Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old

Wagri The Wagri, Wagiri, or Wagrians were a tribe of Polabian Slavs inhabiting Wagria, or eastern Holstein in northern Germany, from the ninth to twelfth centuries. They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy. In the Slavic uprisings of 9 ...

an Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

, off the eastern coast of

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 ...

's northernmost 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 Sc ...

. It is Germany's third-largest island, after

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

and

Usedom Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It is north of the Szczecin ...

. Fehmarn is separated from the German peninsula of

Wagria WagriaArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 156. . (german: Wagrien, ''Waierland'' or ''Wagerland'') is the northeastern part of Holstein in the German state ...

in Holsatia by the Fehmarn Sound, and from the southern

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 ...

island of Lolland by the

Fehmarn Belt Fehmarn Belt (), (, former spelling ''Femer Bælt''; ) is a strait connecting the Bay of Kiel and the Bay of Mecklenburg in the western part of the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Ferries ...

. It is connected to the Holsatian mainland by the

Fehmarn Sound Bridge The Fehmarn Sound Bridge (german: Fehmarnsundbrücke) connects the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea with the German mainland near Großenbrode. Description The crossing includes the network arch bridge which carries road and rail o ...

. The island belongs to the district of Ostholstein (East Holsatia). The closest larger towns on the mainland are Heiligenhafen (''Saints' Harbor'') and

Oldenburg in Holstein Oldenburg in Holstein () is a town at the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea. The nearest city is Lübeck. The town belongs to the (historical) region of Holstein, today in the state Schleswig-Holstein of Germany. Oldenburg was the chief tow ...

(founded as '' Starigard''). Right opposite of Fehmarn, on the tip of the Wagrian Peninsula, is Großenbrode. The Vogelfluglinie (Danish: Fugleflugtslinjen), an important

transport corridor A transport corridor is a generally linear area that is defined by one or more modes of transportation crossing the limits of more than one city or county like highways, railroads or public transit which share a common destination. Development of ...

connecting the Danish capital of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

to the second-largest German city of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

via

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, runs across the island. There are currently two tunnels under construction in the region: the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel between Puttgarden on Fehmarn and Rødbyhavn on Lolland, and the

Fehmarn Sound Tunnel The Fehmarn Sound Tunnel between the German mainland and the island of Fehmarn is projected to be built by 2028, and is projected to cost €718 million. The tunnel will be near Großenbrode. Background The treaty of 2008 between Germany and Den ...

between Strukkamp (Fehmarn) and Großenbrode (

). The most notable settlements on Fehmarn are Burg auf Fehmarn ( Low German: ''Borg op Fehmarn'') and Puttgarden, with the island's ferry port. Fehmarn is allegorically represented by the "Goldene Krone im blauen Meer" (''Golden Crown in the blue Sea''), which can be seen on many flags on the island, making reference to the

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The cu ...

, the Danish royal house.

History

Earlier names of the island are Femera, Fimbria, Cimbria parva, and Imbra. As a part of

it was settled by the Slavic Lechitic tribe of

in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. Fehmarn is one of the westernmost places of the former contiguous settlement area of the Slavs, and the westernmost island with a former Slavic settlement. The name of the island itself derives from the Polabian ''fe more'' (''in the sea''), modern ''v more'', and has the same etymological background as

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, deriving from ''po more'', ''at the sea''. Puttgarden is also a Slavic name, deriving from ''pod gard'', which means ''under the castle'' (on

exists a village with the same etymological background, evolving into the modern form Putgarten). Other Slavic-founded villages on Fehmarn are Bannesdorf, Dänschendorf, Gahlendorf, Gammendorf-Siedendorf, Gollendorf, Hinrichsdorf, Klausdorf, Kopendorf, Lemkendorf, Meeschendorf, Püttsee, Sahrensdorf, Schlagsdorf, Sulsdorf and Vitzdorf. The villages of Bisdorf, Presen and Staberdorf are either Slavic-founded or founded by Germanic colonists from Holsatia,

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, Low Saxon: ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; da, Ditmarsken; la, label=Medieval Latin, Tedmarsgo) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schle ...

, Frisia,

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 ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, who settled the island from around 1200 onwards. The Slavs inhabiting the island were gradually

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

and Germanized. From the Middle Ages till 1864 Fehmarn formed part of the Danish Duchy of Schleswig. When the duchy was partitioned in 1544, it formed part of the duchy of

John the Elder John the Presbyter was an obscure figure of the early Church who is either distinguished from or identified with the Apostle John and/or John of Patmos. He appears in fragments from the church father Papias of Hierapolis as one of the author's ...

. Upon his death without heirs in 1580, Fehmarn became part of the

Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

. After the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

Fehmarn along with the rest of Schleswig was united with the Danish crown. In 1864 Schleswig passed to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

as a result of the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) 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. ...

