The Königshafen ("king's harbour") is the northernmost bight 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 Sc ...

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 ...

to the west by a spit which is just 300 metres wide. In the Königshafen lie the small uninhabited island of Uthörn 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 ...

, 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 Skage ...

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 Rep ...

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 N ...

conducted regular air-to-ground firing exercises in the area. Königshafen_(Sylt)

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