Borkum
Encyclopedia
Borkum is an island and a municipality in the Leer District
in Lower Saxony
, northwestern Germany
.
(which forms the border with the Netherlands), to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea
, and to the south by the Wadden Sea
. It is the largest and westernmost of the East Frisian Islands
in the North Sea
, due north of the Dutch
province
of Groningen
.
The island was formed by two previously separate islands which were still separated by a shallow water in 1863. The seam between the former eastern and western parts is called Tüskendör ("through in between").
and Pliny the elder
, Borkum by the time of Charlemagne
the island was part of a larger island called Bant which consisted of the present day islands of Borkum, Juist
and the western part of Norderney
.
Bant passed to the Earls of East Frisia
in 1484 who developed trade and the island became known as a centre of piracy and whaling. By 1781 violent storms in the 1700s led to Bant becoming three islands As whaling decreased the island suffered from poverty leading to depopulation, the island's population falling from 852 in 1776 to 406 by 1811. The first tourists arrived on the island in 1834 and the island's fortunes improved as a tourist resort.
In "Mexico as I saw it", published by Thomas Nelson
, Mrs Alec Tweedie, writing in 1911 about a trip of 1900 to Mexico
, compares the brick roads of Monterey with those of Borkum, "the one spot on earth from which Jews are banished". This had to do with the aggressive and successful campaign of German tourists to keep Borkum free from Jewish visitors, as celebrated in the antisemitic "Borkum-Lied
".
On 19 and 20 December 1934, Wernher von Braun
launched "Max" and "Moritz"
, the two prototypes of the A2-rocket
.
A number of former German soldiers of the 216th Marine-Flak-Abeitlung (Naval Flak Battalion) were tried for war crimes by the Dachau International Military Tribunal
, from February 6 to March 21, 1946 (US v Kurt Goebell et al.). They were charged with the unlawful execution of seven United States Army Air Forces
personnel who had survived the crash of their damaged B-17 Flying Fortress on the island on April 8, 1944.
. Off-season, driving by car is permitted everywhere, otherwise there are car-free zone
s. The only town on the island is also called Borkum. There is an air field in the Tüskendör area. Borkum is serviced by ferries from Emden
, Germany and Eemshaven
, The Netherlands. Passengers get a free train ride between the harbour and the town of Borkum.
Leer (district)
Leer is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Emden, the districts of Aurich, Wittmund, Friesland, Ammerland, Cloppenburg and Emsland, and by the Netherlands ....
in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, northwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Geography
Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems straitStrait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
(which forms the border with the Netherlands), to the east by the Osterems strait, to the north by the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, and to the south by the Wadden Sea
Wadden Sea
The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity...
. It is the largest and westernmost of the East Frisian Islands
East Frisian Islands
The East Frisian Islands are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend for some from west to east between the mouths of the Ems and Jade / Weser rivers and lie about 3.5 to 10 km offshore...
in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, due north of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
.
The island was formed by two previously separate islands which were still separated by a shallow water in 1863. The seam between the former eastern and western parts is called Tüskendör ("through in between").
History
Mentioned as Burchana fabaria (island of beans) by both StraboStrabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
and Pliny the elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, Borkum by the time of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
the island was part of a larger island called Bant which consisted of the present day islands of Borkum, Juist
Juist
Juist is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located between Borkum Island , Memmert Island and Norderney...
and the western part of Norderney
Norderney
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....
.
Bant passed to the Earls of East Frisia
East Frisia
East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....
in 1484 who developed trade and the island became known as a centre of piracy and whaling. By 1781 violent storms in the 1700s led to Bant becoming three islands As whaling decreased the island suffered from poverty leading to depopulation, the island's population falling from 852 in 1776 to 406 by 1811. The first tourists arrived on the island in 1834 and the island's fortunes improved as a tourist resort.
In "Mexico as I saw it", published by Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson (publisher)
Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...
, Mrs Alec Tweedie, writing in 1911 about a trip of 1900 to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, compares the brick roads of Monterey with those of Borkum, "the one spot on earth from which Jews are banished". This had to do with the aggressive and successful campaign of German tourists to keep Borkum free from Jewish visitors, as celebrated in the antisemitic "Borkum-Lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
".
On 19 and 20 December 1934, Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
launched "Max" and "Moritz"
Max and Moritz
Max and Moritz is a German language illustrated story in verse. This highly inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed couplets, was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 1865...
, the two prototypes of the A2-rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
.
A number of former German soldiers of the 216th Marine-Flak-Abeitlung (Naval Flak Battalion) were tried for war crimes by the Dachau International Military Tribunal
Dachau International Military Tribunal
The Dachau Trials were held for all war criminals caught in the United States zones in occupied Germany and Austria, as well as for those individuals accused of committing war crimes against American citizens and its military personnel...
, from February 6 to March 21, 1946 (US v Kurt Goebell et al.). They were charged with the unlawful execution of seven United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
personnel who had survived the crash of their damaged B-17 Flying Fortress on the island on April 8, 1944.
Transport
The island is partially car-freeCar-free
Car-free can refer to several things:*Pedestrian zones*Car-free movement...
. Off-season, driving by car is permitted everywhere, otherwise there are car-free zone
Car-free zone
Pedestrian zones are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian only use and in which some or all automobile traffic may be prohibited. They are instituted by communities who feel that it is desirable to have pedestrian-only areas...
s. The only town on the island is also called Borkum. There is an air field in the Tüskendör area. Borkum is serviced by ferries from Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
, Germany and Eemshaven
Eemshaven
thumb|right|[[Satellite]] [[image]] of the Ems [[estuary]] showing the location of Eemshaven Eemshaven is a seaport in Groningen, Netherlands....
, The Netherlands. Passengers get a free train ride between the harbour and the town of Borkum.