Halligen

The holms are small, little or no protected marsh islands off the coast, which may be inundated by storm surges. They are located in the North Frisian Wadden Sea to the North Sea coast of Schleswig -Holstein and along the West coast of Denmark. The ten are still operating today to 956 acres German holms are grouped in a circle around the island Pellworm that is not a holm itself. Seven of the ten holms are inhabited today.

The holms rise only a few meters above sea level, which is why they are during a strong flood with the exception of the mounds, artificially created hills where the houses are flooded ( " land base "). Your flora has saltwater resistant species, which give the landscape its particular character. Another special feature is that the holm Soil stores no fresh water, so it except rain water on the islets are no natural fresh water. Previously why the rain water was collected in the Fethingen.

The holms are geologically young islands, which are formed by mud deposition or slurry during flooding just last millennium old, untergegangenem marshland, or - in the case of Nordstrandischmoor - the remnant of a once larger island.

In contrast to the islets have the North Frisian Islands Sylt, Fohr Amrum and a core Geest, North beach and Pellworm are remnants of the old marshes. Occasionally grew holms together by landings. Since the holms long had no bank stabilization, its shape changed frequently. Over time, many disappeared, others were with the mainland. The Hamburg Holm is no longer an island, but connected to the mainland, but has all the other features of a holm on.

• 4.1 German holms
• 4.2 Defunct holms
• 4.3 holms in Denmark

History

Etymology

Can be derived Clearly the word " holm " is not. One possibility is the interpretation as holm = small island. However, was to the 19th century with " holm " also "all lying on the open sea unbedeichte country " are referred to, " which bey the tide is wholly or partly flooded ," which is why a direct discharge of holm is unlikely. More likely, therefore, is the common Indo-European root kel = extend to which, among other things hill (English hills ) belongs. That an etymological relationship to Holland in terms of " flat land " is, is excluded.

Another guess is that the word " holm " has its origin in the salt production in the Frisian Uthlanden, which has contributed to the destruction of the country ( see below). This would give the term " holm " close to the typical Hall Place Names of salt production, with a reconstructed Germanic root * Hallan for (salt) crust.

Formation

Holms consist of marching ground, which is often just a thin layer over older forms bogs that were in the protection of spits, who graduated the valley to the North Sea through almost entirely developed. It formed one with streams crisscrossed, poorly drained lowland area with swamp forests. As during the Roman period and the medieval optimum temperature increased the water level of the North Sea, increasingly penetrated sea water through gaps in the spits. It was formed from marine sediments were deposited, alluvial soil. The Moore absorbed themselves with salt water and died. The ground sloped, which were deposited by frequent flooding new sediments. By simultaneous erosion of the form this alluvial changed permanently.

Due to lack of or little coastal protection and the associated frequent floods, there were still major changes to the coastline and much more holms, which often changed their forms. Some existed only for a short time until a watt of electricity it more and more reduced, others enlarged by Sedimentanlagerung and grew together, such as Nordmarsch and Langeneß the present Langeneß. The exact procedure is difficult to reconstruct, as there are from the period before 1700 only a few tickets.

Living on the islets

Frequent flooding the shape of the holms changed constantly until the attachment of the holm edges in the 19th century. Again and again had abandoned houses and mounds and moved inland. It remained therefore received only a few old houses and churches. The constant change of edges crashes and landings has remained.

The typical vegetation form the holms is the salt meadow. Agriculture is therefore very limited on the islets possible, which is why almost all men worked in earlier centuries as sailors and whalers, while the women made hay and took care of the cattle. Individual residents thus came to considerable wealth. Until the 1940s there was Allmendewirtschaft, where the land was re-surveyed every year by the winter storms and the mowing and grazing rights were divided. By wool processing and sale of the products, while women added money. Grain, however, had to be introduced.

For the daily diet was dependent on what was found on and around the holm around ( Porren, fish, bird eggs and sea birds ). Building materials had to be from afar brought to the treeless holms, why you like flotsam used. As fuel of sheep dung from their winter stables was collected until the last century, to Ditten formed called chunks and dried in the sun. For this purpose, cow dung were used sometimes. As an alternative could be obtained at low tide Seetorf and dried.

The original language of the islets was Halligfriesisch, but this is largely died out and was replaced by Low German or High German. Until the 20th century, women wore on Hooge regularly a festive costume. Today it is still occasionally shown on tourist events.

Water supply

As the march bottom of the holms stores no fresh water, the population was dependent on rainwater in two different reservoirs, the Sood, a protected against contamination cistern in which the derived from the rooftops drinking water for the people and the Fething, the cattle the accessible water Kuhle, at the highest point of the mound has been saved. It was always the danger that water supplies would prolonged dry season or salinized during storm surges. In such cases, fresh water had to be imported from the mainland by boat.

Since the 1960s, water pipes were to permanently inhabited holms built from the mainland. The holms Südfall and Norderoog, but which is uninhabited, but have up to now not have a fresh water line.

