Sylt-Ost (translated, East Sylt) is a former municipality on the island of
Sylt, in the district of
Nordfriesland, in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It used to be the administrative seat of the ''
Amt Landschaft Sylt
Landschaft Sylt is an ''Amt (administrative division), Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It covers the island of Sylt (except the independent municipality Sylt (municipality), Sylt ...
'' and a municipality into which a number of villages had been amalgamated in 1970. However, following a referendum in May 2008, Sylt-Ost merged with
Westerland and
Rantum to form the collective municipality ''
Gemeinde Sylt'' which was created on 1 January 2009. Since 2009, the seat of the ''Amt Landschaft Sylt'' has been in Westerland.
Subdivision
The former municipality "Sylt-Ost" was created from five villages in 1970:
*
Archsum
*
Keitum
*
Morsum
*
Munkmarsch (previously an ''Ortsteil'' of Keitum)
*
Tinnum
The five villages are now ''Ortsteile'' of ''Gemeinde Sylt''.
Politics
Mayors
*1986-1996: Heinz Maurus,
CDU
*1996-2005: Ingbert Liebing, CDU
*2005-2008: Christoph Schmatloch, CDU
*2008: Erik Kennel
Arms
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
: Per fess low or and azure. Above a sun rising in his splendour gules, accompanied by five eight-pointed mullets azure. Below a herring argent swimming to the left.
Schleswig-Holstein Municipal Roll of Arms
(in German)
The coat of arms was designed by a Sylt artist and granted in 2002. The five mullets (stars) in it symbolise the villages of the municipality. The herring is meant to depict the former importance of fishery for the area, it was already used as the seal of the Sylt bailiffs in the 17th century. The colours are the traditional North Frisian colours which are also reflected in the island's national costume.
Economy
The most important factor of income in the area is 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 ...
, which nowadays completely dominates the Sylt economy. Having been the most important sector prior to the arrival of the tourist business, 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 ...
today plays a minor role.
References
{{Authority control
Former municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein
Sylt
Nordfriesland