The Königshafen ("king's harbour") is the northernmost bight of the North Frisian island of

Sylt Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, with a distinctively shaped shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Fris ...

in the German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

and thus also the northernmost bay in Germany. The bay gets its name from its use as a natural harbour and its legal status as part of the of Listland. The harbour was used until at least the 18th century and was later abandoned as it silted up.

Location

The bay of Königshafen lies north of the Sylt coastal resort of List and southeast of the promontory of , the northernmost point of Germany, on which stand the lighthouses of and , the two northernmost buildings in Germany. The bay has an area of roughly 4.2 km² and opens towards the east onto the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

; it is only separated from the open

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

to the west by a spit which is just 300 metres wide. In the Königshafen lie the small uninhabited island of Uthörn with its bird reserve, and the ''Lister Haken''.

History

The natural harbour formed by the bight was valued in the past as a safe haven on the North Sea coast. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, it was the most important port-of-call between the Danish town of

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

to the north and the mouth of the

River Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

to the south Thus, for centuries, the Danish kings held Listland as a royal enclave. However, according to contemporary accounts, the Königshafen began to silt up in the 18th century and became unusable for shipping. Until the mid-1980s

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

conducted regular air-to-ground firing exercises in the area.

Today

Since 1985 the Königshafen has been part of the

Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park () is a national park in the Schleswig-Holstein area of the German Wadden Sea. It was founded by the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 October 1985 by the National Park Act of 22 July 1985 and ...

and access on foot or by vehicle is only permitted under certain conditions. Part of the bay in the northwest of the Königshafen is today a popular wind surfing area. {{DEFAULTSORT:Konigshafen Bays of Schleswig-Holstein Bays of the North Sea Sylt