Salt extraction

Making money on the holm settled, was enormous almost exclusively by peat and salt-works, although the share of the king and duke demanded. Protected by Kajedeiche was lying under the marsh and mudflats Salztorf, dead, fully Sucked with saltwater marsh, mined, dried, and burned. The ash was mixed with salt water and boiled in the " salt shack " in a kettle until the salt was completely dry. Alone on Galmsbüll there were 16 salt stalls. Peat was dangerous to a large extent if the degraded areas fell below the level of mean high tide. The Halligbewohner dug itself so to speak, from the country. 1515 salt mining was banned in order to stop the loss of land. Nevertheless, it was reduced to Galmsbüll until 1782 salt. 1800 had to be abandoned, the shrunken holm.

Coastal protection

While on the mainland and larger islands as early as 14-15. Century began diking and land reclamation and always better levees protecting the country, the further outward holms were exposed to the floods. Attempts by the dukes of Schleswig, the Dagebüller Bay embank by a dam across multiple holms of time, failed finally after almost 80 years of construction in 1634 at the Burchardiflut. In the following centuries, the land reclamation restricted to the ongrowth on the mainland and the polders already gained. Some larger holms as Ockholm and Dagebüll were with the mainland, country involved more small holms as Waygaard and Grote sand in newfound polders. The holms lying outside the polders had to contend with the changing flow conditions, because the tidal range increased by dikes limited mudflats in now. Alone 1717-1720 to a quarter of the land area have been lost, as appears from a letter of Ratmanns of Oland to the King, in which he asked for a reduction of fees.

Since the great loss of land in the so-called holm flood of 1825, almost all devoured except the still existing holms, the state took over the supervision of coastal protection. In the following decades, the holm edges were attached. Some holms as Hooge received a summer dike. However, the Halligbewohner fought often against these measures, mainly because they had to bear the costs, but also because they are the tidal creeks, which now had to be dammed to no attack to provide the sea, were used as ports and transport routes. Only under Prussian government to protect the holms 1894 was nationalized.

Today, the area of ​​the holms takes no more from, but rather increases by investing fascines, particularly along the dams, the individual holms, Oland and Nordstrandischmoor, connect with the mainland. The soaring heights of storm surges require periodic adjustments. 1960, the holm protection was included in the program North and increases the mounds and fixed. To protect the holms also contribute to the upstream in the West North Frisian Außensände.

Current situation

Today, the ten German holms in the National Park Schleswig -Holstein Wadden Sea lie. The managed holms Nordstrandischmoor, Gröde, Oland, Langeneß and Hooge are surrounded by the reserve, but not integrated into the area. The smaller holms Habel, Südfall, Süderoog, Norderoog and the Hamburg Holm are part of the National Park. Mudflats and information sessions are offered by tourism offices and by the National Park Service. The Wadden Sea Conservation Station operates on Hooge and Langeneß own stations. Habel, Südfall and Norderoog are cared for by the association Jordsand.

Residential and farm buildings are located on meter-high, artificially created hills, mounds, to be protected from storm surges. Since the flood of 1962 all the houses have received a storm surge resistant protective room upstairs - new is the reinforced concrete, historically the Frisian houses are built in stand system made from wood and covered with thatch. Some holms, such as Hooge, are surrounded by a summer dike, in others the coast is protected by fascines and stone layers.

On the islets live a total of about 230 people. Your purchase today they relate mainly from tourism, especially from the day tourism. Agriculture comprises mainly livestock from grazing on the fertile, frequently flooded salt marshes on behalf of farmers who live on the mainland. Since the holms as a breakwater off the mainland have an important function in coastal protection, part of the population is employed by the Office of Rural Areas as workers in coastal protection.

On Hooge, Langeneß, Oland, Nordstrandischmoor and Gröde there are small churches, next to cemeteries. For school-age children, the smallest schools in Germany to be entertained: so 2011/2012 three children were on Hooge taught by a teacher.

Fauna and Flora

Since the majority of the holms is repeatedly flooded in, thrive there only plants that can tolerate salt water. Well known is the holm lilacs bloom in midsummer. Beach sea plantain, which was harvested and cooked ( " south ") occurs today only rarely. Trees only grow on the mounds. In the Waterside area brackish water contract terminates, thatch, which is used as a domestic building material for centuries for covering the houses and the landscape shapes grows.

In the migration period the holms are populated with brent geese. In order to promote their protection, NABU, protection station Wadden Sea, WWF and the National Park Service since 1998 to organize Hooge, since 2001 on all inhabited holms the Ringelgans days. Farmers receive compensation for the not inconsiderable loss of one kilogram of grass per goose per day.

List of holms

German holms

The ten German holms all belong to the district of North Friesland.

* Population without holm Oland, in the municipality of Langeneß

Instead of a mound ** Norderoog has a pile construction.

In the west, to the open sea, the German holms are the three North Frisian Außensände upstream, Außensände who, through their wave-breaking effect from holm protection. These are flat, unprotected, unvegetated sandbanks dry out in the rule, but do not count as mainland. Contact northward in Kniepsand before Amrum and Sylt sandy beach and continued southward in the sand beach of St. Peter -Ording.

