Eidum

Last updated March 29, 2019

Eidum or Eydum (Danish : Ejdum, North Frisian: Eidem) was a historic place on the German (former: Danish) island of Sylt in the North Sea. It was several hundred metres west of the present coast line of the present-day village of Westerland.

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in Denmark and in the region of Southern Schleswig in northern Germany, where it has minority language status. Also, minor Danish-speaking communities are found in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their first language.

North Frisian language minority language of Germany, spoken mostly by people in North Frisia

North Frisian is a minority language of Germany, spoken by about 10,000 people in North Frisia. The language is part of the larger group of the West Germanic Frisian languages. The language comprises 10 dialects which are themselves divided into an insular and a mainland group.

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

History

According to historic tradition the settlement of Eidum was destroyed several times by storm tides and then rebuilt again. The All Saints Day Flood of 1436 probably wreaked so much damage and so many casualties in the village of Eidum that survivors left it and founded a new settlement about 2 kilometres further east. Their choice alighted on the higher geest ridge in the area of Tinnum. This settlement was called Südhedig; from it arose the present day village of Westerland.^[1] The later name "Westerland" is supposed to have derived from an old Tinnum field name, on which this new settlement stood. The land was west of the village, hence "Wester-land".

The church of Eidum was reportedly destroyed in a storm tide in 1300. Another church building that was located southwest of modern Westerland had to be abandoned because of migrating sand dunes in 1634 or 1635. Its successor, the third church of Eidum, was built further east in 1637.^[2]^[3]^[4] The Eidum church was mentioned for the last time in the Dankwardt Chronicle of 1652.

According to an account from 1839, the last remnants of old Eidum were still visible on the seafloor in 1806 at extremely low tide.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Sylt is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia. The northernmost island of Germany, it is known for its tourist resorts, notably Westerland, Kampen and Wenningstedt-Braderup, as well as for its 40-kilometre-long (25-mile) sandy beach. It is frequently covered by the media in connection with its exposed situation in the North Sea and its ongoing loss of land during storm tides. Since 1927, Sylt has been connected to the mainland by the Hindenburgdamm causeway. In latter years, it has been a resort for the German jet set and tourists in search of occasional celebrity sightings.

Nordfriesland (district) District in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Nordfriesland is the northernmost district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia along with adjacent areas to the east and south and is bound by 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, Kreis Noordfreesland in Low German, Kris Nordfraschlönj in Mooring North Frisian, Kreis Nuurdfresklun in Fering North Frisian and Nordfrislands amt in Danish.

The North Frisian Islands are the Frisian Islands off the coast of North Frisia.

Husum is the capital of the Kreis (district) Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The town was the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who coined the epithet "the grey town by the sea". It is also the home of the annual international piano festival Raritäten der Klaviermusik founded in 1986.

Föhrpronunciation (help·info) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest North Sea island of Germany and a popular destination for tourists. A town and eleven distinct municipalities are located on the island. The climate is oceanic with moderate winters and relatively cool summers.

Amrumpronunciation (help·info) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and has appromixately 2,300 inhabitants.

Westerland 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.

Hindenburgdamm causeway joining Sylt island to the mainland

The Hindenburgdamm or Hindenburg Dam is an 11 km-long causeway joining the North Frisian island of Sylt to mainland Schleswig-Holstein. Its coordinates are 54°53′N8°33′E. It was opened on 1 June 1927 and is exclusively a railway corridor. The companies that built the Hindenburgdamm, a job that took four years, were Philipp Holzmann AG of Frankfurt, working from the mainland, and Peter Fix Söhne of Duisburg working from Sylt. A train trip along the causeway takes about 10 minutes, and the time between the auto terminals at Niebüll on the mainland and Westerland on Sylt is about 30 minutes. The Hindenburgdamm is part of the railway line known as the Marschbahn, which is double-tracked along much of the route, although there as yet exists a single-tracked stretch. On the causeway is a signal box.

Klanxbüll is a municipality on the mainland in the northwest corner of Schleswig-Holstein, in Kreis Nordfriesland, Germany. The municipality belongs to the Amt Südtondern.

Kampen (help·info) is a municipality and seaside resort on the island Sylt, in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located north of the island's main town, Westerland. The municipality is part of the AmtLandschaft Sylt. The local economy is dominated by tourism.

Rantum is a village and a former municipality on the island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Since 1 January 2009, it has been an Ortsteil (part) of the municipality Sylt.

Wenningstedt-Braderup is a municipality and seaside resort on the island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located north of the town of Westerland and is part of the Amt Landschaft Sylt. The local economy is dominated by tourism.

Dunsum is a municipality located on the western shore of Föhr in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is composed of the districts of Greater and Lesser Dunsum.

Sylt-Ost is a former municipality on the island of Sylt, in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It used to be the administrative seat of the Amt Landschaft Sylt and a municipality into which a number of villages had been amalgamated in 1970. However, following a referendum in May 2008, Sylt-Ost merged with Westerland and Rantum to form the collective municipality Gemeinde Sylt which was created on 1 January 2009. Since 2009, the seat of the Amt Landschaft Sylt has been in Westerland.

Gemeinde Sylt is a municipality on the island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It has around 13,000 inhabitants and covers about 60% of the area of the island.

The All Saints Day Flood of 1436 on All Saints' Day in 1436 was a storm tide that hit the entire North Sea coast of the German Bight.

Archsum is a village on the North Sea island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Today, it is an Ortsteil of the Gemeinde Sylt.

Tinnum is a village on the North Sea island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Today, it is an Ortsteil of the Gemeinde Sylt.

Keitum Ortsteil of Gemeinde Sylt in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Keitum is a village on the North Sea island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Today, it is an Ortsteil of the Gemeinde Sylt.

References

↑ Hansen, Nico (1967). Sylt: Geschichte und Gestalt einer Insel[Sylt: History and Shape of an Island] (in German). Hansen & Hansen. p. 110.
1 2 Petersen, J. A. (1839). Wanderungen durch das Herzogthum Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [Travels through the Duchy of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg] (in German). 3. Kiel. pp. 588–589.
↑ Mager, Friedrich (1927). Der Abbruch der Insel Sylt durch die Nordsee[The Erosion of Sylt Island by the North Sea] (in German). F. Hirt. p. 99.
↑ Jensen, Christian (1925). Die nordfriesische Inselwelt[The North Frisian Islands]. Deutsche Wanderungen – Landschaft und Volkstum in Mitteleuropa (in German). 3. G. Westermann. p. 45.

Coordinates: 54°54′34″N8°17′12″E / 54.90944°N 8.28667°E / 54.90944; 8.28667

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[1] Hansen, Nico (1967). Sylt: Geschichte und Gestalt einer Insel[Sylt: History and Shape of an Island] (in German). Hansen & Hansen. p. 110.

[Petersen-2] 1 2 Petersen, J. A. (1839). Wanderungen durch das Herzogthum Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg [Travels through the Duchy of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg] (in German). 3. Kiel. pp. 588–589.

[3] Mager, Friedrich (1927). Der Abbruch der Insel Sylt durch die Nordsee[The Erosion of Sylt Island by the North Sea] (in German). F. Hirt. p. 99.

[4] Jensen, Christian (1925). Die nordfriesische Inselwelt[The North Frisian Islands]. Deutsche Wanderungen – Landschaft und Volkstum in Mitteleuropa (in German). 3. G. Westermann. p. 45.