Eider Barrage
Encyclopedia
The Eider Barrage is located at the mouth of the river Eider
near Tönning
on Germany’s North Sea coast. Its main purpose is protection from storm surge
s by the North Seas. It is Germany’s largest coastal protection structure. It was also intended to contribute to economic recovery in the districts of Norderdithmarschen (today part of Dithmarschen) and Eiderstedt
(today part of Nordfriesland).
Celebrated as a structure of the century, it was opened on 20 March 1973. Following the North Sea flood of 1962
which swept through Tönning, consideration was given to raising the dykes
along the banks of the Eider or building a storm surge barrier
at its mouth. The latter was chosen and construction work began in 1967. The current conditions in the estuary caused great difficulties and the cost of construction was correspondingly high (ca. 170 million DM = ca. 87 million euros). The line of dykes in the Eider region was shortened from 60 km to 4.8 km. The new current conditions however dug a new hole about 30 metres deep directly in front of the dyke and lock which had to be filled in during the 1980s with 20,000 sandbags.
The barrage comprises two separate rows each of five gates. The site was laid out in such a way as to guarantee the level of protection of a double dyke. Between the gates a road runs through, protected by a 236 metre long tunnel. Above the tunnel is a footpath, which offers a good view of the west coast and the river Eider. Also equipped with double gates is a lock incorporated into the barrage for shipping. Including the newly-built dyke, the barrage is 4.9 kilometres long, lies 8.5 metres above sea level and 7 metres above the average high tide. Five gates, each 40 metres long, allow the water of the Eider to flow into the North Sea when the tide ebbs, and North Sea water into the Eider when it flows. Nearby is a 75 metre long and 14 metre wide lift lock (Kammerschleuse), through which ships pass into the North Sea from the adjacent harbour.
Today the barrage is also a tourist attraction as they travel through Eiderstedt
with its seaside resorts of Sankt Peter-Ording
and Vollerwiek
or the resort of Garding
. The construction of the barrage resulted in the old Eider estuary
becoming the Katinger Watt
nature reserve; on the opposite side of the river in 1989 the Dithmarscher Eiderwatt
was established in order to at least partially compensate for the losses of salt meadows and mudflats caused by the building of the barrage. Many fishing smacks were moved from Tönning
to the fishing port by the barrage which was closer to the fishing grounds. At the barrage itself there is a large breeding colony of Arctic tern
s with 143 breeding pairs in 2006.
The barrage is also the closing scene of the 1977 Wim Wenders
film The American Friend
.
Eider
Eiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, despite its name, is in a different genus.The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere....
near Tönning
Tönning
Tönning is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During the Great Northern War, Tönning was besieged twice.-Geography:...
on Germany’s North Sea coast. Its main purpose is protection from storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
s by the North Seas. It is Germany’s largest coastal protection structure. It was also intended to contribute to economic recovery in the districts of Norderdithmarschen (today part of Dithmarschen) and Eiderstedt
Eiderstedt
Eiderstedt is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.-Overview:It is approximately 30 km in length and 15 km in width and has been created through diking from three islands: Eiderstedt around Tönning, Utholm around Tating, and...
(today part of Nordfriesland).
Celebrated as a structure of the century, it was opened on 20 March 1973. Following the North Sea flood of 1962
North Sea flood of 1962
The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from 16 February to 17 February 1962...
which swept through Tönning, consideration was given to raising the dykes
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
along the banks of the Eider or building a storm surge barrier
Flood barrier
A flood barrier, surge barrier of storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier...
at its mouth. The latter was chosen and construction work began in 1967. The current conditions in the estuary caused great difficulties and the cost of construction was correspondingly high (ca. 170 million DM = ca. 87 million euros). The line of dykes in the Eider region was shortened from 60 km to 4.8 km. The new current conditions however dug a new hole about 30 metres deep directly in front of the dyke and lock which had to be filled in during the 1980s with 20,000 sandbags.
The barrage comprises two separate rows each of five gates. The site was laid out in such a way as to guarantee the level of protection of a double dyke. Between the gates a road runs through, protected by a 236 metre long tunnel. Above the tunnel is a footpath, which offers a good view of the west coast and the river Eider. Also equipped with double gates is a lock incorporated into the barrage for shipping. Including the newly-built dyke, the barrage is 4.9 kilometres long, lies 8.5 metres above sea level and 7 metres above the average high tide. Five gates, each 40 metres long, allow the water of the Eider to flow into the North Sea when the tide ebbs, and North Sea water into the Eider when it flows. Nearby is a 75 metre long and 14 metre wide lift lock (Kammerschleuse), through which ships pass into the North Sea from the adjacent harbour.
Today the barrage is also a tourist attraction as they travel through Eiderstedt
Eiderstedt
Eiderstedt is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.-Overview:It is approximately 30 km in length and 15 km in width and has been created through diking from three islands: Eiderstedt around Tönning, Utholm around Tating, and...
with its seaside resorts of Sankt Peter-Ording
Sankt Peter-Ording
Sankt Peter-Ording is a very popular German seaside spa and a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the only German seaside resort that has a sulphur spring and thus terms itself "North Sea healing spa and sulphur spring". By overnight stays, St...
and Vollerwiek
Vollerwiek
Vollerwiek is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
or the resort of Garding
Garding
Garding is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It has a population of 2,700 . It is located in the Eiderstedt peninsula, and part of the Amt Eiderstedt....
. The construction of the barrage resulted in the old Eider estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
becoming the Katinger Watt
Katinger Watt
The Katinger Watt is a nature reserve in the south of the Eiderstedt peninsula in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein which is run by the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, NABU....
nature reserve; on the opposite side of the river in 1989 the Dithmarscher Eiderwatt
Dithmarscher Eiderwatt
The Dithmarscher Eiderwatt, officially the Dithmarscher Eidervorland mit Watt , is a nature reserve in the district of Dithmarschen in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The site has an area of which consists of the mudflats on the tidal current of the river Eider...
was established in order to at least partially compensate for the losses of salt meadows and mudflats caused by the building of the barrage. Many fishing smacks were moved from Tönning
Tönning
Tönning is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During the Great Northern War, Tönning was besieged twice.-Geography:...
to the fishing port by the barrage which was closer to the fishing grounds. At the barrage itself there is a large breeding colony of Arctic tern
Arctic Tern
The Arctic Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America...
s with 143 breeding pairs in 2006.
The barrage is also the closing scene of the 1977 Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
film The American Friend
The American Friend
The American Friend is a 1977 film by Wim Wenders, loosely adapted from the novel Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith. The film is of the neo-noir genre, and features Dennis Hopper as career criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmermann, a terminally ill picture framer whom Ripley...
.
External links
- The Eider-Sperrwerk – detailed information on the water and shipping management in Germany
- critical view of the impact of the barrage on the environment
- Information about the Eider Barrage