name	Sylt
locator map	Wadden - Sylt.PNG
native name	Söl, Sild
location	Wadden Sea
coordinates
archipelago	North Frisian Islands
major islands	Sylt, Föhr, Amrum
area km2	99
length km	38
width km	13
highest mount	Uwe-Düne
elevation m	52
country
country admin divisions title	State
country admin divisions
country admin divisions title 1	District
country admin divisions 1	Nordfriesland
population	21,000
density km2	212
ethnic groups	Germans, Frisians, Danes
website	www.sylt.de }}

Sylt (; ; Söl'ring North Frisian: ''Söl' '') 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 Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia. The northernmost island of Germany, it is known for its tourist resorts, notably Westerland, Kampen and Wenningstedt-Braderup, as well as for its 40 km long sandy beach. It is frequently covered by the media in connection with its exposed situation in the North Sea and its ongoing loss of land during storm tides. Since 1927, Sylt has been connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway.

Geography [link]

With 99.14 km², Sylt is the fourth-largest German island and the largest German North Sea island. Sylt is situated at 9 to 16 km off the mainland, being connected there by the Hindenburgdamm. Southeast of Sylt the islands Föhr and Amrum are located, to the north lies the Danish island Rømø. The island of Sylt extends for 38 km in a north-south direction and on its northern peak at ''Königshafen'' is only 320 m wide. Its widest distance, from the town of Westerland in the west to the eastern ''Nössespitze'' near Morsum, measures 12.6 km. On the western and northwestern shore a 40 km sand beach is located, east of Sylt the Wadden Sea is situated, which belongs to the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park and mostly falls dry during low tide.

The island's shape has constantly shifted over time, a process which is still ongoing today. The northern and southern spits of Sylt are exclusively made up of unfertile sand deposits, while the central part with the municipalities of Westerland, Wenningstedt-Braderup and Sylt-Ost consists of a geestland core, which becomes apparent in the form of the Red Cliff of Wenningstedt. The geestland facing the Wadden Sea gradually turns into fertile marshland around Sylt-Ost. Today sources show that Sylt has only been an island since the ''Grote Mandrenke'' flood of 1362. The so called ''Uwe-Düne'' (Uwe Dune) is the island's highest elevation with 52.5 m above sea level.

On Sylt a marine climate influenced by the Gulf stream is predominant. With an average of 2 °C, winter months are slightly milder than on the mainland, summer months though with a median of 17 °C are somewhat cooler, despite a longer sunshine period on Sylt. The annual average sunshine period of Sylt is 4.4 hours per day. It is due to the low relief of the shoreline that Sylt had a total of 1899 hours of sunshine in 2005, 180 hours above the German average. Clouds cannot accumulate as quickly and are generally scattered by the constant westerly or northwesterly winds.

The annual mean temperature is 8.5 °C. The annually averaged wind speed measures 6.7 m/s, predominantly from western directions. The annual rainfall amounts to about 650 millimetres. Since 1937 weather data are collected at Deutscher Wetterdienst's northernmost station on a dune near List, which has meanwhile become automated. A number of commercial meteorological services like Meteomedia AG operate stations in List too.

The island in its current form has only existed for about 400 years. Like the mainland geestland, it was formed of moraines from the older ice ages, thus being made up of a till core, which is now apparent in the island's west and centre by the cliff, dunes and beach. This sandy core began to erode as it was exposed to a strong current along the island's steep basement when the sea level rose 8000 years ago. During the process, sediments were accumulated north and south of the island. The west coast, which was originally situated 10 km off today's shore, was thus gradually moved eastward, while at the same time the isle began to extend to the north and south. After the ice ages, marshland began to form around this geestland core.

In 1141, Sylt is recorded as an island, yet before the ''Grote Mandrenke'' flood it belonged to a landscape cut by tidal creeks and at least during low tide it could be reached by foot. Only after this flood, the creation of a spit from sediments began to form the current characteristical shape of Sylt. Thereby mainly the northern and southern edges of Sylt were and still are the subject of great change. E.g. Listland was separated from the rest of the island in the 14th century and from the later 17th century on, the ''Königshafen'' (King's Harbour) began to silt up as the "elbow" spit began to form.

