Rottumeroog (; ) is an uninhabited island in the

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 ...

and is part of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The island is one of three

West Frisian Islands The West Frisian Islands (, ; ) are a chain of islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, along the edge of the Wadden Sea. They continue further east as the German East Frisian Islands and are part of the Frisian Islands. From west to eas ...

in the province of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. It is situated between the islands of Rottumerplaat and

Borkum Borkum (; ) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist. Geography Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait (which forms the ...

. The island originates from the 15th or 16th century. At first the island was used for agriculture by the St. Juliana's Abbey from Rottum. Rottumeroog is now part of the natural reserve Rottum and access to the island is prohibited, save for people with a special permit.

Geography

Rottumeroog is located at in the municipality of

Het Hogeland Het Hogeland is a municipality in the north of the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. History The municipality of Het Hogeland was established on 1 January 2019 by merging the municipalities of Bedu ...

in the north of the province of

in the north of the

. It is situated off the coast of Groningen's mainland and it is the easternmost island of the

in the

, east of the island of Rottumerplaat, north of the island of

Zuiderduintjes Zuiderduintjes (; ) is an uninhabited island in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands. It is situated south of Rottumeroog, east of Rottumerplaat, and west of Borkum. The island is one of the three West Frisian Islands in the municipality of He ...

, and west of the East Frisian island of

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

). Rottumeroog does not have a solid core and slowly moves in southeastern direction as a result of sea currents. On the north side, land is gradually washed away; on the south side, new land is forming. Rottumeroog had a surface area of in 1995 and in 2007.

History

Between 1400 and 1540 CE, the island of Monnikenlangenoog had split into the islands of Bosch and Rottumeroog. Bosch had disappeared in the 18th century, but Rottumeroog still remains today.
Verzonken waddeneiland Moenkenlangenoe ontdekt
, '' Dagblad van het Noorden'', 2012. Retrieved on 27 April 2014. The name Rottumeroog means literally 'Island of Rottum', after the village of Rottum on the mainland of Groningen. The Benedictine St. Juliana's Abbey in Rottum used to own two-thirds of the island and used it for their livestock. After the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

the island's rights transferred to the province

before being sold to private persons in the 17th century. Between 1706 and 1717, Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty, having been banished from Ireland, owned and lived on the island. The province bought the island back in 1738 due to back maintenance, eventually the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

took over. Until 1965 the island was inhabited by a ''

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' and his family; since then the island has been uninhabited. Several buildings have been built on the island. In the 19th century the navigational beacon ''Zeekaap Rottumeroog'' was built. The structure is listed as a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regis ...

(''rijksmonument'') since 1988 and was moved southwards in 1999. The ''voogt'' had a house as well; this building was demolished in 1998 due to the encroaching North Sea. In February 2014, the bird observation post was removed from the island. Later in 2014 all remaining buildings on the islands, except for the Zeekaap Rottumeroog were removed due to the changing shape and position of the island. The future area of the island is uncertain. In 2012, the island broke into two during high tide, giving rise to the claim that the island might disappear in the Ems

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

in the near future.

Natural reserve

The

, in which Rottumeroog is situated, is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

( natural criteria viii, ix, and x) since 2009. Together with Rottumerplaat and

, the island forms the natural reserve Rottum. The island is generally not maintained, the shape and position are left for nature to change. The island is uninhabited and access is usually prohibited; several excursions to the islands are allowed each year under strict conditions. The island is home to birds and

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

s.Rottum > Flora en fauna

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.

References

External links

* *
Friends of Rottumeroog and Rottumerplaat Foundation
{{Authority control Het Hogeland Islands of Groningen (province) West Frisian Islands Uninhabited islands of the Netherlands