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 Rottumeroog () is an Desert island, uninhabited island in the Wadden Sea and is part of the Netherlands. The island is one of three West Frisian Islands in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen. It is situated between the islands of Rott ...

and west of Juist.

Geography

Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

(which forms the border with the Netherlands), to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea, and to the south by 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 ...

. It is the largest and westernmost of the East Frisian Islands in the North Sea, due north of the Dutch province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. The island was formed in 1863 by two previously separate islands which were still separated by a shallow water. The seam between the former eastern and western parts is called ''Tüskendör'' ("through in between").

Climate

Borkum is the only East Frisian island that is under the influence of the North Sea all year round thanks to its distance from the mainland. The maritime climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream and the west wind zone with correspondingly high humidity throughout the year. This ensures varied weather with much sun and wind but also occasional rain and showers. Compared to the mainland, there is a climate with much milder winters and cooler summers without extremely cold or hot days. This is due to the buffering effect of the sea, which warms up slowly in spring and summer, but stores the warm temperatures longer in autumn.

History

Mentioned as ''Burchana fabaria'' (island of beans) by both

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and Pliny the Elder, Borkum by the time of Charlemagne was part of a larger island called ''Bant'', which consisted of the present day islands of Borkum, Juist, and the western part of Norderney. In 1484, Bant passed to the Earls of

East Frisia 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 ...

, who developed trade, and the island became known as a centre of piracy and whaling. By 1781, violent storms in the 18th century divided Bant into three islands. As whaling decreased, the inhabitants became impoverished, and many left, with the island's population falling from 852 in 1776 to 406 by 1811. The first tourists arrived on the island in 1834, and the local economy improved as a tourist resort. In ''Mexico as I saw it'', published by Thomas Nelson,

Mrs Alec Tweedie Ethel Brilliana Tweedie FRGS (1862–1940) was a prolific English author, travel writer, biographer, historian, editor, journalist, photographer and illustrator. She wrote as Mrs. Alec Tweedie, Mrs. Alec-Tweedie and as Ethel B. Harley. Early l ...

, writing in 1911 about a trip of 1900 to Mexico, compares the brick roads of

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

with those of Borkum, "the one spot on earth from which Jews are banished". This had to do with the aggressive and successful campaign of German tourists to keep Borkum free from Jewish visitors, as celebrated in the

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

"Borkum-

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

". In 1910, British officers Captain Bernard Frederick Trench and Lieutenant Vivian H. Brandon were imprisoned for espionage for photographing the military installations on the island. On 19 and 20 December 1934, Wernher von Braun launched "Max" and "Moritz", the two prototypes of the A2- rocket. In 1944, the island was the site of the massacre of 7 American POWs. After the war, these murders were prosecuted in the Borkum Island war crimes trial.

Transport

The island is partially car-free. Off-season, driving by car is permitted everywhere, otherwise there are

car-free zones Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

. The only town on the island is also called Borkum. There is an airfield in the Tüskendör area. Borkum is served by ferries from

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

, Germany and Eemshaven, the Netherlands. The Borkumer Kleinbahn narrow-gauge railway connects the harbour and the town of Borkum.

References

External links