The Königshafen ("king's harbour") is the northernmost
bight
The word is derived from Old English ''byht'' (“bend, angle, corner; bay, bight”). In modern English, bight may refer to:
* Bight (geography), recess of a coast, bay, or other curved feature
* Bight (knot), a curved section, slack part, or loo ...
of the
North Frisian island of
Sylt
Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...
in 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 ...
and thus also the northernmost bay in Germany. The bay gets its name from its use as a
natural harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
and its legal status as part of the of
Listland. The harbour was used until at least the 18th century and was later abandoned as it
silted up
Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...
.
Location
The bay of Königshafen lies north of the Sylt coastal resort of List and southeast of the promontory of , the northernmost point of Germany, on which stand the lighthouses of
and , the two northernmost buildings in Germany. The bay has an area of roughly 4.2 km² and opens towards the east onto the
Wadden Sea
The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...
; it is only separated from the open
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
to the west by a
spit which is just 300 metres wide. In the Königshafen lie the small uninhabited island of
Uthörn
Uthörn ( da, Udhjørne Holm) is a small German island adjacent to the Sylt island in the district of Nordfriesland, and as such it is Germany's northernmost isle right after Sylt proper. It belongs to the List municipality.
Geography
The isl ...
with its
bird reserve, and the ''Lister Haken''.
History
The natural harbour formed by the bight was valued in the past as a safe haven on the North Sea coast. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, it was the most important port-of-call between the Danish town of
Skagen
Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...
to the north and the mouth of the
River Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
to the south Thus, for centuries, the
Danish kings held Listland as a royal enclave.
However, according to contemporary accounts, the Königshafen began to silt up in the 18th century and became unusable for shipping. Until the mid-1980s
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
conducted regular air-to-ground firing exercises in the area.
Today
Since 1985 the Königshafen has been part of the
Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park (german: Nationalpark Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer) is a national park in the Schleswig-Holstein area of the German Wadden Sea. It was founded by the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 O ...
and access on foot or by vehicle is only permitted under certain conditions. Part of the bay in the northwest of the Königshafen is today a popular
wind surfing
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 ga ...
area.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konigshafen
Bays of Schleswig-Holstein
Bays of the North Sea
Sylt