Medemsand

Medemsand island was a small island of Germany in the mouth of the

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 ...

on the

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 ...

coast opposite

Otterndorf Otterndorf () is a town on the coast of the North Sea in the federal state of Lower Saxony, Germany, and is part of the collective municipality (''Samtgemeinde'') of Land Hadeln. The town, located in the administrative district (''Landkreis'') of ...

(

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 ...

), where the

Medem The Medem is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe, into which it flows near Otterndorf. See also *List of rivers of Lower Saxony All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into t ...

river flows into the Elbe. It was also known locally as ''Flak island''. The island belonged to the district of

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, Northern Low Saxon, 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 ...

and was managed by the

Brunsbüttel Brunsbüttel () is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany that lies at the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. It is the location of the western entrance to the Kiel Canal. History The earliest re ...

Water Management Office. It was eroded due to water flow and no longer exists today; the remnants remain just below the surface and pose an obstacle to maritime traffic. Shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Medemsand Island was artificially built up using sand, piles, and basalt blocks, and expanded into an advanced anti-aircraft station in the event of possible air raids on Hamburg, with anti-aircraft guns and bunkers being installed. Former islands of Germany Islands of Schleswig-Holstein Dithmarschen {{Dithmarschen-geo-stub