Südfall ( da, Sydfald) is a small island in 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 ...

off the west coast 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 ...

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 ...

, one of the ten German ''

Hallig The ''Halligen'' (German, singular ''Hallig'', ) or the ''halliger'' (Danish, singular ''hallig'') are small islands without protective levee, dikes. They are variously pluralized in English as the Halligen, Halligs, Hallig islands, or Halligen isl ...

'' islands. It has a permanent population of two people. It covers an area of and is administratively part of

Pellworm ( da, Pelvorm; North Frisian ''Polweerm'') is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The municipality is located on the island of Pellworm – one of the North Frisian Islands on the North Sea coast of ...

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

History

Prior to the

Grote Mandrenke Saint Marcellus's flood or (Low Saxon: ; da, Den Store Manddrukning, 'Great Drowning of Men') was an intense extratropical cyclone, coinciding with a new moon, which swept across the British Isles, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Denmark ...

flood in 1362, the area comprising the present-day island was a part of the former island of

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street ...

Edoms Hundred Edoms Hundred (german: Edomsharde, da, Edoms Herred) was a mediaeval hundred located in the southern part of North Frisia in the Danish region of Southern Schleswig, part of the Frisian Uthlande. It encompassed the eastern part of the island of S ...

. As a result of the flood, which laid waste to much of Strand and submerged the city of

Rungholt Rungholt was a settlement in North Frisia, in what was then the Danish Duchy of Schleswig. The area is today located in Germany. Rungholt reportedly sank beneath the waves of the North Sea when a storm tide (known as ''Grote Mandrenke'' or '' ...

, three small islands were removed from the area of Strand: Südfall, Nübell (or "Nubel") and Nielandt. Over time, Südfall and Nübell were gradually eroded into the sea, and their inhabitants resettled on Nielandt, renaming it Südfall. In the catastrophic

Burchardi flood The Burchardi flood (also known as the second Grote Mandrenke) was a storm tide that struck the North Sea coast of North Frisia and Dithmarschen (in modern-day Germany) on the night between 11 and 12 October 1634. Overrunning dikes, it shattered ...

of 1634, Strand was torn asunder by the sea and its largest settlements were destroyed, causing a great loss of life and property. Nearby Südfall, however, weathered the disaster. Its inhabitants made a living primarily by way of agriculture and fishing, supplemented by occasional

beachcombing Beachcombing is an activity that consists of an individual "combing" (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility. A beachcomber is a person who participates in the activity of beachcombing. ...

. The twelve families who lived on the island perished in the Great Hallig Flood on 3–4 February 1825. The three warfts on the western side of the island were totally submerged, and the total area of the island was halved. The single warft that remains on the island today was constructed in 1828. Ownership of the island has changed hands numerous times since then. In 1910, the Countess Diana von Reventlow-Criminil purchased the island to spend her retirement years on it. After this, the Dethleffsen family rented out the island for a 50-year term. In 1921, Andreas Busch from

Nordstrand Nordstrand may refer to: Places ;Germany * Nordstrand, Germany, a peninsula in Germany * Nordstrand (Amt), a former municipality in Nordfriesland, Germany ;Norway * Nordstrand, Norway, a borough in Oslo, Norway * Søndre Nordstrand, a borough in ...

discovered remnants of canal

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

(german: Watt) around Südfall. He mapped the area and discovered numerous traces of the area's former inhabitants, such as wells, fields, paths, and graves. Based on these findings, it was determined that Rungholt was situated near present-day Südfall prior to its destruction in 1362. Since 1960, the number of times per year that the island has flooded has increased from around 30 to nearly 70.

Modern times

Today, Südfall is part of the German state of

. Since 1957, the environmental group ''

Verein Jordsand ''Verein'' is a German word, sometimes translated as ''union'', ''club'' or ''association'', and may refer to: * ''Eingetragener Verein'' (e. V.), a registered voluntary association under German law * Swiss Verein, a voluntary association under Sw ...

'' has served as the island's caretaker. It was granted official environmental protection in 1959, and is now 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 ...

, which is in turn part of the larger

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

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 h ...

. One house, inhabited by a water-warden and his wife, and several surrounding buildings are situated on the lone wharf on the island. A bird-conservation station and a watchpost/radio station of the ''

German Maritime Search and Rescue Service The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger - DGzRS, ; lit. ''German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons'') is responsible for Search and Rescue in German territorial waters ...

'' (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger) are maintained on the island.

Transportation

With permission from the National Park Service, Südfall is reachable from

at low tide by foot or on horseback over the intertidal zone. In the summertime, the island is visited thrice per week by a ship from

. As Südfall is in the First Protection Zone (german: Schutzzone 1) of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, accessing the island is otherwise prohibited.

Nature

The island has one main

tidal creek A tidal creek or tidal channel is a narrow inlet or estuary that is affected by the ebb and flow of ocean tides. Thus, it has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle, and flushes salts from inland soils. Tidal creeks a ...

(german: Priel), which flows from the western portion of the island to a wide

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

on the eastern shore, emptying into the Wadden Sea. The

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

es on the island have lain ungrazed for many years, leading to the rebounding of marshplants such as ''

Armeria maritima ''Armeria maritima'', the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flow ...

'' (german: Strand-Grasnelke), ''

Artemisia maritima ''Artemisia maritima'' is a European species of wormwood known as sea wormwood and old woman. It is native to France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria and Russia. In its many variations of form it has an e ...

'' (german: Strand-Beifuß), ''Limonium vulgare'' (german: Gewöhnlicher Strandflieder), and ''

Aster tripolium ''Tripolium pannonicum'', called sea aster or seashore aster and often known by the synonyms ''Aster tripolium'' or ''Aster pannonicus'', is a flowering plant, native to Eurasia and northern Africa, that is confined in its distribution to salt ma ...

'' (german: Strand-Aster). The intertidal zone around Südfall is protected from dredging to prevent the damage or destruction of cultural traces and artifacts. Sudfall P5232285jm.JPG, View of the warft and its buildings Hallig Suedfall2.JPG, Path from Nordstrand to Südfall at low tide Krabbenkutter Ivonne Pellworm P5242390jm.JPG, A shrimp trawler near Südfall

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudfall Nature reserves in Schleswig-Holstein Halligen Islands of Schleswig-Holstein Pellworm