Südfall (; ) is a small 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 ...

off the west coast of

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 ...

, one of the ten German ''

Hallig 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 ...

'' islands. It has a permanent population of two people. It covers an area of and is administratively part of Pellworm

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

History

Prior to the Grote Mandrenke flood in 1362, the area comprising the present-day island was a part of the former island of

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

in Edoms Hundred. As a result of the flood, which laid waste to much of Strand and submerged the city of Rungholt, three small islands were removed from the area of Strand: Südfall, Nübell (or "Nubel") and Nielandt. Over time, Südfall and Nübell were gradually eroded into the sea, and their inhabitants resettled on Nielandt, renaming it Südfall. In the catastrophic

Burchardi flood The Burchardi flood (also known as the second Grote Mandrenke) was a storm tide that struck the North Sea coast of North Frisia, Dithmarschen (in modern-day Germany) and southwest Jutland (in modern-day Denmark) on the night between 11 and 12 ...

of 1634, Strand was torn asunder by the sea and its largest settlements were destroyed, causing a great loss of life and property. Nearby Südfall, however, weathered the disaster. Its inhabitants made a living primarily by way of agriculture and fishing, supplemented by occasional

beachcombing Beachcombing is an activity that consists of an individual "combing" (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility. A beachcomber is a person who participates in the activity of beachcombing ...

. The twelve families who lived on the island perished in the Great Hallig Flood on 3–4 February 1825. The three warfts on the western side of the island were totally submerged, and the total area of the island was halved. The single warft that remains on the island today was constructed in 1828. Ownership of the island has changed hands numerous times since then. In 1910, the Countess Diana von Reventlow-Criminil purchased the island to spend her retirement years on it. After this, the Dethleffsen family rented out the island for a 50-year term. In 1921, Andreas Busch from Nordstrand discovered remnants of canal locks in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

() around Südfall. He mapped the area and discovered numerous traces of the area's former inhabitants, such as wells, fields, paths, and graves. Based on these findings, it was determined that Rungholt was situated near present-day Südfall prior to its destruction in 1362. Since 1960, the number of times per year that the island has flooded has increased from around 30 to nearly 70.

Modern times

Today, Südfall is part of the German state of

. Since 1957, the environmental group '' Verein Jordsand'' has served as the island's caretaker. It was granted official environmental protection in 1959, and is now part of the

Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park () is a national park in the Schleswig-Holstein area of the German Wadden Sea. It was founded by the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 October 1985 by the National Park Act of 22 July 1985 and ...

, which is in turn part of the larger

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

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 ...

. One house, inhabited by a water-warden and his wife, and several surrounding buildings are situated on the lone wharf on the island. A bird-conservation station and a watchpost/radio station of the '' German Maritime Search and Rescue Service'' () are maintained on the island.

Transportation

With permission from the National Park Service, Südfall is reachable from Nordstrand at low tide by foot or on horseback over the intertidal zone. In the summertime, the island is visited thrice per week by a ship from Pellworm. As Südfall is in the First Protection Zone () of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, accessing the island is otherwise prohibited.

Nature

The island has one main

tidal creek A tidal creek or tidal channel is a narrow inlet or estuary that is affected by the ebb and flow of ocean tides. Thus, it has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle, and flushes salts from inland soils. Tidal creeks a ...

(), which flows from the western portion of the island to a wide

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

on the eastern shore, emptying into the Wadden Sea. The

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es on the island have lain ungrazed for many years, leading to the rebounding of marshplants such as '' Armeria maritima'' (), ''

Artemisia maritima ''Artemisia maritima'' is a European species of wormwood known as sea wormwood, and also formerly often by its synonym ''Seriphidium maritimum''.Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ''Collins Flower Guide''. Harper Co ...

'' (), ''Limonium vulgare'' (), and '' Aster tripolium'' (). The intertidal zone around Südfall is protected from dredging to prevent the damage or destruction of cultural traces and artifacts. Luftaufnahmen Nordseekueste 2012-05-by-RaBoe-083.jpg, Südfall Sudfall P5232285jm.JPG, View of the warft and its buildings Hallig Südfall Strandflieder.jpg, Südfall Hallig Suedfall2.JPG, Path from Nordstrand to Südfall at low tide Krabbenkutter Ivonne Pellworm P5242390jm.JPG, A shrimp trawler near Südfall

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudfall Nature reserves in Schleswig-Holstein Halligen Islands of Schleswig-Holstein Pellworm