- Eiderstedt
Eiderstedt ( _de. Eiderstedt; _da. Ejdersted; North Frisian: "Ääderstää") is a
peninsula in the district ofNordfriesland in the German federal state ofSchleswig-Holstein . It is approximately 30 km in length and 15 km in width and has been created through diking (polders ) from three islands: Eiderstedt aroundTönning ,Utholm aroundTating , andEvershop aroundGarding . The diking started around the year 1000 AD. Since these three islands were administrative districts of their own, the area was originally called "Dreilande" - "Three Lands".Alluvial soil won from theNorth Sea makes the area well-suited for agriculture. At present, tourism dominates, particularly in the city ofSankt Peter-Ording on the peninsula's western tip. TheWesterhever lighthouse is the peninsula's main emblem and the most prominentlighthouse in Germany. TheWadden Sea , theEidersperrwerk dam on theEider River and theKatinger Watt , marshlands won from the sea in the process of the construction of the Eidersperrwerk, are other tourist attractions on the peninsula.History
The constant threat of the sea overcoming their habitations forced Eiderstedt to a special form of self-administration at a very early stage as diking was only possible through strong cooperation. Originally settled by Frisians, Eiderstedt was part of the Duchy of
Schleswig from the 14th century on.In 1864, the danish Duchy of Schleswig became part of
Prussia . Prussian administration gave Eiderstedt independence as a district. In 1970, the district of Eiderstedt was merged with the districts of Husum and Südtondern to form the district of Nordfriesland.Communities in Eiderstedt
The "Amt" Eiderstedt consists of the following communities:
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Garding
#Garding, Kirchspiel
#Grothusenkoog
#Katharinenheerd
#Kotzenbüll
#Norderfriedrichskoog
#Oldenswort
#Osterhever
#Poppenbüll
#Sankt Peter-Ording
#Tating
#Tetenbüll
#Tümlauer Koog
#Vollerwiek
#Welt
#Westerhever External links
* [http://www.eiderstedt.de Eiderstedt.de (German)]
* [http://www.tz-eiderstedt.de/ Eiderstedt tourism central (German)]
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