Fehmarn

2025-10-27T15:03:46Z

98.57.5.90: /* External links - Adding the link to the History of Fehmarn page and the story of the Danish King */

{{more citations needed|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox German location
|type = Stadt
|image_photo = Fehmarn luftbild-2.jpg
|image_caption = Aerial view
|image_flag = Flagge Fehmarn.png
|image_coa = DEU Stadt Fehmarn COA.svg
|coordinates = {{coord|54.4454|N|11.1702|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Fehmarn in OH.png
|state = Schleswig-Holstein
|district = Ostholstein
|elevation = 10
|area = 185.45
|postal_code = 23769
|area_code = 04371 und 04372
|licence = OH
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 01 0 55 046
|website = [http://www.stadtfehmarn.de/ www.stadtfehmarn.de]
|mayor = Jörg Weber
|party = SPD
}}
'''Fehmarn''' ({{IPA|de|ˈfeːma⁠ʁn|lang|De-Fehmarn.ogg}}; {{langx|da|Femern}}; from Old [[Wagri]]an [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the [[Baltic Sea]], off the eastern coast of [[Germany]]'s northernmost state of [[Schleswig-Holstein]]. It is Germany's third-largest island, after [[Rügen]] and [[Usedom]]. Fehmarn is separated from the German peninsula of [[Wagria]] in [[Holstein]] by the Fehmarn Sound, and from the southern [[Denmark|Danish]] island of [[Lolland]] by the [[Fehmarn Belt]]. It is connected to the Holsatian mainland by the [[Fehmarn Sound Bridge]]. The island belongs to the district of [[Ostholstein]] (East Holstein). The closest larger towns on the mainland are [[Heiligenhafen]] (''Saints’ Harbor'') and [[Oldenburg in Holstein]] (founded as ''[[Starigard]]''). Right opposite Fehmarn, on the tip of the Wagrian Peninsula, is [[Großenbrode]].

The [[Vogelfluglinie]] (Danish: Fugleflugtslinjen), an important [[transport corridor]] connecting the Danish capital of [[Copenhagen]] on the island of [[Zealand]] to the second-largest German city of [[Hamburg]] via [[Lübeck]], runs across the island. There are currently two tunnels under construction in the region: the [[Fehmarn Belt Tunnel]] between [[Puttgarden]] on Fehmarn and [[Rødbyhavn]] on Lolland, and the [[Fehmarn Sound Tunnel]] between Strukkamp (Fehmarn) and Großenbrode ([[Wagria]]). The most notable settlements on Fehmarn are Burg auf Fehmarn ([[Low German]]: ''Borg op Fehmarn'') and Puttgarden, with the island's ferry port.

Fehmarn is [[Allegory|allegorically]] represented by the "Goldene Krone im blauen Meer" (''Golden Crown in the blue Sea''), which can be seen on many flags on the island, making reference to the [[House of Oldenburg]], the Danish royal house.

==History==
[[File:Goldene Krone im Blauen Meer.svg|275px|thumb|"Goldene Krone im blauen Meer"<br>The Golden Crown flag of Fehmarn]]
[[File:Fehmarnsund Ostsee (50704898848).jpg|275px|thumb|[[Fehmarn Sound Bridge]] between [[Großenbrode]] and Fehmarn]]
[[File:Fehmarn2022OSM.png|275px|thumb|Detailed map of Fehmarn]]
[[File:Fehmarn Gemarkungen.png|275px|thumb|Fehmarn and its villages]]
[[File:Belte inter.png|275px|thumb|The Danish island world]]
Earlier names of the island are Femera, Fimbria, Cimbria parva, and Imbra.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/orblatf.html|title = ORBIS LATINUS - Letter F}}</ref> As a part of [[Wagria]], it was settled by the Slavic [[Lechites|Lechitic]] tribe of [[Wagri]] in the [[Early Middle Ages]]. Fehmarn is one of the westernmost places of the former contiguous settlement area of the [[Slavs]], and the westernmost island with a former Slavic settlement. The name of the island itself derives from the [[Polabian language|Polabian]] ''fe more'' (''in the sea''), modern ''v more'', and has the same etymological background as [[Pomerania]], deriving from ''po more'', ''at the sea''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fehmarn.de/de/fehmarn/fehmarn_im_meer_mittendrin/inselinfos_und_geschichte.php|title=Die Sonneninsel Fehmarn}}</ref> [[Puttgarden]] is also a Slavic name, deriving from ''pod gard'', which means ''under the castle'' (on [[Rügen]] there is a village with the same etymological background, evolving into the modern form [[Putgarten]]).

