Düne (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Dynen'', North Frisian: ''de Halem'') is one of two islands in the

German Bight The German Bight (german: Deutsche Bucht; da, tyske bugt; nl, Duitse bocht; fry, Dútske bocht; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and ...

that form the

Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

, the other being Heligoland proper.

Geography

The small island of Düne is part of the German State of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. Situated to the east of the main island Heligoland, Düne is part of the ''

'' protected natural area. The island measures in length and in width. The island is separated from Heligoland proper by the Rede strait. Helgoland Insel Düne 2190-Pano

History

Until the 17th century, Düne was connected to Heligoland. On New Year's Eve 1721 a big

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

separated the dunes from Heligoland. Therefore, the island that arose was called Düne ''(English:

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

)''. In 1935 the size of the island was . In 1940 the National Socialist government increased the size of the island to . This increase was for use as a military airfield. The

Heligoland Airfield Heligoland Airport (also known as Helgoland Airfield) is an airfield on the German island of Düne, the smaller of the two isles of the Heligoland archipelago in the North Sea, about from the mainland. History The first military airfield on ...

is still used today and has three runways, of which the longest is .

External links

Düne
at the website of Heligoland municipality Heligoland Uninhabited islands of Germany {{pinneberg-geo-stub