SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN WADDEN SEA NATIONAL PARK

A shoreline teeming with life is both a protected habitat and an ideal place for a sunny seaside holiday.

The Wadden Sea, or Wattenmeer, is the name given to the 500km of North Sea coastline that stretches from Den Helder in the Netherlands to Esbjerg in Denmark. Watten are mudflats, and the Wattenmeer refers to the seascape of tidal flats, dunes, creeks, bays, estuaries, mud and sandbanks that are characteristic of the region. The largest unbroken environment of its type in the world, it is not surprising that efforts should be taken to preserve such a treasure, and virtually the entire German section is protected by national park status. The stretch from the Dutch border to the Elbe estuary is taken care of in the Lower Saxony and Hamburg Wadden Sea National Parks, while from the Elbe northwards, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park looks after this beautiful but sensitive coastline.

The national park Created in 1985, and declared a Ramsar site and a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1990, the park aims both to preserve the natural state of the coastline, and allow visitors to experience the environment without harming it. Covering 4,410 sq km, the park includes tidal flats, salt marshes on the mainland and island coasts, outlying sandbanks, and most of the low lying salt marsh islands.

In between land and sea Moving away from the mainland towards the sea, the terrain usually passes through the following stages: dykes; salt marshes; mudflats; mixed flats; sand flats; occasional sand banks; and finally the open sea. Through these vast expanses of tidal flats run creeks and channels that provide the main routes for the tide that for six hours floods the plain, and for six hours retreats.

Guided walking tours across the flats offer a safe way of exploring this habitat. Although the flats may seem innocuous, the tide can come in at speed; if walking alone, it is essential to be aware of the tide tables.

If the mudflats sometimes appear monotonous, the open horizons, especially when sunsets shimmer across the sea and wet sands, are often transformed into a magical combination of light and water.

The seasons are reflected too in different ways. Spring brings with it the colourful fields of yellow rapeseed on the mainland, and during summer – the most popular time for visiting – the beaches are ideal for swimming and watersports. Autumn and winter, although cold, can actually provide the more dramatic scenery. Bad weather displays the drama of the storm tides and flooding, while frozen mudflats against a pale blue wintry sky also have a desolate calm beauty.

Animal life The sand and mudflats provide homes for a myriad of living organisms, which in turn become food for millions of birds and fish. The mass of living material on the floor of the Wadden Sea is ten times greater than that on the North Sea bed, and plays a prominent role in the area’s ecosystem. Rag, bristle and lugworms, snails, amphipods, sand gapers, cockles and mussels provide a huge feeding ground at low tide for ducks, gulls and waders.

Both a popular bird breeding ground and resting point on migrations, the park can at times be inundated by up to 1.3 million birds, including brent geese, grey plovers, dunlins, pintails, knots, shelducks, redshanks, terns, bar-tailed godwits, avocets, curlews and sanderlings. In midsummer, a particular sight is the annual visit of shelducks; almost the entire European population arrives off the island of Trischen for their mass moult. Here the birds find ample food for their brief flightless period.

On the sandbanks, seals haul themselves out of the water to bear and suckle their young, and sunbathe to stock up on vitamin D, needed during their annual moult. The harbour seal population of the park now stands at around 6,000, with a lesser number of grey seals.

Marsh plants Very few plants grow in the tidal area, the main exception being the eelgrass upon which hungry brent geese feast. However, in the salt marshes that lie above the normal high-water mark, vegetation abounds with salt-tolerant plants. The lower marshes host sea-lavender, sea-aster, sea-mugwort and sea-blite, while Danish scurvygrass, sea-plantain, thrift, greater and lesser sea-spurrey and arrow grass thrive in the middle and upper reaches.

Islands A particular feature of the area is the Halligen, low islands that are relics of a fenland expanse which was once part of the mainland. Here farmsteads are built up on embankments called warfts. During storms or spring tides, the Halligen, unprotected by dykes, are flooded; the farmhouses are then the only thing above land, looking a bit like Noah’s Ark.

In the north of the park, the islands of Föhr, Amrum and Sylt are ideal resorts for a summer holiday, with long wave-swept beaches offering challenges for swimmers and surfers.

Towns and resorts The cultural centre of Schleswig-Holstein’s west coast, Husum, is known as ‘the grey town on the sea’, and was birthplace to the poet and novelist Theodor Storm. The harbour, prettily decorated with fishing boats, is a good starting point for trips to the islands, while old streets and alleys with tall gabled houses give a charm to the centre.

St Peter-Ording, on the Eiderstedt peninsula, is the biggest resort, with swimming beaches, white dunes and a farm park. The symbol of the peninsula is Westerhever’s red and white striped lighthouse. At a height of 41.5m, the light can be seen for 40km in fine weather. Dagebüll is an excellent starting point for mudflat walking, while the port of Tönning is the centre for the park itself.

© National Parks Europe
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