Wangerooge is one of the 32
Frisian Islands
The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or the Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the northwest of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denma ...
in 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 ...
located close to the coasts 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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
...
. It is also a municipality in the district of
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
in
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
Wangerooge is one of the
East Frisian Islands
The East Frisian Islands (German: ''Ostfriesische Inseln'', West Frisian: ''Eastfryske eilannen'', stq, Aastefräiske Ailounds) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend fo ...
. It is the easternmost and smallest of the inhabited islands in this group (according to some other measurements,
Baltrum
Baltrum ( nds, Baltrum) is a barrier island off the coast of East Frisia (), in Germany, and is a municipality in the district of Aurich, Lower Saxony. It is located in-between the chain of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands. Baltrum is th ...
is the smallest) and the only one that belonged to the historical district of
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to:
Places
*Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
*Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany
**Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony
*Olde ...
between 1815 and 1947, whereas
Borkum
Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist.
Geography
Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait ...
,
Juist
Juist () ( nds, Juist) is an island and municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony in Germany. The island is one of seven East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea. It is located between B ...
,
Norderney
Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany.
The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...
,
Baltrum
Baltrum ( nds, Baltrum) is a barrier island off the coast of East Frisia (), in Germany, and is a municipality in the district of Aurich, Lower Saxony. It is located in-between the chain of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands. Baltrum is th ...
,
Langeoog and
Spiekeroog
Spiekeroog is one of the East Frisian Islands, off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is situated between Langeoog to its west, and Wangerooge to its east. The island belongs to the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony in Germany. The only vi ...
always belonged to the county of
Ostfriesland
East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...
. As of the census of 2004, the island has 1,055 inhabitants. Especially in summer the island accommodates more than 7,000 visitors a day.
Wangerooge is separated from the island of Spiekeroog by a
gat known as the
Harle.
The island is attractive to tourists due to the beaches, various recreation facilities and its relaxed atmosphere. The island's slogan, visible on a sign at the harbor, emphasizes this: "God created time, but he never mentioned haste."
A yearly beach volleyball tournament, usually held at the beginning of August, is one of the main attractions in the summer, and has served to modify the general impression that the island is exclusively attractive to older people and young families. In addition, windsurfing, kite-surfing and board-riding activities attract younger people.
2012-05-13 Nordsee-Luftbilder DSCF8674.jpg, Aerial view of Wangerooge
2012-05-13 Nordsee-Luftbilder DSCF8702.jpg, The port of Wangerooge
Alter Leuchtturm-01.jpg, Old Lighthouse
Neuer Leuchtturm Wangerooge.jpg, New Lighthouse
Wellenbrecher, Düne.JPG, Beach and dike of Wangerooge
2012-05-13 Nordsee-Luftbilder DSCF9125.jpg, Café Pudding
In order to guarantee a relaxed atmosphere, cars are prohibited on the island. The island can be reached by ship from
Harlesiel, or it can be reached by plane via its airfield, regular service being offered from
Harlesiel,
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, or
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. The ferries leave at different times every day according to the tide. As on most East Frisian Islands, a small narrow gauge railway line, the
Wangerooge Island Railway
The single track Wangerooge Island Railway (''Wangerooger Inselbahn'') is an unelectrified narrow gauge railway with a track gauge of located on the East Frisian island of Wangerooge off the northwestern coast of Germany. It is the most importa ...
, connects the harbor to the main village.
As for historical sites and other places of interest, the island has one active lighthouse, one old lighthouse, and the Western Tower. Since the whole island used to be shifting constantly eastwards until sea defenses were built a century ago, old buildings were gradually lost to the sea. The Western Tower was built in 1597 and was originally in the east of the island.
Wangerooge is also known as the site of a historic World War II B-17
Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
crash, or rather a double crash. During a bombing mission on Hamburg on New Year's Eve, 1944, a B-17 squadron was attacked by German fighter planes on its homeward flight. While in tight formation, one plane was shot down and became entangled with the plane below it. One of the pilots managed to take control of the two aircraft and steer them back towards the German coast for an emergency landing. At the time, the two entangled aircraft were described as resembling breeding dragonflies as the ball turrets of each plane were caught in the chassis of the other. Most of the crew bailed out, while two remained and successfully made a crash landing in a field.
Wangerooge has an
airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
with scheduled services.
Geography
Location
Wangerooge is a German island in the southern
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 ...
and is the easternmost of the seven inhabited East Frisian islands. The island stretches over 8.5 kilometers in length in the east-west direction. The north-south extension is a maximum of 2.2 kilometers in the western part, and 1.2 kilometers at the level of the village. The distance to the mainland is 7 kilometers. To the west of Wangerooge, which is separated by the
Gat of Harle, the eastern
Spiekeroog
Spiekeroog is one of the East Frisian Islands, off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is situated between Langeoog to its west, and Wangerooge to its east. The island belongs to the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony in Germany. The only vi ...
is 2 kilometers away. Separated by the
Blaue Balje
The Blaue Balje is a gat in the southeastern North Sea in the outer estuary of the Jade.
It runs in a north-south direction between the East Frisian Islands of Wangerooge
Wangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea located ...
, the island Minsener Oog begins, which is 2 kilometers east-southeast. On the northside, there is a sandy beach that is about 100 meters wide and 3 kilometers long. In the east, this beach merges into a 500 meter wide and 3 kilometer long field with sand deposits. In the west of the island, there are two more beaches that are ½ kilometer and 1 kilometer in length. To the south of the island lies 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 ...
, which is part of the
Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park
The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park (german: Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer) was established in 1986 and embraces the East Frisian Islands, mudflats and salt marshes between the Bay of Dollart on the border with the Netherlands ...
, like the islands, and is very dry at
Baseflow
Baseflow (also called drought flow, groundwater recession flow, low flow, low-water flow, low-water discharge and sustained or fair-weather runoff) is the portion of the streamflow that is sustained between precipitation events, fed to streams by d ...
. Below the island, at a depth of about 15 meters, there is the
Geest
Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outwash plai ...
base. The highest elevation of the island is the look-out dune, which is 17 meters above sea level. The remaining sand dunes reach heights of up to 12 meters.
Area
With an area of 7.94 square kilometers (2008),
[Laut Auskunft des Niedersächsischen Landesbetriebs für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz (NLWKN)] Wangerooge is the second smallest of the inhabited East Frisian islands after
Baltrum
Baltrum ( nds, Baltrum) is a barrier island off the coast of East Frisia (), in Germany, and is a municipality in the district of Aurich, Lower Saxony. It is located in-between the chain of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands. Baltrum is th ...
, and the larger areas can be up to 8.5 square kilometers. Higher values include beach areas that lie below the mean tide line (Mittleres Tidehochwasser, MTHW), but these are regularly washed over by the sea water of the North Sea and are, therefore, not considered as land areas. Since part of the land area, about 2.97 square kilometers, is not municipalized as a part of a federal waterway, the area of the municipality of Wangerooge covers only 4.97 square kilometers.
See also
*
East Frisian Islands
The East Frisian Islands (German: ''Ostfriesische Inseln'', West Frisian: ''Eastfryske eilannen'', stq, Aastefräiske Ailounds) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend fo ...
*
List of ferry boats of the East Frisian Islands
The list of the ferries of the East Frisian Islands contains the ferries currently serving the islands of Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge. The East Frisian Islands, located between the Wadden Sea and the Nor ...
References
External links
*
Ferry schedules
{{Authority control
Geography of Lower Saxony
Islands of Lower Saxony
Seaside resorts in Germany
East Frisian Islands
Car-free zones in Europe
Friesland (district)