View source for Halligen

{{Short description|Islands off the Danish/German coast}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Halligen
| native_name                       = {{unbulleted list
 |{{native name|de|Halligen}}
 |{{native name|da|Halliger}} 
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| image_name       = Nordfriesisches Wattenmeer D und DK-en.png
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| image_caption    = North Frisian and [[Danish Wadden Sea Islands]] with Halligen (darker green)
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| coordinates      = {{Coord|54|34|N|8|39|E|region:DE_type:isle|display=title, inline}}
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| total_islands    = 13
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| country          = Germany, Denmark
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| population       = about 291
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The '''''Halligen''''' ({{IPA|de|ˈhalɪɡn̩|-|De-Halligen.ogg}}; singular '''''Hallig''''' {{IPA|de|ˈhalɪç||De-Hallig.ogg}}) or the '''''halliger''''' (Danish, singular '''''hallig''''') are small islands without protective [[levee|dikes]].<ref name="Walker March 2020">{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Tamsin |date=2020-03-01 |title=The German islands that regularly vanish beneath the sea |url=https://www.dw.com/en/hallig-flooding-nature-the-german-islands-that-vanish-beneath-the-sea-a-50621648/a-50621648 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224093513/https://www.dw.com/en/hallig-flooding-nature-the-german-islands-that-vanish-beneath-the-sea-a-50621648/a-50621648 |archive-date=2021-02-24 |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) |language=en-GB}}</ref>  They are variously pluralized in English as the Halligen, Halligs, Hallig islands, or Halligen islands.  There are ten [[Germany|German]] ''halligen'' in the [[North Frisian Islands]] on [[Schleswig-Holstein]]'s [[Wadden Sea]]&ndash;[[North Sea]] coast in the district of [[Nordfriesland]]<ref name="Walker Jan 2020">{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Tamsin |date=2020-01-14 |title=Will Germany's vanishing Hallig islands survive rising seas? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-north-sea-hallig-islands-climate-change-storms/a-50628748 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224093504/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-north-sea-hallig-islands-climate-change-storms/a-50628748 |archive-date=2021-02-24 |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) |language=en-GB}}</ref> and one remaining hallig at the west coast of [[Denmark]] ([[Langli (island)|Langli]]).

==Naming==
The name is cognate to Old-English ''halh'', meaning "slightly raised ground isolated by marsh".<ref name="Stiles">{{Cite book |last=Stiles |first=Patrick V. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38013841 |title=Names, places and people : an onomastic miscellany in memory of John McNeal Dodgson |date=1997 |publisher=Paul Watkins |isbn=1-871615-90-9 |editor-last=Rumble |editor-first=Alexander |location=Stamford |pages=330–344 |chapter=OE ''halh'' "slightly raised ground isolated by marsh" |oclc=38013841 |quote=An etymology from [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] word ''hal'', meaning "salt" is less likely. |editor-last2=Mills |editor-first2=A. D. |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/34634267 |chapter-format=pdf}}</ref> The very existence of the ''halligen'' is a result of frequent floods and poor coastal protection. The floods were much more common in the Middle Ages and coastal protection was much poorer.

==Aspects==
The ''halligen'' have areas ranging from 7 to 956 ha, and are often former parts of the [[mainland]], separated therefrom by [[storm surge|storm tide]] [[erosion]]. Some are parts of once much bigger islands sundered by the same forces.<ref name="Walker Dec 2019">{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Tasmin |date=2019-12-23 |title=Could flooding be a cure for rising seas? |url=https://www.dw.com/en/rising-sea-levels-should-we-let-the-ocean-in-a-50704953/a-50704953 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114112624/https://www.dw.com/en/rising-sea-levels-should-we-let-the-ocean-in-a-50704953/a-50704953 |archive-date=2021-01-14 |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) |language=en-GB}}</ref> Some, owing to sediment deposition,  have actually grown together to form larger ones. [[Langeneß]] (or Langeness) includes a former island by that same name, and two others that were called Nordmarsch and Butwehl.

Dwellings and commercial buildings are built upon metre-high, man-made mounds, called ''[[artificial dwelling hill|Warften]]'' in [[German language|German]] or ''[[artificial dwelling hill|Værft]]'' in [[Danish language|Danish]], to guard against storm tides. Some ''halligen'' also have overflow dikes.{{clarify|Are they still counted as hallig? Is there a difference between overflow dikes and protective dikes? Maybe it's not a strict technical term, but often used about islands that didn't use to have dikes/levees?|date=April 2024}}

Not very many people live on the ''halligen''. Their livelihoods are mainly based on [[tourism]], coastal protection, and [[agriculture]]. This last activity mainly involves raising [[cattle]] in the fertile, often flooded, [[salt meadow]]s.<ref name="andresen">{{Cite journal |last1=Andresen |first1=H. |last2=Bakker |first2=J. P. |last3=Brongers |first3=M. |last4=Heydemann |first4=B. |last5=Irmler |first5=U. |date=1990 |title=Long-Term Changes of Salt Marsh Communities by Cattle Grazing |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20038672 |journal=Vegetatio |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=137–148 |doi=10.1007/BF00032166 |jstor=20038672 |s2cid=20754802 |issn=0042-3106|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="adam">{{Cite book |last=Adam |first=Paul |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/20217629 |title=Saltmarsh Ecology |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-521-24508-7 |location=New York |oclc=20217629}}</ref>

The ''halligen'' are to be found in the [[Wadden Sea National Parks|Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer National Park]]. The commercially developed ''halligen'' of [[Nordstrandischmoor]], [[Gröde]], [[Oland (Frisian island)|Oland]], [[Langeneß]], and [[Hooge (hallig)|Hooge]]  are surrounded by the protected area, but not an integral part of it. The smaller ''halligen'', [[Hallig Habel|Habel]], [[Südfall]], [[Süderoog]], and [[Norderoog]] as well as the [[Hamburger Hallig]] are parts of the national park. Walks on the [[Mudflat|tidal flats]] and informational meetings are offered by tourist boards and the park administration.

