Norddorf auf Amrum (

Öömrang Amrum Frisian, or ''Öömrang'', is the dialect of the North Frisian language spoken on the island of Amrum in the German region of North Frisia. ''Öömrang'' refers to the ''Öömrang'' Frisian name of Amrum, ''Oomram''. Together with the Fe ...

: ''Noorsaarep üüb Oomram'', da, Nordtorp) is a municipality on the island of

Amrum Amrum (; ''Öömrang'' North Frisian: ''Oomram'') is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and ha ...

, in the district of

Nordfriesland Nordfriesland (; da, Nordfrisland; frr, Nordfraschlönj ), also known as North Frisia, is the northernmost district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia (with the exception ...

, in

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 ...

, Germany.

History

Together with Süddorf, Norddorf is the oldest village of the island. In 1890,

Friedrich von Bodelschwingh Friedrich "Fritz" von Bodelschwingh (; 14 August 1877, Bethel – 4 January 1946), also known as Friedrich von Bodelschwingh the Younger, was a German pastor, theologian and public health advocate. His father was Friedrich von Bodelschwingh the El ...

founded a number of seaside

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

s in Norddorf proper and north of it. Due to this, the place developed into a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

. In 1925, great parts of the village were destroyed by a fire, so today's view of the village is dominated by mostly modern houses without

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

roofs. Today, the hospices now serve other purposes or no longer exist. During the early 20th century, the so-called ''Kniephafen'' harbour existed north of Norddorf at Amrum's vast ''Kniepsand'' beach. The port was navigable by greater vessels and it most of all served the nautical traffic between Amrum and the port of Hörnum on the neighbouring island of

Sylt Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...

. The ''Kniephafen'' was linked to the network of Amrum's island railway. In 1938, the

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

was last moved further north due to proceeding

aggradation Aggradation (or alluviation) is the term used in geology for the increase in land elevation, typically in a river system, due to the deposition of sediment. Aggradation occurs in areas in which the supply of sediment is greater than the amount of ...

. With the adjoining of the ''Kniepsand'' beach to the belt of dunes on Amrum's western shore, the harbour had to be abandoned. Until December 31, 2006, Norddorf, together with Nebel and

Wittdün Wittdün (Öömrang: ''Witjdün'', da, Vitdyn) is a municipality on the island of Amrum in the district of Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. History Unlike the other villages of Amrum, Wittdün is a relatively young settlement. ...

, formed the ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' Amrum.

Politics

Since the municipal elections of 2008, the ''Norddorfer Bürgerblock'' holds five of nine seats in Nebel's council, the CDU holds four.

Sights

Tourist attractions include a duck decoy south of the village, a centre for natural history with its focus on environmental protection, as well as the ''Kniepsand'' beach to the west. From Norddorf, Amrum's northernmost edge, called ''Odde'', can be reached. An

important bird area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

is located there, where

Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from ''Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water a ...

and other species of the Wadden Sea

tidal flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

may be observed. Guided tours are available. A belt of dunes extends north, south, and southwest of Norddorf. Amrum's highest dune (32 m), called ''a Siatler'', can be found there. On it, there is an observation platform. Further southwest, one can find the Norddorf

sector light A sector light is a man-made pilotage and position fixing aid that consists of strictly delineated horizontal angle light beams to guide water-borne traffic through a safe channel at night in reasonable visibility. Sector lights are most often ...

with its

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

elements. The light was established in 1906 and serves as a navigational aid for the ''Vortrapptief'' channel. Its bearings have got a range of (white), (red) and (green).

Economy

With 422,319 lodgings booked by 43,316 guests in 2005, the municipality ranks among the top ten places of tourist importance in Schleswig-Holstein.

Notable people

Georg Quedens Georg Quedens (born 1934 in Norddorf) is a German photographer and non-fiction writer as well as a local and natural historian. Life and work Quedens has been living on the island of Amrum since he was born, and so his work has been influenced by ...

(born 1934), photographer, author of non-fictional books, natural scientist, and local historian *

Knut Jungbohn Clement Knut Jungbohn Clement (born 4 December 1803 in the island of Amrum, Denmark – 7 October 1873 in Bergen, New Jersey) was a Danish linguist. Biography He was educated at Kiel and Heidelberg, and became PhD in 1835. At the expense of the Danish ...

(1803–1873), historian and linguist.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein Amrum Nordfriesland