Husum (Schleswig)

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"Husum" redirects here. For other uses, see Husum (disambiguation).

Husum


Country	Germany
State	Schleswig-Holstein
District	Nordfriesland
Population	20,884 (2004)
Area	17.58 km²
Population density	1,188 /km²
Elevation	5 m
Coordinates	54°28′ N 9°3′ E
Postal code	25801-25813
Area code	04841
Licence plate code	NF
Mayor	Rainer Maaß (SPD)
Website	husum.org

Husum (North Frisian: Hüsem) is a town at the western coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis (district) Nordfriesland. Population: 21,000. It is located 82 km W of Kiel, 139 km NW of Hamburg and 43 km SW of Flensburg.

Husum is most famous for being the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm. He coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". Nicolaus Bruhns, who was an important influence on Johann Sebastian Bach, was organist in Husum from 1689 to 1697. Like most towns at the North Sea, Husum was ever strongly influenced by storm tides. It is first mentioned 1252, when here was the Danish castle of Husumbro, where king Abel was murdered. In 1362 a disastrous storm tide flooded the town and carved out the inland harbour. Prior to this date Husum was not situated directly at the coast. Today Husum is a tourist resort and a gate to the North Frisian Islands. It is also twinned with the town of Kidderminster, England.