Ten flat islands in the North Sea, which are flooded at high tide and are grouped in a circle around the island of Pellworm – these are the Halligen. They are called Gröde, Hooge, Langeneß, Nordstrandischmoor, Oland, Habel, Hamburger Hallig, Norderoog, Süderoog and Südfall. Five of the ten Halligen are permanently inhabited. The houses on the Halligen stand on artificially raised terps that protrude from the wild North Sea at high tide. There are no dikes. There is no fresh water on the Halligen, but an interesting flora adapted to the salty sea water.

Geography, formation and nature

Geologically, the Halligen are very young and once formed on silted or flooded marshland. In the past, they often changed shape, some disappeared and others, such as the Hamburg Hallig, merged with the mainland. Floods repeatedly caused changes to the coastline. Due to sediment deposits, some Halligen even enlarged. However, maps have only been available since 1700. The flora and fauna are represented by the Hallig lilac flower, the sea beach plantain, ringed geese and many other species.

Places of interest on the Halligen

The unpredictable forces of nature and the way they are dealt with probably attract most guests to the Halligen, but the Halligen also offer some cultural sights. The pretty Hallig churches in particular are definitely worth a visit. These are located on the Halligen Hooge, Oland, Langeneß and Gröde.
Among the museums on Langeneß are the “Captain Tadsen Museum” and the cozy “Friesenstube”. Highlights on the Hallig Hooge are the local history museum, an old Frisian living room with interesting finds and the so-called Königspesel, a Frisian parlour that vividly conveys the living culture of the seafarers with its faience.

In addition, the Mensch & Watt experience centre on the Hallig Hooge provides exciting insights into the diverse relationships between man and nature on the Halligen. Highlights are the tidal aquarium and the mudflat workshop.

In the storm surge cinema, visitors are shown a typical country underwater on a large screen. Langeneß has the exhibition room of the Wadden Sea Conservation Station on the Rixwarft, where visitors can get an idea of the nature and culture on the Halligen in two exhibitions and guided tours during the summer season. There is another exhibition room on the Peterswarft. Here, the plants of the salt marshes and the bird life are the focus. But the challenges for the Halligen due to climate change are also discussed.

The replica of a sailing cart and a post windmill on the Ketelswarft Captain Tadsen Museum also attract interested parties.

Wadden hikes

Various mudflat hikes are offered, including one from the mainland to Hallig Oland, another to Gröde and another from Hallig Hooge to Japsand. Usually a visit to a Hallig church and of course a terp is included in the program. The duration is six to seven hours, but shorter mudflat walks with a duration of about two hours are also on offer. A total of 3200 animal species live in the Wadden Sea, 250 of them in the salt marshes. There are over 60 species of fish in the water. Countless mussels, snails, small crabs and of course the famous lugworm can be observed during a mudflat hike. The experienced mudflat guides provide informative insights into the Wadden Sea ecosystem and have all kinds of stories and anecdotes in their luggage. For young and older guests alike, a mudflat hike is a highlight during a stay on the Halligen. Visitors’ favourites are seals and grey seals, which are mainly found on the offshore sandbanks.

Life on the Halligen

The Halligen have been continuously inhabited since the Viking Age. At that time, Frisians who came from the area of the mouth of the Rhine settled here. From the very beginning, the terps served as protection against flooding. On the upper floor, all houses have had their own shelter since the huge storm surge of 1962. Today, about 230 people live on the Halligen, mainly from tourism as the most important source of income. In addition, agriculture with its focus on livestock farming still plays a certain role.

A smaller part of the population works for coastal protection at the Office for Rural Areas of the State of Schleswig-Holstein. Individual people are employed as teachers and pastors. In addition, NABU and WWF maintain stations with employees on the Halligen.

For a long time, electricity was generated by windmills and generators, but until the 1960s it still happened that Hallig residents did not have secure access to electricity. In the meantime, there are power cables to the mainland that guarantee a continuous power supply.

