Rantum
Encyclopedia
Rantum is a village and a former municipality on the island of Sylt
in the district of Nordfriesland
, in Schleswig-Holstein
, Germany
. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the municipality Sylt
.
Rán
(Rantum = Rán's place), yet it is more likely that the name derives from the old spelling of Raanteem, i.e. "settlement at the edge".
s or was buried by sand drift. Today, Rantum is regarded a scenic island village in the dune
s.
The oldest record of the name is found in a nautical chart
from 1142, which is today displayed in Copenhagen
. On the chart, the Rantum church Westerseekirche is noted as a daymark
. It was called St. Peter. Since at the time only major churches would be consecrated to St. Peter, it is likely that Rantum was an influential town around 1100. There is however no proof for this thesis.
As Rantum was repeatedly destroyed by storm surges between 1362 and 1634 and had to be rebuilt on a different location, historical records are only preserved from the 17th century on.
Well into the 18th century, Rantum was a stronghold of wreckers
who looted ships for a living.
In 1938, the Rantum Basin was built as port for seaplane
s. Today it is a bird sanctuary with more than 182 species to be counted.
East of the village, the Wadden Sea
extends as well as the Rantum-Inge, an ample area of salt marsh
es. To the west, the beach faces the open North Sea.
In 1977 the Rantum harbour was created from the remains of a naval air station pier as a tidally independent marina
.
Notable sights include the Eidum decoy
pond, which served for catching ducks. It is named after the village of Eidum which was drowned in a 1436 flood.
The Rantum Basin was built as a station for seplanes by the Wehrmacht
. Construction began in 1937 yet the basin was not long enough to provide optimal take-off space for the common seaplanes of the time. As mentioned above, the basin is now a bird sanctuary.
Since 1993, the Sylt Quelle (Sylt Well) pumps mineral water
containing iodine
for bottling
. This water is marketed across the island and can also be tapped on the spot by customers. The brand is offered by restaurants across Germany. In the adjacent Kunstraum, exhibitions, lectures, public discussions and stage plays take place. In addition, this has become the venue for the Meerkabarett, the Sea Cabaret, which annually features various artists during the summer season.
To the east of the village, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park
is located. A popular route for mudflat hiking leads from Rantum to Hörnum
in the south. The Wadden Sea Conservation Station
(Schutzstation Wattenmeer) operates a branch office in Rantum which provides information on coastal management
, the Wadden Sea, the salt marshes and offers guided mudflat hikings.
In Rantum there is an emitter of the LORAN
radio navigation system, using a 193 metre tall lattice tower
mast radiator
as an antenna. The regular service was ended on 31 December 2005.
" rental services and a variety of exotically named venues. This naming originates from the 1930s when a beach section called Abessinia was created. When tourism began to flourish during the 1950s, a section called Samoa and later also Zanzibar were created.
Many families started renting out rooms in the 1950s. This flourishing and profitable sideline became a main income in the following decades. Many new buildings are attributed to this development. Unlike in Westerland though, this did not happen by exclusive construction of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants. Many summer houses and rental services have since been created. In the village, as everywhere on Sylt, there are more beds for tourists than for local residents. Thereby the 1990s were important, when they succeeded to extend the main season beyond the few weeks of summer. Directly at the cliff, the Sölring Hof hotel is located, it has been awarded two Guide Michelin stars. In June 2007, the so-called TUI Village Hotel with 600 beds in 159 flats was opened on a former military base.
The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsches Schleswig e.V operates a congress venue for youths and a summer school.
In the southern part of the village, the Puan Klent youth resort is located.
Sylt
Sylt is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia...
in the district of Nordfriesland
Nordfriesland
Nordfriesland, English "Northern Friesland" or "North Frisia", is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia along with adjacent areas to the east and south and is bounded by the districts of Schleswig-Flensburg and Dithmarschen, the North Sea and...
, in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, 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...
. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the municipality Sylt
Sylt (municipality)
Sylt is a municipality on the island of Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2009 by the merger of the former municipalities Rantum and Sylt-Ost with the town Westerland....
.
Etymology
The name is frequently connected to the marine goddessWater deity
A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important...
Rán
Rán
In Norse mythology, Rán is a sea goddess. According to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in his retelling of the Poetic Edda poem Lokasenna, she is married to Ægir and they have nine daughters together...
(Rantum = Rán's place), yet it is more likely that the name derives from the old spelling of Raanteem, i.e. "settlement at the edge".
History and geography
The small village of Rantum has a colourful history. Meanwhile the narrowest part of the island with a width of only 600 metres is located here. The settlement has been destroyed on multiple occasions by storm surgeStorm 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 or was buried by sand drift. Today, Rantum is regarded a scenic island village in the dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s.
