungholt, thought to be the largest town in the surrounding area, but it was totally destroyed and submerged by a storm in
1362, 272 years before another storm destroyed Strand itself. Nordstrand has an area of 49 km², Pellworm 37 km².
Smaller remains of Strand are the ten islets called
Halligen. The houses on these tiny islets are built on artificial hills. In a storm tide only these hills rise above the sea, while the remainder of the islet is flooded. The names of the
Halligen are Nordmarsch-Langeness,
Norderoog, Süderoog, Nordstrandischmoor,
Oland, Südfall, Gröde-Appelland, Hooge,
Habel and the Hamburger Hallig.
The Danish islands
Fanø is located just off
Esbjerg to which it's connected by ferry. The main towns on Fanø are Nordby and Sønderho. Other towns include Fanø Vesterhavsbad and Rindby. The island is 16 km long and 5 km wide, and has an area of 56 km². As of 2005, about 3169 people live there. A variety of environments is to be found on Fanø. Not surprisingly, a very common one is sand. The island's whole western shore is made up of beaches, and the sea off the island's northwest end is also home to the "Søren-Jessens-Sand", a vast
sandbank. Fanø also has
heath and a small
pine wood.
Mandø is a smaller island farther south, a bit farther from the mainland. It is Denmark's only
Hallig, being much like the islands bearing that description among the German islands. A dike on Mandø keeps the sea at bay. Much of the islanders' history involves efforts to reclaim parts of their island from the sea.
Rømø is currently the southernmost of Denmark's
Wadden Sea Islands (a little, uninhabited one called Jordsand was farther south, but it sank in
1999). Rømø is linked to the Danish mainland by a road running across a causeway, and the island also lies only about 3 km from its German neighbour Sylt, to which it's connected by ferry. It is home to a number of small communities such as Kongsmark, Østerby, Lakolk, and Sønderstrand.
Langli is the smallest and northernmost island among Denmark's share of the
archipelago, in the Ho Bugt north of Esbjerg. It was once part of a peninsula whose landward stretch was washed away in a storm tide centuries ago. Since then, another
spit has formed to the west, called
Skallingen, and now shields Langli from some of the sea's more destructive tendencies.
Langli is nowadays home to a natural science station, housed in a villa built in the
20th century.
Langli has an area of about 0.8 km² and can be reached from the mainland over an
ebbevej (watershed) that's 3 km long.
Koresand is a former island and currently a
sandbank southwest off
Mandø.
Further Information
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