For a long time, the inhabitants were dependent on the collection of rainwater in cisterns for the water supply. A distinction was made between service water for humans and for livestock. The latter was stored in a water pit at the highest point of the terp. Longer dry seasons or the salinization of drinking water were constantly in the room as dangers. Fresh water then only came to the Halligen by ship. Similar to electricity generation, water pipelines to the mainland have been built since the 1960s. The uninhabited Halligen, on the other hand, still have no fresh water pipe.

Since the 1990s, the Hallig residents have also had Internet access. In the meantime, efforts are being made to get a fiber optic connection. Modernity has found its way into the stormy island world. Smaller grocery stores are available on Hooge and Langeneß for daily shopping, otherwise food is delivered by ship. There are certain delivery days for this purpose.

Nursing stations are owned by the Halligen Hooge and Langeneß. Of course, Hallig schools are not missing either, even if the number of teachers and pupils remains very manageable. The relationship between teacher and student is very close, there are even school classes that consist of only one student. But the funding is all the better.

Coastal protection, flooding and the current situation

In 1825, the great Hallig flood swallowed up all but the Halligen, which still exist today. A large loss of land was the result. Due to Lahnungen and stone layers, the area of the Halligen is even increasing today. However, the heights of storm surges continue to rise, especially in times of climate change, and require regular adjustments. In this way, the terps were further raised and fortified. Together with the Hallig residents, all inhabited terps are to be raised. The North Frisian outer sands of Japsand, Norderoogsand and Süderoogsand also contribute to the protection of the Halligen. However, it is still called land under, especially in the winter months. Up to 20 times a year, the sea floods the Halligen. Last but not least, the floods promote natural growth and ensure salinity.

Festivals and traditions

The festivals and traditions on the Halligen include the Biike brennen, the ringed goose days and the traditional costume summer. The Biike brennen heralds the end of winter and, like everywhere else in northern Germany, is a great spectacle. They celebrate and drink together. The Brent Goose Days are all about nature conservation and bird watching, when huge flocks of Brent Geese stop off on the lush green Hallig meadows. At the Trachtensommer, more than twenty traditional costume groups from the Halligen and the mainland dance together on the meadow of the Hanswarft. In addition, the women serve culinary delicacies. The character of the festival remained very familiar. Other festivals on the Halligen are the museum market with an open day in the Hallig Museum on Hooge, the lock festival with sailing regatta and the winter market on Langeneß

The community of Grömitz in the sunny southeast of the district of Ostholstein, which has been known and popular as a hospitable bathing and holiday resort for decades, is a traditional seaside resort in the heart of the Bay of Lübeck. The most important crowd puller is the more than 8-kilometre-long south beach with first-class tourist infrastructure, numerous hotels, holiday homes and apartment complexes in the centre. Just a little further out is the truly paradisiacal “Lensterstrand” with several campsites in the midst of romantic dune landscapes and idyllic bird sanctuaries.

One of the oldest seaside resorts on the German Baltic Sea is always worth a visit

When the then still quite sleepy and tranquil fishing village was named one of the first seaside resorts on the German and Holstein Baltic Sea coasts as early as 1813, the place already looked back on a history of permanent settlement spanning more than 600 years. Initially, members of West Slavic tribes probably built here from the 9. or 10th century, a fortified village called “Groebeniz” was fortified by a massive rampart, the remains of which are now partly in the Wall Museum in Oldenburg in Holstein. The oldest surviving building on site, on the other hand, is the Evangelical-Lutheran Nicolaikirche in Kirchenstraße, built around 1200 from field stones, which burned down completely during the Thirty Years’ War and lost its pointed tower. Between the early 14th and late In the 15th century, the development of the village was quite slow and leisurely. In 1323, the knightly family of the von Westensee near Kiel sold their property to the Benedictine abbey of Cismar.

