Witsum (, North Frisian: ''Wiisem'') is a municipality on the island of

Föhr Föhr (; ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Feer''; ) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest North Sea ...

, 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 ...

, 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 ...

Geography

Witsum is the smallest village on Föhr. From here one can see the

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

and

Amrum Amrum (; Öömrang, ''Öömrang'' North Frisian: ''Oomram'') is one of the North Frisian Islands on the Germany, German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-H ...

. Many

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s ( migratory birds among them) use the stream ''Godel'', the only "river" on Föhr, to hatch. The hamlet is situated on a

geest Geest (, , ) is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outw ...

land edge; there is no sea dike. A hill called ''Sylvert'' is located West of Witsum. There is a saying in the area that translates to: "What ''Mount Everest'' is for the world, the ''Sylvert'' is to our beloved island."

History

Witsum was first recorded in 1509. As a part of Westerland Föhr, it belonged to the Royal Enclaves 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 ...

and thus was a direct part of the Danish crown while Osterland Föhr belonged to the duchy of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

. Only when Denmark lost Schleswig to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

, Witsum became a part of Schleswig-Holstein. Witsum and the neighbouring village of Utersum were the only municipalities in the second zone of the Schleswig Plebiscites to vote for

in 1920; yet because they were not directly situated at the border, the two of them remained with Germany.

Politics

With less than 70 inhabitants, Witsum has, according to article 54 of the Schleswig-Holstein '' Gemeindeordnung'', a

town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

instead of a council. All elective inhabitants may attend the meeting.

Traffic

The State Road that connects Wyk auf Föhr with Utersum runs through Witsum. Moreover a regular bus line serves the village.

Economy

Tourism is the major source of income for Witsum.

Gallery

191009 Strand bei Witsum mit Blick Richtung Amrum.jpg, Witsum beach with neighbouring island Amrum at the horizon 191009 Bach Godel bei Witsum mit Blickrichtung Südost.jpg, River Godel near Witsum (viewing direction south-east) 191009 Bach Godel bei Witsum mit Blickrichtung Nordwest.jpg, River Godel near Witsum (viewing direction north-west)

References

External links

Witsum
{{authority control Föhr Nordfriesland