. On 26 July 1932, the German Navy's training ship ''

Niobe In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Her father was the r ...

'' sank off the island during a sudden squall, with the loss of 69 lives. At Gammendorfer Strand on Fehmarn, within view of the site of the sinking, the Niobe-Denkmal monument was erected. Since 1963, Fehmarn has been connected to the German mainland by a road and rail bridge crossing the

. It is 963.40 m (3160.76 ft.) long and 69 m high.

Geography

The area is 185 km² and the coastline is 78 km. The highest hills are the "Hinrichsberg" (27.2 m) and the "Wulfener Berg" (26.5 m). The largest community on Fehmarn is

Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...

() (lit. "the Town of Fehmarn"), with 6,000 inhabitants. In addition, there are many small villages including Vadersdorf.

Transport

The

, a strait separating Fehmarn from Lolland, is located on the side opposite the German mainland. It can be crossed by ferries travelling between the seaports of Puttgarden, Germany, and

Rødby Rødby is a town, with a population of 1,983 (1 January 2022),Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The crossing takes about 45 minutes. On 29 June 2007, the Danish and German authorities gave the go-ahead for the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link tunnel project, planned for completion in 2028. The aforementioned 963-metre (3,159 ft) long

connects the German island of Fehmarn with the German mainland near Großenbrode.

Nature

The coasts serve as resting places for

migratory bird Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...

s, and it is thus a popular location for ornithologists. The island's bird reserves are looked after by

NABU Nabu ( akk, cuneiform: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû syr, ܢܵܒܼܘܼ\ܢܒܼܘܿ\ܢܵܒܼܘܿ Nāvū or Nvō or Nāvō) is the ancient Mesopotamian patron god of literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian "nab ...

's conservation centre at the

Wallnau Waterbird Reserve The Wallnau Waterbird Reserve (german: Wasservogelreservat Wallnau) is one of the most important Special Protection Area, reserves for migratory birds in Germany and the largest of Naturschutzbund Deutschland, NABU's nature conservation centres. T ...

. In Burg there is a large aquarium with 40 fish tanks. Fehmarn is famous for its nature and recreation areas, especially during summertime (July–September) and is also well known for its

windsurf Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing g ...

and

kitesurf Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

spots. Currently there are more than ten surfspots known on the island.

Culture

Scharwenzel is a card game for two teams with two to four players on each team. The game is at least three centuries old and is played today only on Fehmarn. Fehmarn was the location of Jimi Hendrix's final concert, at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival, on September 6, 1970. The concert was held at Flügge Beach in the southwest. There is a memorial stone there and from 1995 through 2010, the Jimi-Hendrix-Revival-Festival was celebrated annually in September. The St. Nicholas Church has a baptismal font that dates from 1391.St Nikolai Kirche
st-nikolai-kirche-burg.de, retrieved 30 March 2014

Notable residents

* Jürgen Blin, mid-20th century boxer, was born on the island. *

Lina Heydrich Lina Mathilde Manninen (née von Osten, formerly Heydrich; 14 June 1911 – 14 August 1985) was the wife of Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office and a central figure in Nazi Germany. The daughter of a minor German aristocra ...

was born in the village of Avendorf. She and her husband

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...

had a summer home on the island, which after the war Lina ran with her second husband Mauno Manninen, as a restaurant and inn until it burned down in February 1969. * The German expressionist painter

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century ...

lived and painted on the island during four summers (1908 and 1912–1914). * The writer and historian was born in the village of Bisdorf. The museum on the island was named after him.

Gallery

File:Fehmarn Flügge 013.jpg, Flügge lighthouse File:Fehmarnsundbrücke 1963 Femernsundbroen Insel Fehmarn Sound Bridge 963 Meters Schleswig-Holstein Germany - Foto 2018 Wolfgang Pehlemann P1260910.jpg, Fehmarn sound bridge – view from east File:Puttgarden-2008.jpg, The seaport of Puttgarden File:BurgruineGlambek-msu-5081.jpg, Ruins of the Glambæk castle File:Fehmarn Nord-Ost-Strand.JPG File:Nordstrand Fehmarn.JPG File:Fehmarn Nordstrand.JPG File:Fehmarn Sonnenaufgang N-O-Strand 1.JPG File:Fehmarn Sonnenaufgang N-O-Strand 2.JPG File:Burg a F Breite Straße.jpg File:2017-08-22-Moewe Strandkorb-4123.jpg File:Fehmarn Südstrand Mädchen am Strand 1975 Karlheinz Goedtke 01.jpg

References

External links

* *
Satellite map from Google Maps

Stadt Fehmarn

Fehmarn Events

Fehmarn Genealogy

Fehmarn Webcam

{{Authority control Islands of Schleswig-Holstein German islands in the Baltic Ostholstein Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea)