Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, northwestern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated east of

Rottumeroog Rottumeroog () is an uninhabited island in the Wadden Sea and is part of the Netherlands. The island is one of three West Frisian Islands in the province of Groningen. It is situated between the islands of Rottumerplaat and Borkum. The islan ...

and west of

Juist Juist () ( nds, Juist) is an island and municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony in Germany. The island is one of seven East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea. It is located between ...

Geography

Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait (which forms the border with the Netherlands), to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, and to the south by the Wadden Sea. It is the largest and westernmost of the

East Frisian Islands The East Frisian Islands (German: ''Ostfriesische Inseln'', West Frisian: ''Eastfryske eilannen'', stq, Aastefräiske Ailounds) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend f ...

in the

, due north of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Groningen. The island was formed in 1863 by two previously separate islands which were still separated by a shallow water. The seam between the former eastern and western parts is called ''Tüskendör'' ("through in between").

Climate

Borkum is the only East Frisian island that is under the influence of the North Sea all year round thanks to its distance from the mainland. The maritime climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream and the west wind zone with correspondingly high humidity throughout the year. This ensures varied weather with much sun and wind but also occasional rain and showers. Compared to the mainland, there is a climate with much milder winters and cooler summers without extremely cold or hot days. This is due to the buffering effect of the sea, which warms up slowly in spring and summer, but stores the warm temperatures longer in autumn.

History

Mentioned as ''Burchana fabaria'' (island of beans) by both Strabo and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, Borkum by the time of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

was part of a larger island called ''Bant'', which consisted of the present day islands of Borkum,

, and the western part of

Norderney Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...

. In 1484, Bant passed to the Earls of East Frisia, who developed trade, and the island became known as a centre of piracy and whaling. By 1781, violent storms in the 18th century divided Bant into three islands. As whaling decreased, the inhabitants became impoverished, and many left, with the island's population falling from 852 in 1776 to 406 by 1811. The first tourists arrived on the island in 1834, and the local economy improved as a tourist resort. In ''Mexico as I saw it'', published by Thomas Nelson, Mrs Alec Tweedie, writing in 1911 about a trip of 1900 to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, compares the brick roads of Monterrey with those of Borkum, "the one spot on earth from which

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s are banished". This had to do with the aggressive and successful campaign of German tourists to keep Borkum free from Jewish visitors, as celebrated in the antisemitic "Borkum- Lied". In 1910, British officers Captain

Bernard Frederick Trench Captain Bernard Frederick Trench (17 July 1880 – 10 October 1967) was a British soldier and famous spy who was caught and convicted by the German authorities just a few years before World War I. In 1913 he was released as a present to Ernes ...

and Lieutenant Vivian H. Brandon were imprisoned for espionage for photographing the military installations on the island. On 19 and 20 December 1934,

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

launched "Max" and "Moritz", the two prototypes of the A2-

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

. In 1944, the island was the site of the massacre of 7 American POWs. After the war, these murders were prosecuted in the

Borkum Island war crimes trial The Borkum Island war crimes trial involved the prosecution of ten German soldiers and five German civilians accused and found guilty of war crimes committed on the island of Borkum against seven American airmen during World War II. The airmen had ...

Transport

The island is partially car-free. Off-season, driving by car is permitted everywhere, otherwise there are car-free zones. The only town on the island is also called Borkum. There is an airfield in the Tüskendör area. Borkum is served by ferries from Emden, Germany and

Eemshaven Eemshaven (; en, Ems Harbor) is a seaport in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. In 1968, the Dutch government declared the Ems estuary ( Eemsmond) to be an economic key region. One of the key developments for the regi ...

, the Netherlands. The

Borkumer Kleinbahn The Borkumer Kleinbahn is a narrow gauge railway on the German island of Borkum in the North Sea. It is the oldest island railway (german: Inselbahn) in Germany, beginning operation in 1888. Line The long line connects the port with the town o ...

narrow-gauge railway connects the harbour and the town of Borkum.

References

External links