The Dollart (German name) or Dollard (Dutch name) is a bay in the Wadden Sea between the northern

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

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 ...

, on the west side of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the Ems river. Most of it dries at low tide. Many water birds feed there.

Gaining from and losing to the sea

According to legend, the Dollart Bay was created by a catastrophic storm surge in 1277, covering the district of

Reiderland Reiderland () is a former municipality in the province Groningen in the northeastern Netherlands, which was founded in 1990 during a large municipal reorganisation. The former municipalities Finsterwolde and Bad Nieuweschans were abolished and add ...

and large parts of the Oldambt district. The flood was rumoured to have caused 80,000 deaths. The story, however, is not true and based on legend instead of facts. The Dollart was created as a slow inundation over many centuries which accumulated in a storm surge in 1509. The 1509 surge extended the Dollart, and flooded 30 more villages, and by 1520 the Dollart had its largest extension. Between the 16th and the 20th centuries, two thirds of the drowned area was reclaimed again. Nowadays the unembanked forelands have been declared world natural heritage, as they are a paradise for all kinds of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s and other aquatic species.

Border dispute

The Netherlands and Germany do not agree on the exact course of the border through the bay, yet they have agreed to disagree by signing a treaty in 1960, laying out mutual responsibilities. Around 2011, the

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...

gained relevance with plans for the Borkum Riffgat

offshore wind farm Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...

. The question about use and administration of the

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potent ...

between 3 and 12 nautical miles (where the wind farm is located) was settled with another treaty in 2014 by defining a "line", while the border dispute itself remained unresolved.

Literature

* K. Essink (ed.)
''Stormvloed 1509. Geschiedenis van de Dollard''
Groningen: Stichting Verdronken Geschiedenis 2013

* O.S. Knottnerus, 'Reclamations and submerged lands in the Ems River Estuary (900-1500)'. In: Erik Thoen et al. (eds.), ''Landscapes or seascapes?. The history of the coastal environment in the North Sea area reconsidered'', Turnhout 2013, S. 241–266. * Gozewinus Acker Stratingh und G.A. Venema,
De Dollard of geschied,- aardrijks- en natuurkundige beschrijving van dezen boezem der Eems
', Groningen 1855, repr. 1979 * Frank Westerman: ''De graanrepubliek''. Atlas, Amsterdam/Antwerpen 1999, erweitert 2009. eutsche Ausgabe ''Das Getreideparadies.'' Ch. Links, Berlin 2009, .

References

External links

* Bays of the Netherlands Bays of Lower Saxony Bodies of water of Groningen (province) Germany–Netherlands border Ramsar sites in Germany Disputed waters {{Netherlands-stub