Eiderstedt (german: Eiderstedt, ; da, Ejdersted; North Frisian: ''Ääderstää'') is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

in the district of

Nordfriesland Nordfriesland (; da, Nordfrisland; frr, Nordfraschlönj ), also known as North Frisia, is the northernmost district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia (with the exception ...

in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

federal state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Overview

It is approximately 30 km in length and 15 km in width and has been created through diking (

polders A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plain ...

) from three islands: Eiderstedt around

Tönning Tönning ( German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. History Tönning was destroyed in the ...

, Utholm around Tating, and Evershop around

Garding Garding () is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It has a population of 2,700 (as of 2007). It is located in the Eiderstedt peninsula, and part of the ''Amt'' Eiderstedt. Notable people * Theodor Mommsen ...

. The diking started around the year 1000 AD. Since these three islands were administrative districts of their own, the area was originally called ''Dreilande'' - "Three Lands".

Alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Al ...

soil won from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

makes the area well-suited for agriculture. At present, tourism dominates, particularly in the city of

Sankt Peter-Ording Sankt Peter-Ording () is a popular German seaside spa and a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the only German seaside resort that has a sulphur spring and thus terms itself "North Sea spa and sul ...

on the peninsula's western tip. The Westerhever lighthouse is the peninsula's main emblem and the most prominent lighthouse in Germany. The

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern cont ...

, the

Eider Barrage The Eider Barrage (german: Eidersperrwerk) is located at the mouth of the river Eider near Tönning on Germany’s North Sea coast. Its main purpose is to protect against storm surges from the North Sea. It is Germany’s largest coastal prot ...

on the

Eider River The Eider (german: Die Eider; da, Ejderen; Latin: ''Egdor'' or ''Eidora'') is the longest river in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The river starts near Bordesholm and reaches the southwestern outskirts of Kiel on the shores of the Balt ...

and the Katinger Watt, marshlands won from the sea in the process of the construction of the Eidersperrwerk, are other tourist attractions on the peninsula.

History

The constant threat of the sea overcoming their habitations forced Eiderstedt to a special form of self-administration at a very early stage as diking was possible only through strong cooperation. Originally settled by

Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany ...

, Eiderstedt was part of the Duchy of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

from the 14th century on. In 1864, the Danish Duchy of Schleswig became part of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

. Prussian administration gave Eiderstedt independence as a district. In 1970, the district of Eiderstedt was merged with the districts of

Husum Husum (, frr, Hüsem) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of ...

and

Südtondern Südtondern is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History Its seat is in Niebüll. It was formed on 1 January 2008 from the former ''Ämter'' Bökingharde, Karrharde, Süde ...

to form the district of Nordfriesland.

Amt Eiderstedt

The peninsula represents also a same named

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

, with the administrative seat in the town of

. The only town of the peninsula not part of the Amt is

External links

Eiderstedt.net (German)Eiderstedt tourism central (German)
{{Authority control Regions of Schleswig-Holstein North Sea Peninsulas of Schleswig-Holstein