Defunct holms

Since the emergence of the holms until the 19th century about 100 holms are gone. Not all of them were inhabited. Part they grew up together with other holms, partly they were joined by diking with the mainland. Many holms went under, many without ever being mentioned anywhere in writing. Other agricultural moored small holms are indistinguishable from other settlements built on mounds; in some cases, recalls a " reverberant " in today's place names in a history as holm.

• Hadersbüllhallig,
• Lehnshallig 1666 was integrated into the Gotteskoog and gave its name to an alternate station of the cruise track,
• Kophallig,
• Great Holm and several other mounds in what is now Wiedingharder Gotteskoog retained long after the reclamation of the polder at least in winter holm their character. The name is only history is only since the improved drainage in the 1920s.

The Dagebüller Bay was in 1566, when the country was Wiedingharde determined by reclamation of the Gotteskoogs. In her most holms were. The larger holms received only a summer dike and were diked to the mainland later:

• Ockholm 1515
• Fahretoft 1686
• Dagebüll 1703

Was of the smaller

• Galmsbüll the northernmost inhabited German holm and went under in the holm flood in 1825. At this time she was no longer inhabited. Since 1939 the site of the former Holm is included in the Galmsbüllkoog.
• Waygaard, and
• Grote sand were included in 1682 in the old Christian -Albrechts- enclosed land with and are now districts of Dagebüll or Galmsbüll.
• Tefkebüll was dammed in 1704 in the new Christian -Albrechts- polder.
• Nordtoft,
• Nordmark and
• De wiper been removed by the altered flow in the following years.
• Christian Holm was an uninhabited holm north of Dagebull, which was completely enclosed in 1850 from the foothills of the Marienkoogs.

• Appelland grew by damming of the separating Priels beginning of the 20th century with Gröde together.
• Hingstneß, a untergangenes in the First Groten Mandränke parish between Oland and Gröde in 1436 was still quite large with five taxpayers. 1560, the church was gone, 1711 Holm was last mentioned.
• Nordmarsch and
• Butwehl grew to 1869 with Langeneß together.

• Small holm,
• Great Holm and
• Shepherd holm, 1858, three holms in Bottschlotter lake, there are now in Herrenkoog. Only the shepherds holm was fortified and inhabited.

• Hare Holm is now a farm in Stedesand.

• Oselichshallig

• Lundingland and
• Südhörn lay east of Habel and are removed.
• Remained Been holm in 1634 left the remainder of the Strander parish Wester Woldt. As of 1798, the heavily scaled holm was gone uninhabited and 1890.
• Hain Holm (also Hayenshallig ), removed after 1860, lay to the east of Hooge
• Herst or Horst is on the map of John Petreus from 1601 and several maps of John Mejer that represent the situation before the Burchardiflut 1634 to recognize as uninhabited holm next Gröde.
• Silboll,
• Gardsland and
• Ebland appear on the map of 1601 islets north of the island beach (Old North beach ). Some thirty years later, they are no longer located.

• Gaikenbüller holm was after the Burchardiflut from the parish Gaikebüll on the island beach, where in 1629 the Frisians paid homage to the King of Denmark, left, and is now part of north beach.

• Moder and holm
• Harmelfshallig were located south of Hamburg Holm and 1756 were already removed.

• Pieckhallig,
• Meed and
• Jacob Holm were included in the Cecilienkoog.

• Pohnshallig in 1634 separated from Old North beach, was uninhabited since the flood of 1751 and 1924 was diked ( Pohnshalligkoog ). In the meantime, the holm served the Schobüllern for hay.

• Finck house holm in 1936 part of the Finkhaushalligkoogs.

• Nübell or Nubel and
• Nielandt were left together with Südfall Rungholt. The uninhabited holm Nübell went under in 1634, the old Südfall was uninhabitable in 1800. After 1825 former residents settled on Nielandt, which now received the name Südfall.

• Audtshallig (or Autzham ) and
• Trentham (or Tretzhalg ) lay south of the island beach in the bay, in which Rungholt had found, and have recently shown on a map of 1597.

• Mr (s) nhallig north of Friedrichstadt in 1570 bedeicht.
• The Obbenshalligen in the bay between Lundberg Harde and eiderstedt 1565 were drawn into the dike of Obbenskoogs.

Holms in Denmark

• Jordsand is flooded since 1999 and since then only a sandbank.
• Mando is since 1937 a dike protected " land base " and since then no more holm; upstream of the southwest, the high sand Koresand.
• Langli is the last existing Holm of Denmark

Reception

Literally the holms have been processed in the holm novels land base and the holm Pastor Wilhelm Lobsien as well as in the novels of Sönke Hansen series by Kari Koester - Delete. In the open-air museum Molfsee an old holm house can be seen. In the county town of Husum stands in the central market square, the monument of a holm farmer, the " Tine Fountain ".