Nordfriesland (literally "Northern Frisia") is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Schleswig-Flensburg and Dithmarschen, the North Sea and the Danish county of South Jutland.

History

There has always been a strong influence of the sea in the region. In medieval times storm tides made life in Nordfriesland quite dangerous. Only in modern times the loss of land and lives could be stopped by building solid dikes. Many villages that once were, are now at the bottom of the sea. The best-known example is the small seaport of Rungholt, which was destroyed by a storm tide in 1362. The island of Strand vanished in another disastrous storm in 1634: subsequent to this storm tide there were many small islets instead of Strand.

Until 1864, Nordfriesland was a part of Denmark. It is still a multilingual district: there are people speaking High German, Low German, Frisian and Danish. The Frisian language exists in nine slightly different dialects, but it is mainly used by older persons. After becoming German three districts were established: Südtondern in the north, Husum in the centre, and Eiderstedt in the south. In 1970 the three districts were merged.

Geography

The entire coast is part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. Nordfriesland includes the coastal section between Dithmarschen and Denmark. In the south there is the Eiderstedt peninsula, where the Eider river meets the sea.

The North Frisian Islands are part of the district and located inside the national park as well. There are five large islands (Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, Pellworm and Nordstrand) and ten small islets known as Halligen .

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays three golden ships on a blue background. These arms have been used by the Eiderstedt peninsula since the 17th century. When the district was established in 1970, the arms of Eiderstedt were applied to the entire district. Differing from the old arms, though, there are three images visible on the ships' sails: a plow, a herring and a bull's head.

Towns and municipalities

External link

• Official website (in German)