In addition to the constant loss of land, the inhabitants during the Little Ice Age were strained by sand drift. Dunes shifting to the east threatened settlements and arable land and had to be stopped by the planting of marram grass in the 18th century. Consequently though, material breaking off the island was increasingly washed away and the island's substance continued to decrease.

Record of the annual land loss exist since 1870. According to them, Sylt lost an annual 0.4 m of land in the north and 0.7 m in the south from 1870 to 1951. From 1951 to 1984, the ratio increased while to 0.9 and 1.4 m respectively, while shorelines at the island's very edges at Hörnum and List are even more affected.

Severe storm surges of the last decades have repeatedly endagered Sylt to the edge of breaking in two, e.g. Hörnum was temporarily cut off the island in 1962. Part of the island near Rantum which is only 500m wide is especially threatened.

Measures of protection against the continuous erosion date back to the early 19th century when groynes of wooden poles were constructed. Those were built rectangular into the sea from the coast line. Later they were replaced by metal and eventually by armoured concrete groynes. The constructions did not have the desired effect though to stop the erosion caused by crossways currents. "Leeward erosion", i.e. erosion on the downwind side of the groynes prevented sustainable accumulation of sand.

In the 1960s it was tried to break the power of the sea by installing tetrapods along the groyne bases or by putting them into the sea like groynes. The four-fingered structures, built in France, were too heavy for Sylt's beaches with tons of weight and were equally unable to prevent erosion. Therefore they were removed from the Hörnum west beach in 2005.

Since the early 1970s the only effective means so far has been flushing sand onto the shore. Dredging vessels are used to pump a mixture of sand and water to a beach where it is spread by bulldozers. Thus storm floods will only erase the artificial storage of sand, while the shoreline proper remains intact and erosion is slowed down. This procedure causes considerable costs. The required budget of an annual €10 million is currently provided by federal German, Schleswig-Holstein state and EU funds. Since 1972 an estimated 35.5 million cubic metres of sand have been flushed ashore and dumped on Sylt. The measures have so far cost more than €134 million in total, but according to scientific calculations they are sufficient to prevent greater loss of land for at least three decades, so the benefits for the island's economic power and for the economically underdeveloped region in general would outweigh the costs. In the 1995 study ''Klimafolgen für Mensch und Küste am Beispiel der Nordseeinsel Sylt'' (Climate impact for Man and Shores as seen on the North Sea island Sylt) it reads: ''"Hätte Sylt nicht das Image einer attraktiven Ferieninsel, gäbe es den Küstenschutz in der bestehenden Form gewiss nicht"'' (If Sylt did not have the image of an attractive holiday island, coastal management in its current form would certainly not exist).

The enforcement of a natural reef off Sylt is being discussed as an alternative solution. A first experiment was conducted from 1996 to 2003. A sand drainage as being successfully used on Danish islands is not likely to work on Sylt owing to the underwater slope here.

Parallelly to the ongoing sand flushing, the deliberate demolition of groynes has begun amid great effort at certain beach sections where they were proven largely ineffective. This measure also terminated the presumably most famous groyne of Sylt, ''Buhne 16'' — the namesake of the local nude beach.

A number of experts, however, fears that Sylt will still have to face considerable losses of land until the mid 21st century. The continuous global warming is thought to result in increasing storm activity, which would result in increased land loss and, as a first impact, might mean the end for property insurances. Measurements showed that, unlike in former times, the wave energy of the sea is not any more consumed off the beach, today it carries its destructive effects on to the beaches proper. This will result in an annual loss of sand of 1.1 million m³. The dunes of the island constitute nature reserves and may only be entered on marked tracks. So called "wild paths" promote erosion and are not to be followed. Where vegetation is tread upon and no roots are left to hold the sand, it will be removed by wind and water.