The oldest record of the name is found in a nautical chart
Nautical chart
A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
from 1142, which is today displayed in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. On the chart, the Rantum church Westerseekirche is noted as a daymark
Daymark
A daymark or a day marker is a structure such as a tower constructed on land as an aid to navigation by sailors. While similar in concept to a lighthouse, a daymark does not have a light and so is usually only visible during daylight hours...
. It was called St. Peter. Since at the time only major churches would be consecrated to St. Peter, it is likely that Rantum was an influential town around 1100. There is however no proof for this thesis.
As Rantum was repeatedly destroyed by storm surges between 1362 and 1634 and had to be rebuilt on a different location, historical records are only preserved from the 17th century on.
Well into the 18th century, Rantum was a stronghold of wreckers
Wrecking (shipwreck)
Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered near or close to shore. Often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities, wrecking has been subjected to increasing regulation and evolved into what is now known as marine salvage...
who looted ships for a living.
In 1938, the Rantum Basin was built as port for seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s. Today it is a bird sanctuary with more than 182 species to be counted.
East of the village, 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...
extends as well as the Rantum-Inge, an ample area of salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es. To the west, the beach faces the open North Sea.
In 1977 the Rantum harbour was created from the remains of a naval air station pier as a tidally independent marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
.
Sights
Decoy
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...
pond, which served for catching ducks. It is named after the village of Eidum which was drowned in a 1436 flood.
The Rantum Basin was built as a station for seplanes by the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Construction began in 1937 yet the basin was not long enough to provide optimal take-off space for the common seaplanes of the time. As mentioned above, the basin is now a bird sanctuary.
Since 1993, the Sylt Quelle (Sylt Well) pumps mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
containing iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
for bottling
Bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not...
. This water is marketed across the island and can also be tapped on the spot by customers. The brand is offered by restaurants across Germany. In the adjacent Kunstraum, exhibitions, lectures, public discussions and stage plays take place. In addition, this has become the venue for the Meerkabarett, the Sea Cabaret, which annually features various artists during the summer season.
To the east of the village, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park
Wadden Sea National Parks
The Wadden Sea National Parks, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are located along the German coast of the North Sea. Named after the Wadden Sea, they consist of three national parks:...
is located. A popular route for mudflat hiking leads from Rantum to Hörnum
Hörnum
Hörnum is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the southern headland of the island of Sylt...
in the south. The Wadden Sea Conservation Station
Wadden Sea Conservation Station
The Wadden Sea Conservation Station is a non-profit, NGO in North Germany. The organisation was founded in 1962 and, since then, has been one of the official NGO partners of the Wadden Sea National Parks...
(Schutzstation Wattenmeer) operates a branch office in Rantum which provides information on coastal management
Coastal management
In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defense against flooding and erosion...
, the Wadden Sea, the salt marshes and offers guided mudflat hikings.
In Rantum there is an emitter of the LORAN
LORAN
LORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
radio navigation system, using a 193 metre tall lattice tower
Lattice tower
A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding framework tower. They can be used as electricity pylons especially for voltages above 100 kilovolts, as a radio tower or as an observation tower....
mast radiator
Mast radiator
A mast radiator is a radio mast or tower in which the whole structure itself functions as an antenna. This design is commonly used for transmitting antennas operating at low frequencies, in the VLF, LF and MF ranges, in particular those used for AM broadcasting. The metal mast is electrically...
as an antenna. The regular service was ended on 31 December 2005.
Tourism as main source of income
In the dunes to the west there are several tracks to the beach with "StrandkorbStrandkorb
A strandkorb is a special chair designed to provide comfort and protection from sun, wind, rain, and sand on beaches frequented by tourists....
" rental services and a variety of exotically named venues. This naming originates from the 1930s when a beach section called Abessinia was created. When tourism began to flourish during the 1950s, a section called Samoa and later also Zanzibar were created.
Many families started renting out rooms in the 1950s. This flourishing and profitable sideline became a main income in the following decades. Many new buildings are attributed to this development. Unlike in Westerland though, this did not happen by exclusive construction of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants. Many summer houses and rental services have since been created. In the village, as everywhere on Sylt, there are more beds for tourists than for local residents. Thereby the 1990s were important, when they succeeded to extend the main season beyond the few weeks of summer. Directly at the cliff, the Sölring Hof hotel is located, it has been awarded two Guide Michelin stars. In June 2007, the so-called TUI Village Hotel with 600 beds in 159 flats was opened on a former military base.
Youth facilities
Rantum hosts the Weiße Zeltstadt (White Tent City) camp site. During the summer holidays, the Schleswig-Flensburg District Sports Association offers youth camps there.The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutsches Schleswig e.V operates a congress venue for youths and a summer school.
In the southern part of the village, the Puan Klent youth resort is located.