Rottumeroog () is an

uninhabited island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotype ...

in the Wadden Sea and is part of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The island is one of three West Frisian Islands in the province of Groningen. It is situated between the islands of Rottumerplaat and Borkum. The island originates from the 15th or 16th century. At first the island was used for agriculture by the St. Juliana's Abbey from Rottum. Rottumeroog is now part of the natural reserve Rottum and access to the island is prohibited, save for people with a special permit.

Geography

Rottumeroog is located at in the municipality of Het Hogeland in the north of the province of Groningen in the north of the

. It is situated off the coast of Groningen's mainland and it is the easternmost island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, east of the island of Rottumerplaat, north of the island of Zuiderduintjes, and west of the East Frisian island of Borkum (

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 ...

). Rottumeroog does not have a solid core and slowly moves in southeastern direction as a result of sea currents. On the north side, land is gradually washed away; on the south side, new land is forming. Rottumeroog had a surface area of in 1995 and in 2007.Beheerregeling Rottum

Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Net ...

, 2010. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.

History

Between 1400 and 1540 CE, the island of Monnikenlangenoog had split into the islands of Bosch and Rottumeroog. Bosch had disappeared in the 18th century, but Rottumeroog still remains today.
Verzonken waddeneiland Moenkenlangenoe ontdekt
, ''

Dagblad van het Noorden The ''Dagblad van het Noorden'' (; en, Daily of the North), abbreviated as ''DvhN'', is a Dutch regional daily newspaper that is published and circulated in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe in the northeastern Netherlands. The newspaper is ...

'', 2012. Retrieved on 27 April 2014. The name Rottumeroog means literally 'Island of Rottum', after the village of Rottum on the mainland of Groningen. The Benedictine St. Juliana's Abbey in Rottum used to own two-thirds of the island and used it for their livestock. After the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

the island's rights transferred to the province Groningen before being sold to private persons in the 17th century. Between 1706 and 1717,

Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty Donough MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty (1668–1734) fought for James II in the Williamite War at the Siege of Derry. He was attainted in 1691 after the defeat. MacCarthy went into exile to the Netherlands, where he lived for some time on t ...

, having been banished from Ireland, owned and lived on the island. The province bought the island back in 1738 due to back maintenance, eventually the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

took over. Until 1965 the island was inhabited by a ''

vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' and his family; since then the island has been uninhabited. Several buildings have been built on the island. In the 19th century the navigational beacon Emder Kaap was built. The structure is listed as a

national heritage site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

(''rijksmonument'') since 1988 and was moved southwards in 1999. The ''vogt'' had a house as well; this building was demolished in 1998 due to the encroaching North Sea. In February 2014, the bird observation post was removed from the island. Later in 2014 all remaining buildings on the islands, except for the Emder Kaap, were removed due to the changing shape and position of the island. The future area of the island is uncertain. In 2012, the island broke into two during high tide, giving rise to the claim that the island might disappear in the Ems

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

in the near future.

Natural reserve

The Wadden Sea, in which Rottumeroog is situated, is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

( natural criteria viii, ix, and x) since 2009. Together with Rottumerplaat and Zuiderduintjes, the island forms the natural reserve Rottum. The island is generally not maintained, the shape and position are left for nature to change. The island is uninhabited and access is usually prohibited; several excursions to the islands are allowed each year under strict conditions. The island is home to birds and

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

s.Rottum > Flora en fauna

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

. Retrieved on 1 May 2014.

References

External links

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Friends of Rottumeroog and Rottumerplaat Foundation
{{Authority control Het Hogeland Islands of Groningen (province) West Frisian Islands Uninhabited islands of the Netherlands