The Wadden Sea on the east side between Sylt and the mainland is nature reserve and bird sanctuary since 1935 and is part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. The construction of breakwaters in this area shall abate sedimentation and is used for land reclamation.

Also the grazing of sheep on the sea dikes and heaths of Sylt eventually serves coastal management, since the animals keep the vegetation short and compress the soil with their hooves. Thus they help create a denser dike surface, which in case of storm surges provides less area for the waves to impact.

Flora and fauna[link]

The flora of Sylt is shaped by the island's original sparingness. Until the mid 19th century Sylt was an island almost completely devoid of trees, only artificial plantations created small areas of forest and bush. Still today one can recognize the devised structure of the ''Friedrichshain'' and ''Südwäldchen'' forests in Westerland, the trees are mostly standing in rank and file. Also the now widespread Rosa rugosa, known as "Sylt rose" on the island was only imported to Sylt. It originates from the Kamchatka peninsula in Siberia. The undemanding rose met ideal conditions on Sylt and spread so quickly that it is now a common sight on the island. Its proliferation is viewed critically from a biological point of view, since it threatens to displace endangered local species, especially on the heaths.

The ample heaths on the eastern side of the island provide habitats for many rare species of plants and animals which are adapted to the extreme conditions like drought, warmth, wind. About 2,500 animal species and 150 species of plants have so far been recorded. 45% of those plants are on the IUCN Red List. Especially notable are the 600 species of butterflies that live in the heaths, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, Painted Lady and Peacock butterfly among them.

With several thousand individuals in the dune belt of Sylt, the Natterjack Toad, endangered in Germany, has one of Germany's largest habitats here. Their spawning places are wettened dune slacks and shallow, short-lived pools.For a living they prefer sandy areas with vegetation. The main threat for this species on Sylt is road traffic.

The many water birds and other coastal avians, that have their hatching grounds on Sylt or use the island for resting on their migrations constitute an ornithological feature. There are two notable hatching areas on Sylt, the ''Königshafen'' bay with the small island Uthörn in the north and the Rantum basin in the southeast. Birds that hatch on Sylt include Black-headed Gull, Arctic Tern, Pied Avocet, Common Redshank, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Common Shelduck and Tufted Duck. During the migration, Sylt is a resting spot for thousands of Brent Gooses and Shelducks, Eurasian Wigeons and Common Eiders, as well as Bar-tailed Godwit, Red knots, Dunlins and Eurasian Golden Plovers. Ringed Plover, Common Snipe, Ruff and other species are less common visitors to the island.

Concerning land mammals, there is no significant deviation from the neighbouring areas of mainland Nordfriesland. Primarily European Hare, Rabbit and Roe deer can be found and are also hunted as game on the island. When the island was connected to the mainland by the causeway, also fox and badger became common.

West of Sylt a breeding area of Harbour Porpoises is located. In addition, great numbers of Harbour Seals and Grey Seals, the latters being rather uncommon in German seas, can be found on sand banks off Sylt.

Numerous associations and societies that care for the exploration and the protection of endangered animals and plants have their branches on Sylt. Among them are the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Verein Jordsand and Wadden Sea Conservation Station. Also the Federal Office for the Environment operates a research station in the dunes at Westerland.

Settlements [link]

Sylt is divided into two administrative bodies: the ''Amt'' Landschaft Sylt with its seat in Keitum administrates all municipalities on the island, save for the independent town of Westerland. As of December 2007, Sylt had 21,190 inhabitants, 9,072 of whom living in Westerland. These numbers do not include owners of summer residences.

A referendum held in May 2008 resulted in a merger of the Sylt-Ost municipality with the town of Westerland due 1 January 2009. Various groups of interest are hoping to fuse all municipalities on the island into a single governing body.

