Norderney

For other uses, see Norderney (disambiguation).
Norderney

Aerial view of Norderney from the west

Flag
Coat of arms
Norderney

Coordinates: 53°42′26″N 07°08′49″E / 53.70722°N 7.14694°E / 53.70722; 7.14694Coordinates: 53°42′26″N 07°08′49″E / 53.70722°N 7.14694°E / 53.70722; 7.14694
Country Germany
State Lower Saxony
District Aurich
Government
 • Mayor Frank Ulrichs (SPD)[1]
Area
 • Total 26.3 km2 (10.2 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[2]
 • Total 5,845
 • Density 220/km2 (580/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 26548
Dialling codes 04932
Vehicle registration AUR, NOR
Website www.norderney.de
Norderney as seen from space
The Conversationshaus (2010)

Norderney is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. It is also a municipality in the district of Aurich in Lower Saxony.

The island is 14 km long and about 2.5 km wide, having a total area of about 26.3 square kilometres (10.2 sq mi) and is therefore Germany's tenth largest island. Norderney's population amounts to about 6,200 people. In 1946 Norderney gained municipal status and belongs to the Aurich "Kreis" (county). On the northern side of the island lies a 14 km long sandy beach.

The neighbouring island to the east is Baltrum, which lies about 800m (half a mile) away beyond the Wichter Ee. To the west is the island of Juist, about 3 km away on the other side of the Norderneyer Seegatt.

The entire eastern half of Norderney belongs to the Wadden Sea National Park of Lower Saxony. Access to the park is restricted, as it is subdivided in zones of different accessibility for the protection of the wildlife. The status as a National Park also affects all kinds of traffic on the island, while especially car traffic is subject to strict regulations.

The mainland is easily reached via ferry operated by AG Reederei Norden-Frisia from the harbour, Norddeich pier near the northern German city of Norden. Norderney also possesses an airport with a 1,000 metre runway.

Coat of arms and flag

Since 10 July 1928 the coat of arms of the city of Norderney depicts the local landmark, the "Kap," or cape building. A dune and water is shown underneath. Such high structures helped mariners identify the island and orient themselves in earlier times. There are similar buildings on Borkum and Wangerooge. The Norderney cape building was built in 1848 from wood, and was replaced in 1870 with a stone building. At night a fire was lit in the top part of the structure. Today lighthouses have taken over this function. The island painter Poppe Folkerts designed the coat of arms.

Norderney is one of the smallest German communities to fly its own flag. The small city flag has horizontal blue and white stripes and a black and white checkered area on the left side. The blue colour stands for the sea, white symbolizes the colour of the sand, and black stands for the Norderney sea sign.

History

Of the seven East Frisian islands, Norderney is the youngest. The island has only existed in its present form since the middle of the 16th century, being the eastern remnant of the larger island Buise. The larger island of Buise was split into two parts during the Grote Mandrenke flood of 1362, the eastern half at first being called Ostrende. What was left of Buise shrunk in size over the years and finally disappeared into the North Sea during the St. Peter's Flood of 1651. Ostrende, on the other hand, grew in size, and is noted in a 1550 census as "Norder neys Oog" (Northern New Island), and having a church and 18 houses. The inhabitants at this time worked principally as fishermen. In the second half of the 18th century the sea trade industry grew in importance. Next to fishing, tourism became important to the island economy. In 1797, Norderney became the first German resort on the North Sea.

Norderney timeline

Cultural references

Climate

Norderney has a maritime temperate climate, with generally less extreme temperatures than on the nearby mainland. Precipitation is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, but autumn seems to be slightly wetter, with November being the wettest month with 87.6 mm (3.45 in) while February is the driest with 40.7 mm (1.60 in). The Island also has more sunshine hours than the mainland, with more than 1,600 hours per year. Sea temperatures are fluctating between 3 and 7 °C (38 to 45 °F) in the winter and over 20 °C (68 °F) in the summer months. In July 2014 a new alltime record high was reached with 34.1 °C (93.4 °F).

Climate data for Norderney Island
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 11.7
(53.1)		 14.2
(57.6)		 21.8
(71.2)		 26.2
(79.2)		 30.3
(86.5)		 32.2
(90)		 34.1
(93.4)		 33.7
(92.7)		 30.2
(86.4)		 22.9
(73.2)		 16.6
(61.9)		 12.8
(55)		 34.1
(93.4)
Average high °C (°F) 3.2
(37.8)		 3.6
(38.5)		 6.1
(43)		 9.4
(48.9)		 14.1
(57.4)		 17.0
(62.6)		 18.8
(65.8)		 19.4
(66.9)		 17.0
(62.6)		 13.0
(55.4)		 8.1
(46.6)		 4.8
(40.6)		 11.2
(52.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.6
(34.9)		 1.8
(35.2)		 4.0
(39.2)		 6.9
(44.4)		 11.2
(52.2)		 14.4
(57.9)		 16.3
(61.3)		 16.8
(62.2)		 14.5
(58.1)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.3
(43.3)		 3.2
(37.8)		 9.0
(48.2)
Average low °C (°F) −0.2
(31.6)		 0.0
(32)		 1.9
(35.4)		 4.5
(40.1)		 8.7
(47.7)		 12.1
(53.8)		 14.1
(57.4)		 14.5
(58.1)		 12.3
(54.1)		 8.7
(47.7)		 4.4
(39.9)		 1.3
(34.3)		 6.9
(44.4)
Record low °C (°F) −15.5
(4.1)		 −15.3
(4.5)		 −9.6
(14.7)		 −2.8
(27)		 1.1
(34)		 5.1
(41.2)		 9.1
(48.4)		 8.9
(48)		 5.6
(42.1)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 −7.1
(19.2)		 −12.7
(9.1)		 −15.5
(4.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 60.0
(2.362)		 40.7
(1.602)		 52.8
(2.079)		 41.2
(1.622)		 48.7
(1.917)		 62.7
(2.469)		 76.0
(2.992)		 72.8
(2.866)		 72.2
(2.843)		 80.2
(3.157)		 87.6
(3.449)		 74.5
(2.933)		 769.4
(30.291)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 45.6 76.3 120.2 175.2 226.3 223.7 209.9 209.3 145.8 101.5 56.0 38.2 1,628
Source #1: Deutscher Wetterdienst[3]
Source #2: European Climate Assessment and Dataset[4]

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bürgermeisterwahl" [Mayoral election]. Homepage of the SPD in Norderney (in German). Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  2. ↑ Landesbetrieb für Statistik und Kommunikationstechnologie Niedersachsen, 102 Bevölkerung - Basis Zensus 2011, Stand 31. Dezember 2013 (Tabelle K1020014)
  3. ↑ "Mittelwerte 30-jähriger Perioden" [Averages of 30-years periods] (in German). German Weather Service.
  4. ↑ "Millenium European Climate – Indices data". European Climate Assessment & Dataset. January 2013.

External links

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