Other Slavic-founded villages on Fehmarn are Bannesdorf, Dänschendorf, Gahlendorf, Gammendorf-Siedendorf, Gollendorf, Hinrichsdorf, Klausdorf, Kopendorf, Lemkendorf, Meeschendorf, Püttsee, Sahrensdorf, Schlagsdorf, Sulsdorf and Vitzdorf. The villages of Bisdorf, Presen and Staberdorf are either Slavic-founded or founded by Germanic colonists from [[Holstein]], [[Dithmarschen]], [[Frisia]], [[Lower Saxony]] and [[Denmark]], who settled the island from around 1200 onwards. The Slavs inhabiting the island were gradually [[Christianized]] and [[Germanized]].

From the Middle Ages till 1864 Fehmarn formed part of the Danish [[Duchy of Schleswig]]. When the duchy was partitioned in 1544, it formed part of the duchy of [[John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev|John the Elder]]. Upon his death without heirs in 1580, Fehmarn became part of the [[Duke of Holstein-Gottorp|Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp]]. After the [[Great Northern War]], Fehmarn, along with the rest of Schleswig was united with the Danish crown. In 1864, Schleswig passed to [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] as a result of the [[Second Schleswig War]].

On 26 July 1932, the German Navy's training ship ''[[Niobe (schooner)|Niobe]]'' sank off the island during a sudden squall, with the loss of 69 lives. At Gammendorfer Strand on Fehmarn, within view of the site of the sinking, the Niobe-Denkmal monument was erected.

Since 1963, Fehmarn has been connected to the German mainland by a road and rail bridge crossing the [[Fehmarn Sound Bridge]]. It is 963.40 m (3160.76 ft.) long and 69 m high. In the future, it will be connected to the Danish island of [[Lolland]] by the [[Fehmarnbelt Tunnel]]; this connection will form a series of fixed links from the European mainland to Scandinavia through Fehmarn, Lolland, [[Falster]], and [[Zealand]].

==Geography==
{{see also|Puttgarden}}
The area is 185 km<sup>2</sup> and the coastline is 78 km. The highest hills are the "Hinrichsberg" (27.2 m) and the "Wulfener Berg" (26.5 m). The largest community on Fehmarn is [[Burg auf Fehmarn|Burg]] ({{audio|De-Burg auf Fehmarn.ogg|German pronunciation}}) (lit. "the Town of Fehmarn"), with 6,000 inhabitants. In addition, there are many small villages, including [[Vadersdorf]].

