Eiderstedt (german: Eiderstedt, ; da, Ejdersted; North Frisian: ''Ääderstää'') is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the German federal 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 Sc ...

Overview

It is approximately 30 km in length and 15 km in width and has been created through diking (

polders A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

) from three islands: Eiderstedt around Tönning, Utholm around Tating, and Evershop around

Garding Garding () is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It has a population of 2,700 (as of 2007). It is located in the Eiderstedt peninsula, and part of the ''Amt'' Eiderstedt. Notable people * Theodor Mommsen (1817- ...

. The diking started around the year 1000 AD. Since these three islands were administrative districts of their own, the area was originally called ''Dreilande'' - "Three Lands".

Alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. All ...

soil won from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

makes the area well-suited for agriculture. At present, tourism dominates, particularly in the city of Sankt Peter-Ording on the peninsula's western tip. The Westerhever lighthouse is the peninsula's main emblem and the most prominent lighthouse in Germany. The Wadden Sea, the Eider Barrage on the Eider River and the Katinger Watt, marshlands won from the sea in the process of the construction of the Eidersperrwerk, are other tourist attractions on the peninsula.

History

The constant threat of the sea overcoming their habitations forced Eiderstedt to a special form of self-administration at a very early stage as diking was possible only through strong cooperation. Originally settled by Frisians, Eiderstedt was part of 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 ...

from the 14th century on. In 1864, the Danish Duchy of Schleswig became part of

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 ...

. Prussian administration gave Eiderstedt independence as a district. In 1970, the district of Eiderstedt was merged with the districts of Husum and Südtondern to form the district of Nordfriesland.

Amt Eiderstedt

The peninsula represents also a same named Amt, with the administrative seat in the town of

. The only town of the peninsula not part of the Amt is Tönning.

External links

Eiderstedt.net (German)Eiderstedt tourism central (German)
{{Authority control Regions of Schleswig-Holstein North Sea Peninsulas of Schleswig-Holstein