Settlements along the west coast[link]

Six municipalities are situated along the west coast of Sylt. List in the very north of the island constitutes Germany's northernmost municipality, it retained a certain independence due to its remote location and its long-time adherence to the kingdom of Denmark. On its eastern shore, a harbour is located where, in addition to tourist ships, the "Sylt-Express" ferry-boat sails to Havneby on the Danish island Rømø. Wenningstedt together with Braderup and Kampen used to form the Norddörfer (Northern Villages) municipality, an early intercommunal association, which partly remains today in form of a school union. While Kampen, mainly in the 1950s and 1960s was famous in Germany for attracting celebrities, Wenningstedt is known as a "family resort" for more than 100 years. Since 1855, the prominent black and white Kampen lighthouse is located between Kampen and Wenningstedt, it is the oldest one on the island. East of there, the "Braderuper Heide" nature reserve is situated. Right south of Wenningstedt are the town limits of the island's metropolis, Westerland.

After the complete destruction of the village Eidum by a storm surge on 1 November 1436, the survivors founded a new village northeast of their old home: Westerland. The name was first recorded in 1462. In 1865 a seaside spa was founded, 50 years later Westerland was granted town privileges. In 1949 it was finally officially recognised as a health resort. In 2007, the town counted 9,072 citizens.

South of Westerland, the island extends for about 15 km in the form of a spit, until it is cut by the ''Hörnumtief'' tidal creek, that runs through the Wadden Sea mudflats east of Sylt. Here is the location of Rantum. This village, like no other on Sylt, had to fight sand drift during the past centuries. Many farmsteads and a church had to be abandoned because of shifting dunes moving eastward. Only the planting of marram grass stopped the dunes and put an end to this threat. To the east there are a few scattered spots of marshland, while the area is mostly coined by dunes.

Hörnum on the island's southern headland is the youngest village, having been founded shortly after 1900. But already in former times the uninhabited southern tip of Sylt was said to serve as refuge for pirates and fishermen. The name ''Budersand'' in the area emanates from that custom, marking a great dune where booths () stood in former times to serve as shelters. This southern headland, called ''Odde'', is marked by continuous loss of land. Each year great amounts of sand are washed away by storm floods and coastal management has not yet seen sustainable effects in the area, so that further losses have to be expected.

Sylt-Ost [link]

Sylt-Ost (''East Sylt'') is a township, consisting of several small villages on the ''Nössehalbinsel'' on Sylt. The population (as of 2000) is 5,500. The villages include Tinnum, Munkmarsch, Archsum, Morsum and Keitum.

Tinnum [link]

''Tinnum castle'' (''Tinnumburg'') is a circular parapet with a diameter of 120 meters and a height of 8 meters. It was built in the 1st century BC, likely as a pagan holy site.

Keitum [link]

Keitum has a historical church (''St. Severin church''), dating back to the 13th century. The ''green cliff'' is also located near Keitum. The village has been the economical and social center of the island until tourism started to get higher importance and Westerland, the island's only town, started to expand. From the old days are still many beautiful Frisian houses left which were built by the town's seafarers especially during the days of whale hunting 1650–1850).

Munkmarsch [link]

Munkmarsch has been the main port of the Island. Ferries from Hoyer (today in Denmark) landed here. When the "Hindenburg Damm" was finished in the 1920s, the town lost its importance. A marina is today located at the old port.

Archsum [link]

Of all villages on Sylt, Archsum has the highest percentage of inhabitants still speaking Söl'ring.

Morsum [link]

Morsum has a historical church (''St. Martin church''), dating back to the same era as the one in Keitum. Morsum is also known for its ''morsum cliff'', that shows the geological history of the last five million years on its height of 21 meters. It has been under landscape conservation since 1893.

Transport [link]

Sylt is connected to the German mainland by the Hindenburgdamm, a causeway with a railway line on top. The passenger trains connect Westerland to Niebüll or Klanxbüll, and there is also the option of taking one's car onto the train at Niebüll. Furthermore, Ferry services to the nearby Danish island of Rømø exist. Beyond, Sylt Airport serves the region.

