Alone or in guided groups, you can explore the North Sea island all year round.
Walk along the paths of our eventful history, meet Hoffmann von Fallersleben and James Krüss.
and James Krüss and explore the wonders of nature on both islands of Helgoland. For your theme trails there is
There is a free information brochure at the Tourist Information, which will accompany you on your journey of discovery. You can also find the map with the theme trail in the gallery.
The center of the island is marked by the town hall of the architects Ingeborg & Friedrich Spengelin, which was opened in 1960. At the intersection of South Beach and Lung Wai, it forms a spatial ensemble with the adjacent landing stage. Three gables structure the building and integrate it into its surroundings, from which it stands out, however, by means of grid facades. Architecturally, Arne Jacobsen's town hall in Aarhus, Denmark, was the inspiration.
The landing stage is the interface between land and sea, where the Helgoland guests are landed in the Börtebooten. This is one of the best places to enjoy the island panorama. Although Helgoland is only about 1 km2, the island offers an amazing spatial diversity and great architectural homogeneity.
At the foot of the Helgoland Rock, the first new buildings are erected from 1953 onwards, designed by Georg Wellhausen, the winner of the 1952 competition. They serve to test high-density building methods and interpret the interlocking street patterns typical of Helgoland in a modern form. The abstract-looking, asymmetrical gable architecture also becomes groundbreaking.
In place of the island theater, a second series of experimental buildings was constructed in 1953-55. Staggered building heights, offsetting street lines, and different building materials
and different building materials result in a varied appearance. Intimately designed intermediate zones create an imperceptible gradation of public, semi-public and private spaces.
The hotel development on the south beach represents the entrance to the island. A concave curved spatial edge and uniformly white painted balcony fronts
form an architectural welcome. At the same time, the hotel buildings act as wind breakers for the adjacent residential development.
Built in 1954/55 to designs by Georg Wellhausen, the Hummerbuden are Helgoland's architectural landmark. Constructively, they form
they form the retaining wall for the midland created by blasting in 1947. Their colorful facades evoke associations with Scandinavian models.
models. The former workshop buildings of Helgoland's fishermen now provide a home for art, culture and kneepers.
Originally laid out as a site for the Imperial Navy, the Südhafen site has been used as a commercial area since World War II.
The laboratory building, constructed in 1972-76 to designs by Marlow & Partner, serves the Biological Institute for lobster research. Sculptural
designed structures with concrete surfaces are characteristic of the construction period.
The midland created in 1947 by the "Big Bang" is preserved as a landscape formation as a result of the 1952 competition. Embedded in
a blast hollow, the island hospital designed by Konstanty Gutschow is built in 1957/58. In 1985, an extension seals off the finely structured courtyard complex from the invader path.
From the Falmkante, the view opens over the Unterland and to the dune.
The high spatial density of Helgoland's post-war architecture is adapted to the local climatic conditions. The roofscape resembles the ripples of a sandy beach. In the top view, it becomes the fifth facade.
The scale of the former Helgoland houses is also used as a basis for the new development of the island. Narrow, winding alleys are reminiscent of the pre-war situation
the pre-war situation and at the same time create wind-protected street spaces with exciting perspectives. Display boards in Kieler Strasse
also invite visitors on a literary discovery tour.
The striking tower of St. Nicolai Church on the Oberland forms a fixed point on the island that can be seen from afar. Designed by the Hanover architects
architects Hübotter, Ledeboer and Romero and opened in 1959, interprets the type of island church in a modern way with its
type of island church in a modern way.
With its expansive pavilion design, the James Krüss School designed by Kiel architect Otto Christophersen stands out from the confines of the surrounding residential development. The building complex, which opened in 1959, thus follows contemporary school building ideals and adapts the model of the Danish Munkegaard School by architect Arne Jacobsen.
The British Army changes the appearance of the island - not only by blowing it up on April 18, 1947, but also by using it as a training target for seven years.
Helgoland as a training target for bombing for seven years. The topography created by this remains unchanged in the midland, in the stairway to the
Oberland and the course of the cliff cycle path. For more details on the "Big Bang," see the plaque at this viewpoint.
As part of the National Socialist rearmament program, the "Hummerschere" project is implemented from 1938 onwards.
Helgoland into an ice-free war harbor. What remains of this is the current extent of the dune and the washed-up northeast land, which is now home to recreational and spa facilities. For more details on "Project Lobster Claw," see the plaque at this location.
The youth hostel designed by Ingeborg & Friedrich Spengelin was built in 1956/57 in the dune landscape of the Nord-Ost-Land.
Rhythmically structured structures fit the building into the undulating topography of the surroundings, red brick and yellow plaster facades pick up the colorfulness of the Helgoland landscape.
Founded in 1892, the Biological Institute is Helgoland's most important research institution and is known worldwide. The new building, inaugurated in 1959, was designed by Bauhaus student Gustav Hassenpflug. The large building mass on the northeast harbor is divided into several segments.
Rationalistic grid facades indicate the scientific purposes of the building complex.
Since the Stone Age, dear guests, Helgoland has served as a home for people. As a fishing port, the island experienced its first heyday during the Hanseatic period. From 1807 it gains new importance as a
British rule, it gained new importance as a trading center and subsequently developed into a popular tourist destination.
However, today’s image of the island is still very young. Not only the buildings, but also the landscapes are products of the 20th century. Helgoland, as you experience it today,
was created by human hand. This began in imperial times with the construction of a naval harbor. The Nord-Ost-Land, which was created during the National Socialist era, is also the result of military considerations. The largest non-nuclear blast of all time, detonated by the British Army on April 18, 1947, then leaves large parts of the island as a cratered landscape.
It was not until 1952 that Helgoland was reopened. At that time, however, not one stone was left upon another. That is why, in the same year, a Germany-wide competition is held for the redevelopment of the island – but it is not intended to be a “rebuilding”. Rather, the destruction is seen as an opportunity to remedy old grievances.
Helgoland will receive its new face from the contemporary ideal of a structured urban landscape. The various functional areas (residential, tourism and
commerce) are assigned clearly defined building areas. In this way, the new development follows the “Charter of Athens” of 1933. And the war scars of the landscape are preserved as
The amorphously shaped midland is still a reminder of the blast of 1947.
The cubic, concise formal language of the new Helgoland houses is influenced by the ideas of the Bauhaus. The striving for light, air and sun, which was influenced there, is reflected in area-minimized, east-west oriented floor plans. In order to avoid spatial monotony, however, all the streets are slightly curved and loosened up by the offsetting lines of the houses. This results in exciting vistas time and again.
With its high spatial density, the new development is deliberately reminiscent of the old Helgoland. At the same time, the houses are ideally suited to the prevailing climatic conditions.
conditions. This is because the tightly interlaced alleys with their projections and recesses and the winding roofscape break the strong North Sea winds,
that usually blow here on Helgoland. The new buildings realized from 1953 to 1966 also breathe Scandinavian air. Inspired by contemporary Danish architecture, the Helgoland houses are characterized by sharply cut, sculpted structures with asymmetrical gables. Colors and materials as well as the square, flush-mounted windows are also inspired by this model. Thus, the new buildings also form a conscious antithesis to National Socialist traditionalism.
A canon of 14 earth-tone colors, specially developed by Hamburg artist Johannes Ufer, underscores the sculptural qualities of Helgoland’s architecture.
All the houses fit into a common context without foregoing their own accents. This harmonious composition of forms and
colors is unparalleled in post-war architecture and makes Helgoland unique.
We therefore cordially invite you to take a stroll across the island and discover the qualities of this unique
ensemble!
