Westerland, Germany

Westerland
Ortsteil of Gemeinde Sylt

Kurpromenade in 2003

Coat of arms
Westerland

Coordinates: 54°54′36″N 8°18′27″E / 54.91000°N 8.30750°ECoordinates: 54°54′36″N 8°18′27″E / 54.91000°N 8.30750°E
Country Germany
State Schleswig-Holstein
District Nordfriesland
Town Gemeinde Sylt
Government
 • Mayor Petra Reiber
(Gemeinde Sylt)
Area
 • Total 10.45 km2 (4.03 sq mi)
Population (2007-12-31)
 • Total 9,032
 • Density 860/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 25969–25980
Dialling codes 04651
Vehicle registration NF
Website www.gemeinde-sylt.de

Westerland (Danish: Vesterland; Söl'ring North Frisian: Wäästerlön’) is a seaside resort and a former municipality located on the German North Sea island of Sylt. Since 1 January 2009, Westerland has been part of the municipality Gemeinde Sylt. Westerland is part of the Nordfriesland district in Schleswig-Holstein. It is the largest resort on the island, the local transportation hub and the centre of Sylt's tourist industry.

History

Westerland is one of the younger and more modern locations on the island of Sylt. After the All Hallows Flood on 1 November 1436 had utterly destroyed the community of Eidum, the survivors built a new community to the northeast on a heath. The old town, now called Alt-Westerland ("alt" meaning "old" in German) had its first documentary mention in 1462. In 1855, it became a seaside bathing community, and in 1905 it was granted the rights to become an official town. In 1949 came official recognition as a seaside spa town, thereby raising Westerland's status to that of Sylt's main town. Until then, Keitum had always enjoyed this distinction. For instance, even as late as the turn of the 20th century, Keitum had the island's only pharmacy.

Owing to its central location at the hub of all transportation routes, Westerland has affirmed its supremacy among all other places on Sylt over the last one hundred and fifty years.

Geography

Westerland is located on the western shore of the island of Sylt on the North Sea. It is Germany's northernmost town. Only the smaller communities of List, Wenningstedt and Kampen – none being incorporated towns – lie farther north in Germany. Westerland lies 70 km northwest of Husum, 74 km west of Flensburg, 134 km northwest of Kiel and 186 km northwest of Hamburg.

Economy

Westerland's economy is strongly oriented towards the island's tourism industry. In 2002, Westerland was second after Sankt Peter-Ording in importance to Schleswig-Holstein's tourism industry: 96,120 guests, of those 271 (0.28%) from abroad, booked 819,935 overnight stays. The town had 9,159 beds available for this purpose. In the town's south end near Hörnum is a campground. Westerland is the central hub for supply, retailing, and numerous services that provide for the inhabitants and visitors on the island of Sylt.

Thanks to its affluent, glamorous lifestyle and thriving tourism industry, Westerland, has been called the "Beverly Hills" of Germany.[1]

Government

Main article: Sylt (municipality)

On 1 January 2009, Westerland became part of the new municipality Gemeinde Sylt created by the merger of the town with the former municipalities Rantum and Sylt-Ost. The debate on this move had started in 2003 when a similar merger happened on Fehmarn. However, local rivalries and desire for independence prevented progress for a time. It took the foundation of a citizens' movement Bürger für Sylt als Einheit to advance the plan. In separate referendums in 2008, Westerland (by a large majority) and Sylt-Ost (narrowly) agreed to the merger in May 2008. Rantum followed, but List, Kampen, Wenningstedt-Braderup and Hörnum remained aloof. In September 2008 the merger contract was signed.[2]

Although Westerland used to have the status of Stadt (city), the new municipality so far refrained from applying for this status. One reason is that the Ortsteile do not want to advertise their tourism services as simple suburbs (Stadtteile).[2]

Gemeinde Sylt shares its administration in a Verwaltungsgemeinschaft with the Amt Landschaft Sylt, located in the townhall of Westerland - the former Kurhaus, built in 1897.[3]

Town twinning

Infrastructure

Transport

Inauguration of the new railway connecting Westerland with the mainland in 1927

Sylt, and thereby also Westerland, cannot be reached by road from the mainland. Instead, there is a shuttle train that carries cars, the Sylt-Shuttle, that runs between Niebüll and Westerland. The railway line, called the Marsh Railway (Marschbahn), runs across the 11.3 km-long Hindenburgdamm, a causeway across the Wadden Sea joining Sylt to the mainland. Passenger trains, both local and long-distance, also serve Westerland, reaching it across the causeway. Westerland can also be reached by air through Sylt Airport, and by car ferry from the nearby Danish island of Rømø.

Notable people

Trivia

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Yates, Chris. "Davidoff Cool Water Sylt World Cup". PWA World Tour. PWA World Tour. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 (German) "Die Metropole der Insel heißt jetzt Sylt". Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Eine Amtsverwaltung...was ist das eigentlich? (German)". Amt Landschaft Sylt. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Westerland.