Hallig Habel, the smallest Hallig
Not everyone in Germany knows this, and I've only known it since I started living in the north.
Just off the northwestern coast of Germany, in the North Frisian Wadden Sea, lies a series of ten extremely low-lying islands known as Halligen.
Norderoog from above
The Halligen rise only a few meters above sea level, so the islands are submerged every winter when the Wadden Sea is flooded.
In the Middle Ages, there were many more Halligen, but with rising sea levels, several of these uninhabited islands in the Wadden Sea have disappeared forever under the waves.
Little known outside the region, the Halligen are sparsely populated.
Each house is built on an artificial hill called a mound, which keeps the buildings safely above the water line.
During these periodic floods, which are known here as "land-under", each terp becomes its own small island.
In the Viking Age, the Halligen were more densely and continuously inhabited.
Nevertheless, the settlements were always on hills .
The other higher areas of agriculture were for farming.
Inhabitants protected their houses by means of dikes and hills, while the slightly lower areas were drained and cultivated or used as pasture for livestock.
Langeness, Captain's House
Some of these Halligen are connected to the mainland by causeways and narrow-gauge railroads, where residents can travel back and forth on tiny private trains. Each island house has its own wagon.
Originally they were powered by wind power, but today they run on diesel.
The inhabitants of the Halligen live mainly from cattle breeding and tourism. Many Halligen offer mudflat walks - a popular pastime among Dutch and Germans.
Of the ten Halligen, only five are inhabited. The rest are part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.
I have not yet been to the Halligen.
It also seems strange to me, because you also "visit" the residents, like in a zoo.
When I was in an oasis in the Sahara once i felt so uncomfortable that I did not go to see the residents.
But there are wonderful documentaries on Youtube .
One of them reports about the life of the inhabitants when there is a storm and they have to fear that the house will be flooded as well.
They have shelters further up the house for such cases.
These are people who know that, against the forces of nature, they are very small.
They are admirable in their serenity.
They are just always happy when everything is dry again.
And when they can do nothing more, they make themselves comfortable.
Disclaimer:
English ist not my mother tongue, pardon my mistakes.
