The ''Halligen'' (German, singular ''Hallig'', ) or the ''halliger'' (Danish, singular ''hallig'') are small islands without protective dikes. They are variously pluralized in English as the Halligen, Halligs, Hallig islands, or Halligen islands. There are ten German ''halligen'' in the

North Frisian Islands The North Frisian Islands (, ; ''Öömrang'' and ''Fering'' ; ''Söl'ring'' ; ) are the Frisian Islands off the coast of North Frisia. The term covers both the North Frisian Islands in the narrow sense (in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) and the Dan ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

–

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

coast in the district of

Nordfriesland Nordfriesland (; ; Low German: Noordfreesland), also known as North Frisia, is the northernmost Districts of Germany, district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia (with the e ...

and one remaining hallig at the west coast of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

( Langli).

Naming

The name is cognate to Old-English ''halh'', meaning "slightly raised ground isolated by marsh". The very existence of the ''halligen'' is a result of frequent floods and poor coastal protection. The floods were much more common in the Middle Ages and coastal protection was much poorer.

Aspects

The ''halligen'' have areas ranging from 7 to 956 ha, and are often former parts of the mainland, separated therefrom by storm tide

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. Some are parts of once much bigger islands sundered by the same forces. Some, owing to sediment deposition, have actually grown together to form larger ones. Langeneß (or Langeness) includes a former island by that same name, and two others that were called Nordmarsch and Butwehl. Dwellings and commercial buildings are built upon metre-high, man-made mounds, called '' Warften'' in German or '' Værft'' in Danish, to guard against storm tides. Some ''halligen'' also have overflow dikes. Not very many people live on the ''halligen''. Their livelihoods are mainly based on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

, coastal protection, and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. This last activity mainly involves raising

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

in the fertile, often flooded, salt meadows. The ''halligen'' are to be found in the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer National Park. The commercially developed ''halligen'' of Nordstrandischmoor, Gröde, Oland, Langeneß, and Hooge are surrounded by the protected area, but not an integral part of it. The smaller ''halligen'', Habel, Südfall,

Süderoog Süderoog (; ; North Frisian: ''Saruug'' or ''Saaruuch'') is one of the ''Halligen'', a group of islands in the North Frisian Wadden Sea, off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein in north Germany. It belongs administratively to the parish of Pellw ...

, and Norderoog as well as the Hamburger Hallig are parts of the national park. Walks on the

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

and informational meetings are offered by tourist boards and the park administration. In the west the German ''halligen'' are protected from the open sea by the North Frisian Barrier Island.

Gallery

File:Halligen 1650.png, The Halligen area around 1650 on a map by Johannes Mejer File:Halligen 1858.png, The North Frisian Halligen area around 1850, showing changes 1895 Alberts Blühende Hallig anagoria.JPG, A hallig: the salt meadow in bloom File:1906 Eckner Halligwarft während einer Sturmflut anagoria.JPG, Alexander Eckener: ''Warft of a Hallig during a storm tide'', 1906 File:30 Halligbahn 1984 (15528408194).jpg, Dagebüll hallig railway, flooded, in 1984

List of Halligen

Currently, there are 10 ''halligen'' in Germany. The following list does not include formerly existing Halligen that have either vanished or merged with current ''halligen'' or the mainland: * Langeneß – 956 ha, 16 ''Warften'', about 110 inhabitants.

Narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

connection to Oland (over

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

). * Hooge – 574 ha, 10 ''Warften'', about 120 inhabitants. * Gröde – 277 ha, 2 ''Warften'', 11 inhabitants. * Nordstrandischmoor; 175 ha, 4 ''Warften'', 18 inhabitants.

One-room school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

house. Narrow gauge railway connection to mainland. * Oland – 96 ha, 1 ''Warft'', about 30 inhabitants. Narrow gauge railway connection to mainland and Langeneß. *

– 60 ha, 1 ''Warft'', 2 inhabitants. * Südfall – 50 ha, 1 ''Warft'', bird sanctuary. * Hamburger Hallig – 50 ha, 2 ''Warften'', uninhabited, inn occupied in summer, joined to the mainland by a 4 km-long causeway and a

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

. * Norderoog – 9 ha, no ''Warften'', bird sanctuary tended year-round. * Habel – 3.6 ha, 1 ''Warft'', uninhabited, bird sanctuary occupied in summer. On the Danish side, one still exists: * Langli Also Danish Mandø used to be a hallig, but it has dikes today. The German peninsula and former island of Großer Werder on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

coast is also nicknamed "Baltic Hallig" (''Ostsee-Hallig'') due to its remote situation and appearance.

References

External links