Oldsum ( Fering: ''Olersem'') is a municipality on the island of

Föhr Föhr ( ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Feer''; da, Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest No ...

, in the district of

Nordfriesland Nordfriesland (; da, Nordfrisland; frr, Nordfraschlönj ), also known as North Frisia, is the northernmost district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia (with the exception o ...

, in

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

The municipality of Oldsum consists of the three hamlets of Oldsum, Klintum ( Fering: ''Klantem'') and Toftum (Fering: ''Taftem'') which are spread over some two kilometres along a main road. The population number about 600. The landscape is marked by well-preserved

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

farmhouses. Oldsum's landmark is an ancient thatched windmill whose antecessor presumably dates back to the year 1700. Though burned down 200 years later, it was rebuilt and subsequently was in use until 1954. Since 1972 the mill is exclusively used as a dwelling house. Oldsum is situated approximately two kilometres from the western shore of the island, the northern coastline is a little closer. Oldsum adjoins

Süderende Süderende ( Fering: ''Söleraanj'', da, Syderende) is a municipality on the island of Föhr in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History The place used to belong to Oldsum, being its southern edge. After Denmark's ...

to the south, Dunsum to the southwest and Alkersum and Midlum to the east.

History

Oldsum was first recorded in 1462 as ''Uluersum''. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Oldsum, Klintum and Toftum were important

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

villages. A census in 1787 showed that a total of 211 of the inhabitants of the three places were seafarers. One of the most successful whalers,

Matthias Petersen Matthias Petersen (born Matz Peters; 24 December 1632, in Oldsum – 16 September 1706) was a sea captain and whaler from Oldsum on the North Frisian island of Föhr. He became known for catching 373 whales throughout his career. Life He was born ...

(1632–1706) lived in Oldsum proper. In his lifetime he was able to catch 373 whales, his tomb can still be visited in the graveyard of the St. Laurentii church in Süderende. As a part of Westerland Föhr, Oldsum belonged to the Royal Enclaves of

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and thus was a direct part of the Danish crown while Osterland Föhr belonged to the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

. Only when Denmark lost Schleswig 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 em ...

in 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. T ...

, Oldsum became a part of Schleswig-Holstein.

Politics

Since the communal elections of 2008, the ''Oldsumer Wählergemeinschaft'' holds eight seats out of nine in the municipality's council. The ninth seat is held by an independent contestant.

Economy

With the rise of tourism, agriculture began to decrease in significance. Today there are only a few scattered farmsteads. Some farms were evacuated out of the town in the 1950s and 60's and are now situated outside the village proper but still in the municipality's area. Oldsum underwent a transformation from a farmers' to an artists' village, numerous studios and galleries can now be found there. Other important economical factors are a rising number of crafts enterprises as well as retailing.

Notable people

Hinrich Braren Hinrich Braren (31 August 1751, Oldsum – 4 August 1826, Tönning), later known as Hinrich Brarens, was a Danish sea captain, pilot inspector and nautical examiner. He wrote the first book on navigation in German language and established the fir ...

, 19th century nautical examiner who wrote the first nautical textbook in German language *

Oluf Braren Oluf Braren (25 February 1787 – 22 March 1839) was a painter of naïve art from the north Frisian island of Föhr. Some of his works show a strong affinity to his Frisian homeland. His paintings include portraits and depictions of public life as ...

, 18th century painter * Arfst F. Frudden, 20th century politician *

, 17th century whaling captain, called "Lucky" *

Friede Springer Friede Springer (born Friede Riewerts on 15 August 1942 in Oldsum on the island of Föhr) is a German publisher and widow of Axel Springer. She is the main owner of the Axel Springer SE media conglomerate, and thus of Europe's largest newspaper ''B ...

, widow of

Axel Springer Axel Cäsar Springer (2 May 1912 – 22 September 1985) was a German publisher and founder of what is now Axel Springer SE, the largest media publishing firm in Europe. By the early 1960s his print titles dominated the West German daily press ma ...

and major shareholder of

Axel Springer AG Axel Springer SE () is a German digital and popular periodical publishing house which is the largest in Europe, with numerous multimedia news brands, such as ''Bild'', ''Die Welt'', and ''Fakt'' and more than 15,000 employees. It generated tot ...

References

External links

*
Oldsum
{{authority control Föhr Nordfriesland