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto
| location = Fehmarn (1991–2020 normals)
| metric first = Y
| single line = Y
|collapsed = Y
|Jan high C = 3.7
|Feb high C = 4.0
|Mar high C = 6.4
|Apr high C = 10.9
|May high C = 15.3
|Jun high C = 18.7
|Jul high C = 21.0
|Aug high C = 21.3
|Sep high C = 17.8
|Oct high C = 13.0
|Nov high C = 8.2
|Dec high C = 5.1
| year high C = 12.1
|Jan mean C = 2.1
|Feb mean C = 2.3
|Mar mean C = 4.0
|Apr mean C = 7.6
|May mean C = 11.9
|Jun mean C = 15.5
|Jul mean C = 17.9
|Aug mean C = 18.1
|Sep mean C = 15.2
|Oct mean C = 10.9
|Nov mean C = 6.6
|Dec mean C = 3.6
|year mean C = 9.7
|Jan low C = 0.3
|Feb low C = 0.5
|Mar low C = 1.8
|Apr low C = 4.8
|May low C = 8.8
|Jun low C = 12.4
|Jul low C = 14.8
|Aug low C = 15.1
|Sep low C = 12.6
|Oct low C = 8.7
|Nov low C = 4.8
|Dec low C = 1.9
| year low C = 7.2
| precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 42.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 33.9
|Mar precipitation mm = 32.4
|Apr precipitation mm = 29.1
|May precipitation mm = 43.7
|Jun precipitation mm = 54.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 56.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 63.7
|Sep precipitation mm = 45.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 50.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 47.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 43.9
| year precipitation mm =543.7
| unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 16.6
|Feb precipitation days = 14.6
|Mar precipitation days = 13.2
|Apr precipitation days = 11.2
|May precipitation days = 12.9
|Jun precipitation days = 12.8
|Jul precipitation days = 14.5
|Aug precipitation days = 15.0
|Sep precipitation days = 13.4
|Oct precipitation days = 16.9
|Nov precipitation days = 16.3
|Dec precipitation days = 16.6
|year precipitation days = 174.0
|Jan sun = 43.9
|Feb sun = 69.5
|Mar sun = 139.5
|Apr sun = 212.1
|May sun = 264.3
|Jun sun = 257.8
|Jul sun = 261.3
|Aug sun = 225.6
|Sep sun = 173.9
|Oct sun = 113.8
|Nov sun = 52.2
|Dec sun = 34.8
|year sun = 1846.9
|Jan humidity = 88.5
|Feb humidity = 87.1
|Mar humidity = 85.2
|Apr humidity = 82.4
|May humidity = 80.3
|Jun humidity = 79.3
|Jul humidity = 79.4
|Aug humidity = 79.1
|Sep humidity = 79.9
|Oct humidity = 83.1
|Nov humidity = 86.8
|Dec humidity = 88.3
| year humidity =83.6
|unit snow days = 1.0 cm
|Jan snow days = 6.6
|Feb snow days = 4.7
|Mar snow days = 3.3
|Apr snow days = 0
|May snow days = 0
|Jun snow days = 0
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = 0
|Oct snow days = 0
|Nov snow days = 0.3
|Dec snow days = 2.6
|year snow days = 19.9
| source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=NOAA>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230916130155/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Germany/CSV/Fehmarn_10055.csv
| archive-date = 16 September 2023
| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Germany/CSV/Fehmarn_10055.csv
| title = Fehmarn Climate Normals 1991–2020
| publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| access-date = 16 September 2023}}</ref>
}}

==Transport==
The [[Fehmarn Belt]], a strait separating Fehmarn from Lolland, is located on the side opposite the German mainland. It can be crossed by ferries travelling between the seaports of [[Puttgarden]], Germany, and [[Rødby]]havn, [[Denmark]]. The crossing takes about 45 minutes.

On 29 June 2007, the Danish and German authorities gave the go-ahead for the [[Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link]] tunnel project, planned for completion in 2028.<ref>http://www.femern.com/Home/Project/Timetable{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The aforementioned 963-metre (3,159 ft) long [[Fehmarn Sound Bridge]] connects the German island of Fehmarn with the German mainland near Großenbrode.

==Nature==
The coasts serve as resting places for [[migratory bird]]s, and it is thus a popular location for [[ornithologist]]s. The island's bird reserves are looked after by [[Naturschutzbund Deutschland|NABU]]'s conservation centre at the [[Wallnau Waterbird Reserve]]. In Burg there is a large [[aquarium]] with 40 fish tanks.

Fehmarn is famous for its nature and recreation areas, especially during summertime (July–September) and is also well known for its [[windsurf]] and [[kitesurf]] spots. Currently there are more than ten surfspots known on the island.

==Culture==
[[Scharwenzel]] is a card game for two teams with two to four players on each team. The game is at least three centuries old and is played today only on Fehmarn.

Fehmarn was the location of [[Jimi Hendrix]]'s [[Live at the Isle of Fehmarn|final concert]], at the Open Air Love & Peace Festival, on 6 September 1970. The concert was held at Flügge Beach in the southwest. There is a memorial stone there and from 1995 through 2010, the [[:de:Jimi-Hendrix-Revival-Festival|Jimi-Hendrix-Revival-Festival]] was celebrated annually in September.

