Tinnum (North Frisian: ''Tinem'') is a village on 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 ...

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 ...

in the district of Nordfriesland 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 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 ...

. Today, it is an ''Ortsteil'' of the '' Gemeinde Sylt''.

Etymology

The meaning of Tinnum (North Frisian: ''Tinem'') is unclear. It may derive from ''teninge'', an Old Frisian word for "enclosure". Alternatively, it may mean "home of Tinne".

History

In the marshes southwest of the village lies the so-called ''Tinnumburg'', a

circular rampart A circular rampart (German: ''Ringwall'') is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The ...

on a site that shows sign of human use going back 2,000 years. Local tradition holds that Thing meetings used to be held near

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s to the north of the village (now removed to make way for the airport). ''Tynnum'' was first mentioned in a document in 1462. In 1613, there were 34 land owners. In 1649, the ''Landvogtei'' was constructed - the seat of the ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'', the local representative of the liege lord. Tinnum remained the seat of the ''Vogt'' of Sylt until 1868. The first (private) school was built in Tinnum in 1659. In 1665, there were 55 taxable homes, including a newly constructed mill. In 1770, there were 88 houses, but that number was reduced by the great flood of 1825 to 72 (252 inhabitants). In 1837, the prison for Sylt was built here and Tinnum became the seat of the ''Amtsgericht'' (local court), until it was moved to Westerland in 1904. In 1838, a school of navigation moved to Tinnum. By 1890, there were 72 houses with 347 inhabitants. Tinnum was connected to the Westerland electricity grid in 1925. In the 1920s, Tinnum was the source of much of the earth used in construction of the

Hindenburgdamm The Hindenburgdamm or Hindenburg Dam is an 11 km-long causeway joining the North Frisian island of Sylt to mainland Schleswig-Holstein. Its coordinates are . It was opened on 1 June 1927 and is exclusively a railway corridor. The companie ...

. From 1927 until 1930, Tinnum had a station on the newly built Westerland-Niebüll railway line. Tinnum's vicinity to Westerland and its central location near the railway line resulted in industrial estates and warehouses being constructed in the village, changing its rural appearance, especially following World War II.

Geography

The centre of Tinnum is located circa 4 kilometres southeast of the centre of Westerland. The total area of the ''Ortsteil'' is around 751 hectares.

Demographics

Tinnum has a population of around 3,100 (2013).

Economy

Today, tourism dominates the local economy. The business park areas along the K117 road play an important role in servicing both the tourism industry and the general Sylt economy. There are also several large scale retail businesses. A dairy closed in 1996. Since 1960, Tinnum has held the status of ''Luftkurort'' (climatic spa).

Attractions

''Tinnumburg''

The site today called ' has yielded findings dating back around 2,000 years. It likely served as a pagan cult site at that point. After a lapse of several hundred years, the currently visible earthen ramparts (remaining height up to 8 metres, depth up to 20 metres, diameter 120 metres) were built. During the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, the structure was used to protect dwellings. A 1976 excavation found the remains of prehistoric hearth sites and earthen huts. In the 18th century, a ''Landvogt'' had the site "excavated" and one of the walls pierced. In the 19th century, farmers used the site as a watering place for cattle. Trenches dug during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

were later filled in.

Others

A small zoo has been in operation since 1963, showing around 300 species.

Government

With the ''Gebietsreform'' of 1970, the village of Tinnum became an ''Ortsteil'' of

Sylt-Ost Sylt-Ost (translated, East Sylt) is a former municipality on the island of Sylt, in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It used to be the administrative seat of the ''Amt Landschaft Sylt'' and a municipality into which ...

. Sylt-Ost was merged on 1 January 2009 with Rantum and the town of Westerland. In separate referendums in 2008, Westerland (by a large majority) and Sylt-Ost (narrowly) agreed to the merger in May 2008. Rantum followed. In September 2008, the merger contract was signed. Tinnum is now an ''Ortsteil'' of ''Gemeinde Sylt''. Since 1 May 2015, the mayor of ''Gemeinde Sylt has been Nikolas Häckel.

Infrastructure

Transport

The K117 road connects Tinnum to Keitum and Westerland. ' operates buses that provide public transport on the island. Sylt Airport is located immediately to the north of the village. However, the terminal is on the western side of the airfield, near Westerland.

References

External links

Tinnum tourist office (German)
{{authority control Villages in Schleswig-Holstein Sylt Nordfriesland