In the west the German ''halligen'' are protected from the open sea by the [[North Frisian Barrier Island]].

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=250px heights=250px Class=center>
File:Halligen 1650.png|The Halligen area around 1650 on a map by Johannes Mejer
File:Halligen 1858.png|The North Frisian Halligen area around 1850, showing changes
1895 Alberts Blühende Hallig anagoria.JPG|A hallig: the [[salt meadow]] in bloom
File:1906 Eckner Halligwarft während einer Sturmflut anagoria.JPG|[[Alexander Eckener]]: ''Warft of a Hallig during a storm tide'', 1906
File:30 Halligbahn 1984 (15528408194).jpg|[[Dagebüll–Oland–Langeneß island railway|Dagebüll hallig railway]], flooded, in 1984 
</gallery>

==List of Halligen==
Currently, there are 10 ''halligen'' in Germany. The following list does not include formerly existing Halligen that have either vanished or merged with current ''halligen'' or the mainland:

* [[Langeneß]] &ndash; 956 ha, 16 [[Artificial dwelling hill|''Warften'']], about 110 inhabitants. [[Narrow gauge railway]] <!-- More details please --> connection to Oland (over [[causeway]]).
* [[Hooge (hallig)|Hooge]] &ndash; 574 ha, 10 ''Warften'', about 120 inhabitants.
* [[Gröde]] &ndash; 277 ha, 2 ''Warften'', 11 inhabitants.
* [[Nordstrandischmoor]]; 175 ha, 4 ''Warften'', 18 inhabitants. [[One-room school]]house. Narrow gauge railway connection to mainland.
* [[Oland (German island)|Oland]] &ndash; 96 ha, 1 ''Warft'', about 30 inhabitants. Narrow gauge railway connection to mainland and Langeneß.
* [[Süderoog]] &ndash; 60 ha, 1 ''Warft'', 2 inhabitants.
* [[Südfall]] &ndash; 50 ha, 1 ''Warft'', bird sanctuary.
* [[Hamburger Hallig]] &ndash; 50 ha, 2 ''Warften'', uninhabited, inn occupied in summer, joined to the mainland by a 4&nbsp;km-long causeway and a [[polder]].
* [[Norderoog]] &ndash; 9 ha, no ''Warften'', bird sanctuary tended year-round.
* [[Hallig Habel|Habel]] &ndash; 3.6 ha, 1 ''Warft'', uninhabited, bird sanctuary occupied in summer.

On the [[Denmark|Danish]] side, one still exists:

* [[Langli (island)|Langli]]

Also Danish [[Mandø]] used to be a hallig, but it has dikes today. The German peninsula and former island of [[Großer Werder (Zingst)|Großer Werder]] on the [[Baltic Sea]] coast is also nicknamed "Baltic Hallig" (''Ostsee-Hallig'') due to its remote situation and appearance.

==See also==
*[[List of islands of Denmark]]
*[[List of islands of Germany]]
*[[Tidal island]]
*[[Uthlande]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{Cite book|author=Johann C. Biernatzki|author-link=Johann C. Biernatzki|title=The Hallig: or, The sheepfold in the waters. A tale of humble life on the coast of Schleswig|others=Translated, with a biographical sketch of the author, by Mrs. [[George P. Marsh]]|url=https://archive.org/details/halligorsheepfo00biergoog|year=1856|location=Boston|publisher=Gould and Lincoln}}
* {{Cite web |last=Breitenbach |first=Dagmar  |date=2012-04-02 |title=Hallig Hooge: Almost an island |url=https://p.dw.com/p/14SFD |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011040458/http://www.dw.com/en/hallig-hooge-almost-an-island/a-15838223 |archive-date=2016-10-11 |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) |language=en-GB}}
* {{Cite AV media |url=https://p.dw.com/p/2joxF  |title=Election campaign on the North Sea coast |date=2017-09-13 |type=Television production |publisher=Deutsche Welle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921094501/http://www.dw.com/en/election-campaign-on-the-north-sea-coast/av-40473305 |archive-date=2017-09-21 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Tamsin |date=2019-09-26 |title=Living Planet: Hallig Islands |language=en-GB |work=Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) |type=Radio broadcast report |format=mp3 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/living-planet-hallig-islands/av-50593719 |url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927044318/https://www.dw.com/en/living-planet-hallig-islands/av-50593719 |archive-date=2019-09-27}}
* {{Cite web |date=2010-07-21 |title=Island Life 03 - The Halligen |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrJk47au5A0  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/BrJk47au5A0 |archive-date=2021-12-13|url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=youtube.com |publisher=Deutsche Welle / euromaxx |language=en |format=video}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web |last=Shebab |first=Ibrahim |date=2020-01-14 |title=The German island with a population of 16 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jqv-fK44Zg  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/9jqv-fK44Zg |archive-date=2021-12-13|url-status=live |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=youtube.com |publisher=BBC Reel |language=en |type=Video report, German audio with English subtitles |format=Video}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Cite web |date=Oct 2018 |title=Wadden Sea and Hallig Islands of Schleswig-Holstein Biosphere Reserve, Germany |url=https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/eu-na/waddensea-schleswig-holstein |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022041616/https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/eu-na/waddensea-schleswig-holstein |archive-date=2020-10-22 |access-date=2021-03-27 |website=[[UNESCO]] |language=en}}

{{Frisian Islands}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Halligen| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Schleswig-Holstein]]
[[Category:Tidal islands of Germany]]