Culture [link]

Sylt is a unique part of Germany, since it is part of the Frisian Islands. It has its own dialect, Söl'ring, which is the indigenous speech of Sylt. Söl'ring is a unique dialect of insular North Frisian, with elements of Danish, Dutch and English. Today, only a small fraction of the population still speaks Söl'ring. A law to promote the language („Friesisch-Gesetz“) was passed in 2004. The northernmost part of the island, ''Listland'', was traditionally Danish-speaking.

As in many areas in Schleswig-Holstein on New Year's Eve, groups of children go masked from house to house, reciting poems. This is known as "Rummelpottlaufen", and as a reward, children receive sweets and/or money.

Sylt also has unique Frisian-style houses.

History [link]

Sylt was originally part of Jutland (today Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein)

There is evidence of human habitation going back to 3000 BC at Denghoog

First settlements of Frisians during the 8th century and 9th century

Sylt was divided between the Duke of Schleswig and the Kingdom of Denmark in 1386

Except for the town of List, Sylt became part of the Duchy of Schleswig in 1435

During the 17th century and 18th century, whaling, fishing and oyster breeding increased the wealth of the population

Keitum became the capital of the island, and a place for rich captains to settle down

In the 19th century, tourism began; Westerland replaced Keitum as the capital

During World War I, Sylt became a military outpost, but did not suffer from war damage

In 1927, a rail causeway to the mainland was built, the Hindenburgdamm, named after Paul von Hindenburg

During World War II, Sylt became a fortress, with concrete bunkers built below the dunes at the shore, some of which are still visible today. Lager Sylt, the concentration camp on Alderney was named after the island.

When Nazi Germany lost the war Rudolf Höss hid on the island, but was captured there and brought to trial in Nürnberg.

Today, Sylt is mainly a tourist attraction, famous for its healthy climate, and the many German celebrities who own houses on the island. The beach even has a nude section.

In other media[link]

The island was used during the filming of The Ghost Writer, as an alternate location for Martha's Vineyard, due to travel restrictions on the film's director, Roman Polanski.

See also [link]

Üüs Söl’ring Lön’, insular anthem

Heinz Reinefarth a German military officer during and official after World War II.

Uthlande

Victor jagt zwölf Boxkämpfer quer über den großen Sylter Deich ''"Victor chases twelve boxers across the great dam of Sylt"'', a German pangram.

References[link]

Frisian Shores: The Island of Sylt in hidden europe magazine, 10 (September 2006), pp. 6–8

External links [link]

Sylt von A-Z

Syltisch

Sylt IPTV

Sylt

Sylt - JustSylt

Category:North Frisian Islands Category:Resorts in Germany

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name	Frank Schätzing
birth date	May 28, 1957
birth place	Cologne, Germany
occupation	Novelist
genre	Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller
website	http://www.frank-schaetzing.com/ }}

(born May 28, 1957 in Cologne), is a German writer, mostly known for his best-selling science fiction novel ''The Swarm'' (2004).

Life [link]

Schätzing was born in Cologne and studied communication studies; he later ran his own company, an advertising agency named INTEVI, in Cologne. Schätzing became a writer in 1990, and penned several novellas and satires. His first published novel was the historical ''Tod und Teufel'' in 1995, and in 2000 his thriller ''Lautlos''.

Schätzing achieved his greatest success in 2004 with the science fiction thriller ''The Swarm''.

Works [link]

Books [link]

''Tod und Teufel'' (1995), ISBN 3-442-45531-6

''Mordshunger'' (1996), ISBN 3-924491-71-2

''Die dunkle Seite'' (1997), ISBN 3-924491-85-2

''Keine Angst'' (1999), ISBN 3-924491-88-7

''Lautlos'' (2000), ISBN 3-89705-211-3

''Der Schwarm'' (2004), ISBN 3-462-03374-3

''Nachrichten aus einem unbekannten Universum'' (2006), ISBN 3-462-03690-4

''Die tollkühnen Abenteuer der Ducks auf hoher See'' (ed.) (2006), ISBN 3-936384-24-X

''Limit'' (2009), ISBN 978-3-462-03704-3

Audiobooks [link]

''Tod und Teufel'' (1999/2003)

