East Frisian Islands

Native name: Ostfriesische Inseln
Geography
Location	Wadden Sea
Total islands	12
Major islands	Borkum, Norderney
Administration
Germany
State	Lower Saxony
Districts	Leer Aurich Wittmund Friesland
Demographics
Ethnic groups	Germans, Frisians

The East Frisian Islands (German: Ostfriesische Inseln, West Frisian: Eastfryske eilannen, Saterland Frisian: Aastefräiske Ailounds) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend for some 90 kilometres (56 mi) from west to east between the mouths of the Ems and Jade / Weser rivers and lie about 3.5 to 10 km offshore. Between the islands and the mainland are extensive mudflats, known locally as Watten, which form part of the Wadden Sea. In front of the islands are Germany's territorial waters, which occupy a much larger area than the islands themselves. The islands, the surrounding mudflats and the territorial waters (The Küstenmeer vor den ostfriesischen Inseln nature reserve) form a close ecological relationship. The island group makes up about 5% of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.

The largest island by surface area is Borkum, located at the western end of the chain; the other six inhabited islands are from west to east: Juist, Norderney with the largest town in the islands, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge. There are also four other small, uninhabited islands: Lütje Hörn east of Borkum, Memmert and Kachelotplate southwest of Juist, Minsener Oog, a dredged island southeast of Wangerooge, and Mellum at the eastern end of the island chain which, following the boundary revision by the Federal Office for Nature Conservation, no longer belongs to the East Frisian Islands, but to the mudflats of the Elbe-Weser Triangle (Watten im Elbe-Weser-Dreieck).

Overview of the islands and sand flats

The chain of the East Frisian Islands off the coast of Lower Saxony

The following table contains basic information about the islands and sand flats (Sandplaten). The uninhabited and unparished sand flats are highlighted in yellow.

Coat of arms	Island/Sand flat	Municipality	District	Area in km² (2004[1]/05[2])	Distance to the mainland in km (2004)[1]	Population as at: 31 December 2008	Population density per km²
	Borkum	Town of Borkum	Leer	30.74[2]	10.5	5,186	169
	Kachelotplate	not municipalised		no data		uninhabited	−
	Lütje Hörn	Island of Lütje Hörn¹	Leer	0.1[1]	12.5	uninhabited	−
	Memmert	North Sea island of Memmert¹	Aurich	4.3[1]	13	uninhabited	−
	Juist	Juist	Aurich	16.43[2]	8	1,696	103
	Norderney	Town of Norderney	Aurich	26.29[2]	3	5,810	221
	Baltrum	Baltrum	Aurich	6.5[2]	4.5	488	75
	Langeoog	Langeoog	Wittmund	19.67[2]	5	1,953	99
	Spiekeroog	Spiekeroog	Wittmund	18.25[2]	6.5	781	43
	Wangerooge	Wangerooge	Friesland	7.94[2]	6,5	923	116
	Minsener Oog artificially dredged	Butjadingen²	Wesermarsch	2.2[1]	3.5	uninhabited	−
	Mellum³	Butjadingen²	Wesermarsch	4.9[1]	6	uninhabited	−
East Frisian Islands				134.35[2]	−	16,837	129
¹ unparished area ² former parish of Langwarden, which was incorporated in 1974 into Butjadingen (today the Gemarkung of Langwarden) ³ east of the outer Jade, after the boundary revision by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation no longer part of the East Frisian Islands, but belongs to the mudflats in the Elbe-Weser Triangle Watten im Elbe-Weser-Dreieck.[3]

Norderney is the remaining part of Buise, which was almost entirely engulfed by the sea in the 17th century. Lütje Hörn east of Borkum is in constant danger of being washed away. In 2003 the German Coastal Defence (NLWK) announced that the sandbank Kachelotplate can now be called an island too, because it is no longer regularly flooded by high tide. However, it is not larger than 2 km² and will remain unsettled. Kachelotplate is located north of the mouth of the Ems river.

Most of the islands do not allow cars. The exceptions are Borkum and Norderney, which are also the most crowded islands. There are no bridges connecting the mainland with the islands. Each island is accessible by ferry.

Borkum and Norderney, the Nazi labour camps on Alderney, were named after the islands.

The islands and the surrounding sea are part of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.

Effects of storms and currents

Aerial view of Wangerooge

Even though today they are established islands, some of them continue to be in motion. On the East Frisian island of Juist for example, since the year 1650 there are five different proven sites for the church, as the spot for rebuilding the church had to keep pace with the ever-moving island. At times, Juist even consisted of two islands, which eventually grew back together. The neighbouring island of Wangerooge in the last 300 years has moved a distance equivalent to its own length to the east, its church tower, destroyed at the outbreak of World War I apparently moving from east to west.^[4]

In this process, land is slowly eroded on the western coasts, while sediments are deposited on the eastern coasts. As a result, western coasts are increasingly protected by human action. The canals between the islands serve as passages for the tides, so that in these places the scouring action of current prevents the islands gradually joining one to another.

In popular culture

A German invasion fleet masses in the Frisian Islands in the pre-World War I invasion thriller Riddle of the Sands.

German students memorize the names of the seven inhabited islands by using a mnemonic device:

Welcher Seemann liegt bei Nanni im Bett? ("Which seaman lies with Nanni in bed?")

Wangerooge, Spiekeroog, Langeoog, Baltrum, Norderney, Juist, Borkum (east to west)

See also

• Frisia
  • West Frisian Islands
• Frisian languages
• Frisians
• East Frisian Low Saxon
• List of islands of Germany
• List of ferry boats of the East Frisian Islands

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for East Frisian Islands.

• Basic information on geography and ecology of some of the smaller islands

53°44′N 7°25′E / 53.733°N 7.417°E / 53.733; 7.417