Nordfriesland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nordfriesland | |
|---|---|
 Map of Schleswig-Holstein highlighting the district Nordfriesland |
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| State | Schleswig-Holstein |
| County seat | Husum |
| Area | 2047 km² |
| Population | 165,800 (2002) |
| pop. density | 81 inh./km² |
| Car identification | NF |
| Web page | http://www.nordfriesland.de |
Nordfriesland (literally "North Frisia") is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia along with adjacent areas to the east and south and 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. The district is called Kreis Nordfriesland in German, Kris Nordfraschlönj in Mooring North Frisian, and Kreis Nuurdfresklun in Fering North Frisian.
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[edit] History
There has always been a strong influence of the sea in the region. In medieval times storm tides made life in what is now 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, the area that is now Nordfriesland was a part of Denmark. It is still a multilingual district: there are people speaking standard German, Low German, North Frisian and Danish. The North 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.
[edit] 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 River Eider 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Towns and municipalities
| Towns | Ämter | Free Municipalities |
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[edit] External link
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
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Urban and rural districts in the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany |
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Urban |
Flensburg | Kiel | Lübeck | Neumünster |
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Rural |
Dithmarschen | Lauenburg | Nordfriesland | Ostholstein | Pinneberg | Plön | Rendsburg-Eckernförde |