In the historic monastery at the gates of the city, everything revolves around art today

Founded in 1245 and secularized in 1561 in the course of the Reformation in Holstein, the monastery in today’s Grömitz district of Cismar with currently about 800 inhabitants was a much-visited place of pilgrimage until then. Since 1987, the extensive building complex in the north of Grömitz has housed a branch of the Schleswig-Holstein State Museums. In winter, well-attended classical concerts are regularly held here. Up to 80,000 visitors also attend the nationally known large monastery festival including an arts and crafts market every year in mid-August. At the approximately 150 market stalls, food and drinks are offered in addition to clothing, jewellery and gift items. The grounds of the former monastery and its church can be visited in the summer months on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. as part of a one-hour guided tour. Guided visits for larger groups outside these hours are possible by prior registration and arrangement. A visit can be best combined with hikes on the approximately 5-kilometre-long hiking trail to the nearby Baltic Sea.

Where maritime trade with Scandinavia once flourished, pleasure boats now stop

From the 14th and 17th centuries, the natural local deep-sea harbour was at least as important for the economic development of the town of Grömitz as the Cismar Monastery, where numerous cargo ships from northern German Hanseatic cities and Denmark unloaded their precious goods and brought them ashore. However, after the port of Grömitz gradually silted up due to local sandbanks such as the “Walkyriegrund”, which is still known as a profitable fishing ground for pike, trout and cod, long-distance and maritime trade quickly lost its economic importance again. Towards the end of the 1960s, the derelict harbour area was expanded into a sports boat harbour with initially 500 berths and, after an expansion between 1990 and 1992, with 780 berths. The modern marina on the maritime-themed adventure promenade also offers various cosy gastronomic facilities, a barbecue area, a catamaran and surf school as well as the best view of the blue sea off the coast, where regattas with international participation are often held seasonally.

High waves, long ships and many not too wild animals in the middle of East Holstein

Other popular and recommended excursion destinations in and around Grömitz are the almost 400-metre-long pier with diving bell, the “Grömitzer Welle” adventure pool and the 27-hole golf course, where you can improve your handicap with a sea view. The port is also home to the Grömitz sea rescue station, founded in 1912, where the 28-metre-long sea rescue cruiser “Felix Sand” has been ready for emergencies since 2021. Especially for families with children as well as animal lovers of all ages, the “Zoo Arche Noah Grömitz”, which opened in 1976 and now covers 10 hectares, offers many interesting impressions with currently about 300 animals from about 50 species. The seal enclosure and the petting enclosure with goats and donkeys are particularly popular with the youngest guests. The contemporary, spacious chimpanzee enclosure with an area of one hectare has been awarded in the past as extremely successful. In the dense and green forests around Grömitz there are two famous oaks that are often used as hiking destinations. The approximately 300-year-old oak at the Klostersee farm between Cismar, Grönwohldshorst and Kellenhusen and the 5-mark oak near Guttau, which is not far away and another 50 years older, are each protected natural monuments.

Whether on land or water: Grömitz and its surroundings enchant with a lot of nature

In the district of Cismar, which has already been mentioned and described in more detail above, there is the former monastery of the same name, as well as the natural history museum “House of Nature”, which opened in 1979, with thousands of fossils, minerals and especially numerous molluscs (molluscs) such as mussels and snails. In the outdoor area of the museum, which is recognized as pedagogically valuable, there is a monastery garden based on the medieval model with about 100 species of colorfully blooming and intensely fragrant culinary and medicinal herbs. Also in the immediate vicinity of the small village in the Fiekenhörn forest area is the megalithic megalithic megalithic tomb Cismar from the Neolithic Age, which is often visited by hikers and cyclists. The authentic neighbouring communities of Grömitz, such as Kabelhorst, Manhagen, Riepsdorf, Grube, Kellenhusen and Schashagen, are also ideal for walking. If, on the other hand, you are drawn to the open sea, an excursion to Fehmarn, Boltenhagen and Travemünde from the pier in Grömitz is just the thing.