The [[St. Nicholas Church, Fehmarn|St. Nicholas Church]] has a [[baptismal font]] that dates from 1391.<ref name=church>[http://www.st-nikolai-kirche-burg.de/ St Nikolai Kirche], st-nikolai-kirche-burg.de, retrieved 30 March 2014</ref>

==Notable residents==
* [[Johann Horkel]] (1769 in Burg auf Fehmarn – 1846), a German physician and botanist.
* [[Benedikt Niese]] (1849 in Burg auf Fehmarn – 1910), a German classical scholar.
* [[Charlotte Niese]] (1854 in Burg auf Fehmarn – 1935), a German writer, poet and teacher.
* [[Frederick W. Schumacher]] (1863–1957), an American philanthropist and businessman.
* [[Ernst Ludwig Kirchner]] (1880–1938), a German expressionist painter and printmaker, lived on the island 1908 to 1912–1914.
* {{ill|Peter Wiepert|de}} (1890-1980), builder and writer; born in the village of Bisdorf. The museum on the island is named after him.
* [[Lina Heydrich]] (1911–1985), born in the village of Avendorf. Her husband [[Reinhard Heydrich]], (1904–1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official and principal architect of the Holocaust. They had a summer home on the island which she ran as a restaurant after the war, until it burned down in February 1969.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lehrer |first=Steven |title=Wannsee House and the Holocaust |year=2000 |pages=196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ahrZF9pAZJ0C |isbn=978-0-7864-0792-7}}</ref>
* [[Jürgen Blin]] (1943–2022), a boxer, born on the island.

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths=150>
File:Fehmarn Flügge 013.jpg|Flügge lighthouse
File:Fehmarnsundbrücke 1963 Femernsundbroen Insel Fehmarn Sound Bridge 963 Meters Schleswig-Holstein Germany - Foto 2018 Wolfgang Pehlemann P1260910.jpg|Fehmarn sound bridge – view from east
File:Puttgarden-2008.jpg|The seaport of Puttgarden
File:BurgruineGlambek-msu-5081.jpg|Ruins of the [[Glambæk]] castle
File:Fehmarn Nord-Ost-Strand.JPG
File:Nordstrand Fehmarn.JPG
File:Fehmarn Nordstrand.JPG
File:Fehmarn Sonnenaufgang N-O-Strand 1.JPG
File:Fehmarn Sonnenaufgang N-O-Strand 2.JPG
File:Burg a F Breite Straße.jpg
File:2017-08-22-Moewe Strandkorb-4123.jpg
File:Fehmarn Südstrand Mädchen am Strand 1975 Karlheinz Goedtke 01.jpg
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Fehmarn}}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Fehmarn |volume=10 |short=x}}
*{{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Fehmarn |short=x}}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=54.459572,11.154556&spn=0.240377,0.324200&t=k&hl=en Satellite map from Google Maps]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719085306/http://www.stadtfehmarn.de/ Stadt Fehmarn]
* [http://www.fehmarn-party.de Fehmarn Events]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120615003841/http://www.fehmarn-genealogy.com/ Fehmarn Genealogy]
* [http://www.webcam-fehmarn.de Fehmarn Webcam]
* [http://www.travel-center-fehmarn.de/insel-fehmarn-umgebung.html Fehmarn und Umgebung]
* [https://www.wulfenerhals.de/fehmarn-heute.html Fehmarn Heute, Urlaub und Freizeit]
* [http://www.peterunbehauen.de/familie/history.html History of Fehmarn Mackeprang, Witt and Rauert]

{{Cities and towns in Ostholstein (district)}}
{{Islands in the Baltic Sea}}
{{German Baltic Sea islands}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fehmarn| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Schleswig-Holstein]]
[[Category:German islands in the Baltic]]
[[Category:Ostholstein]]
[[Category:Towns in Schleswig-Holstein]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea)]]

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Fehmarn