''Keine Angst'' (2001)

''Der Schwarm'' (2004)

''Nachrichten aus einem unbekannten Universum'' (2006)

Prizes [link]

2005 Goldene Feder (''Der Schwarm'')

2004 "Corine" (in the category belletristic literature)

External links [link]

Biography(German)

Reviews of Nachrichten aus einem unbekannten Universum, Der Schwarm, Lautlos, Die dunkle Seite, Tod und Teufel (German)

Review of ''Der Schwarm'' audiobook (German)

Biography at Buchtips.net (German)

''Der Schwarm'' official website

Uma Thurman buys rights to 'The Swarm'

'The Swarm' at IMDb (restricted access)

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:People from Cologne Category:German crime fiction writers Category:German science fiction writers Category:Bancarella Prize winners

de:Frank Schätzing es:Frank Schätzing fr:Frank Schätzing it:Frank Schätzing hu:Frank Schätzing nl:Frank Schätzing ja:フランク・シェッツィング pl:Frank Schätzing ro:Frank Schätzing ru:Шетцинг, Франк fi:Frank Schätzing vi:Frank Schätzing zh:法蘭克·薛慶

Name	Mark Medlock
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Mark Leon Medlock
Birth date	July 09, 1978
Birth place	Frankfurt, Hesse
Origin	Offenbach am Main, Hesse, Germany
Genre	Pop, Soul, Sunshine pop, Dance-pop
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2007–present
Label	SonyBMG
Associated acts	Dieter Bohlen, Lisa Bund, Martin Stosch, Francisca Urio, Lionel Richie, Joe Cocker
Website	MarkMedlock.de }}

Mark Medlock (born 9 July 1978 in Frankfurt, Hesse) is a German singer and the winner of the season 4 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), the German version of ''Pop Idol''.

Early life[link]

Medlock is the elder of two siblings born to an African-American father from Georgia, Larry Medlock, and a German mother, Monika, in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. Mark and his brother Larry were raised in a semi-poor home in the Lohwaldsiedlung neighborhood of Offenbach am Main during their formative years, before eventually moving to the Lauterborn neighborhood in 1997. At the age of six, Medlock began singing gospel, widely influenced by his father and soul singers such as James Brown and Barry White.

At the end of the 1990s his mother fell sick with cancer. Medlock subsequently left school and cared for her until her death in 2000. Two years later his father died of a heart attack. In the meantime Mark made a living with various jobs, including employment as a geriatric orderly, gardener, swamper and garbage remover.

Deutschland sucht den Superstar[link]

Medlock was one of the favorite contestants right from the beginning of the competition. He had wowed the audience and the judges with his first performance in the Top 20 motto show and so on to the final. Medlock eventually won the competition with 78.02 % of the votes against Martin Stosch who originally placed fourth but returned because of Max Buskohl's withdrawal.

Medlock is next to season five winner Thomas Godoj the second contestant of all German seasons who always gained the majority of vote calls during any of the nine theme shows and the two Top 20 shows. He is also one of two winners who was revealed to have never been in the bottom 3 during the competition, as well as being the first multiracial winner.

Discography [link]

''Mr. Lonely'' (2007)

''Dreamcatcher'' (with Dieter Bohlen) (2007)

''Cloud Dancer'' (2008)

''Club Tropicana'' (2009)

''Rainbow's End'' (2010)

''My World'' (2011)

References [link]

External links [link]

Official site of Mark Medlock

News Mark Medlock at ModernTalking.ir

Radio Comedy at 1live.de

Category:1978 births Category:German people of African descent Category:People from Offenbach am Main Category:Deutschland sucht den Superstar participants Category:Idol series winners Category:German male singers Category:English-language singers of Germany Category:LGBT musicians from Germany Category:Living people

de:Mark Medlock es:Mark Medlock fr:Mark Medlock lb:Mark Medlock nl:Mark Medlock pl:Mark Medlock ru:Медлок, Марк sh:Mark Medlock zh:馬克·米洛克