Tönning (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

;

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen'';

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the

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 Sch ...

History

Tönning was destroyed in the

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 shatter ...

in 1634. During the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, (1700–1721), Tönning was besieged twice.

Geography

It is located on the northern bank of the Eider river, approximately eight kilometers away from its mouth at the

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 S ...

. Tönning has a population of some 5,000 people.

Transport

Tönning is connected by a regional train with

Sankt Peter-Ording Sankt Peter-Ording () is a popular German seaside spa and a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the only German seaside resort that has a sulphur spring and thus terms itself "North Sea spa and su ...

to the West, and

Husum Husum (, frr, Hüsem) is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home o ...

to the North-East. Tönning is also served by several bus routes.

Personalities

Honorary citizen

* Friedrich Wilhelm Selck (1821–1911), councilor of commerce, honorary citizen since 1899 *

Friedrich von Esmarch Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch (9 January 1823 – 23 February 1908) was a German surgeon. He developed the Esmarch bandage and founded the ''Deutscher Samariter-Verein'', the predecessor of the '' Deutscher Samariter-Bund''. Life ...

(1823–1908), German physician and the founder of the civilian Samaritan system in Germany, honorary citizen since 1897; there is a memorial statue dedicated to him in the castle park.

Sons and daughters of the city

Jürgen Ovens Jürgen Ovens (1623 – 9 December 1678), also known as Georg, or Jurriaen Ovens whilst in the Netherlands, was a portrait painter and art-dealer from North Frisia and, according to Arnold Houbraken, a pupil of Rembrandt. He is best known for hi ...

(1623–1678), painter, portraitist *

Johann Friedrich Alberti Johann Friedrich Alberti (11 January 1642 – 14 June 1710) was a German composer and organist. Alberti was born in Tönning, Schleswig. He received his musical training in Leipzig from Werner Fabricius and in Dresden from Vincenzo Albrici ...

(1642–1710), composer, organist *

Fanny Suenssen Fanny Margrethe Kirstine Suenssen (1832–1918) was a Danish writer. Brought up by a mother interested in literature, like her sisters Alfhilda Mechlenburg and Teckla Juel, she contributed articles to women's magazines and published novels and ...

(1832–1918), Danish novelist and short story writer * Kurt Thomas (1904–1973), composer, music educator and chorus leader

Connected to Tönning

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 ...

(1751–1826), captain, pilot and navigation instructor, died in Tönning. He wrote the first German-language textbook of shipping.

References

Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Nordfriesland Populated coastal places in Germany (North Sea) {{Nordfriesland-geo-stub