History path
A thousand years on the trail

Alone or in guided groups, you can explore the North Sea island all year round.
Walk along the paths of our eventful history, encounter Hoffmann von Fallersleben
and James Krüss on the history trail 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.

Stations

1 Atlantis - just a beautiful legend?

According to legend, the royal island of "Atlantis" sank into the sea 9.2 kilometers northeast of Helgoland in 1200 BC. Although one
found at this site, there is still no evidence that "Atlantis" really sank within sight of Helgoland, or that it ever existed at all.
or that it ever existed at all. But as it is - the story remains a pretty one in any case.

2 Prehistory and early history

Where today the North Sea washes Helgoland, long, long ago green marshland stretched out in a flat lowland. The early
inhabitants of this stretch of land celebrated festivals and buried their chieftains on the rock that jutted high out of the marshland. From this
the island also got its name: Helgoland - the holy land. Around 700 A.D. Helgoland is mentioned in a document for the first time, when the
Saint Willibrord, Bishop of Utrecht, reports on his futile attempts at Christianization in the "land of the Frisian deity Fosite". Only
100 years later, Bishop Liudger of Münster succeeded in converting the people of Helgoland to the Christian faith.

3 Buccaneer / Seeroawer

From 1394 to 1401, Klaus Störtebeker and his Likedeeler made the German Bight unsafe. On October 20/21, 1401, the pirates were devastatingly defeated in Helgoland waters by a Hamburg war fleet. The fact that Helgoland fishermen used a trick to make the pirate ships
The fact that Helgoland fishermen used a trick to make the pirate ships unable to maneuver and thus contributed to the victory is, however, a legend.

4 Fishing / Feskerai

Fishing has played an important role on Helgoland for centuries. Today, the fishermen of Helgoland catch, in addition to fish species such as cod and sole, two well-known island-typical specialties: the rare Helgoland lobster and the edible crab (called "Knieper" because of its claws).

5 pilots / looatsen

Since 1665, the people of Helgoland have worked as pilots. From 1787 they hold the privilege around the island and soon the monopoly in the German Bight.
In 1807, pilotage ended for the time being with the English occupation.

6 Continental Blockade (political)

In 1807, the English conquered Heligoland in order to undermine Napoleon's Continental Blockade from here. When English trading houses settled on
Helgoland and engaged in smuggling, the island experienced an unparalleled economic boom for five years. With the
end of the Continental Blockade, the tide turned and Helgoland was hit by the worst famine in its history.

7 Continental blockade (economic)

From 1808 to 1813, Heligoland experienced the "golden age of smuggling". The islanders were in great demand by the British occupiers as pilots, transshipment merchants and lessors of storage space. At times, goods worth 10 million marks were stored on the island, and up to 100 sailing ships were moored in the roads.

8 Sea bath / Deät Bad

In 1826, Jacob Andresen Siemens establishes the first seaside bathing establishment and lays the foundation for the island's future as a seaside resort. In 1962 Helgoland becomes a North Sea spa and thus a state-approved health resort.

9 Sea battles

In 1864, the people of Helgoland and their spa guests had a good view of the naval battle taking place within sight of the island between an allied Prussian-Austrian fleet and Danish warships.
allied Prussian-Austrian fleet and Danish warships.

10 10th August 1890

On this memorable day, the solemn parade march took place in front of the Kaiser for the cession of Helgoland to Germany. However, Helgoland was already incorporated into the then German Empire on August 9.

11 The First World War / De Iáárs Welkrich

From 1914 to 1918 the people of Helgoland have to leave their island and 4,000 naval personnel have to give way. After the war, the island recovers
quickly and for 20 years is again the destination of many vacationers and day visitors.

12 "Project lobster claw

Under this planning motto, the Nazis intended to create a harbor north of the dune after 1933 that could accommodate the entire German fleet.
could accommodate.

13 The Second World War / De uur Welkrich

On April 18/19, 1945, Helgoland is almost completely destroyed by an English air raid.

14 "Big Bang"

On April 18, 1947, the Allies detonate the island's underground military installations with 6,700 tons of munitions. The largest non-nuclear detonation in the world up to that time creates the present appearance of Helgoland.

15 Invasion and release

On March 1, 1952, almost seven years after the end of the war, Helgoland is reopened.

16 Reconstruction / Apbuw

In 1952, the reconstruction of Helgoland begins, and just one year later the first test house is started. From then on
it goes from one stroke to the next. The people of Helgoland and their seaside resort guests return. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the new
Helgoland emerges like a phoenix from the ashes and once again presents itself as an unmistakable health resort off the Frisian coast.

In the storm of the times - A thousand years of Helgoland

Helgoland’s history is far more than a thousand years old. Strictly speaking, it began many millions of years ago, when a salt pillow pushed a piece of the overlying red, gray and white surface layers upwards: with a mound of red sandstone, shell limestone and chalk.
However, we cannot take you that far back, namely to the geological age of the Tertiary, but we can take you to a period of about a thousand years.

We invite you to a themed walk where you will encounter Helgoland’s history.

You will learn, for example, that in 1200 BC the royal island of Atlantis is said to have sunk into the sea within sight of Helgoland, and that the notorious pirate Klaus Störtebeker was defeated and captured off the island,
Heligoland, as a British crown colony, was a smuggling center during the Napoleonic Continental Blockade, and Prussians and Austrians fought a naval battle with the Danes within sight of the island.
naval battle within sight of the island.

It is no longer possible to determine exactly when the first settlement of the only German offshore island took place.

It was first mentioned in documents around 700 AD, when Saint Willibrord, Bishop of Utrecht, reported on the “land of the Frisian deity Fosite” and the vain attempt to Christianize the inhabitants.

It was not until 100 years later that the islanders also found their way to the Christian faith. It was Bishop Liudger from Münster who had all of Fosite’s shrines on the island destroyed and ordained the Helgoland chieftain’s son Landricus as a priest.
The island only came to the attention of a wider public when Klaus Störtebeker and his Likedeeler were captured by the Hamburgers in 1401 in the waters off the island.
were decisively defeated by the Hamburgers in a sea battle in the waters off the island.
From then on, Helgoland remained a well-behaved fishing island, with only the ruling relationships changing.

Sometimes the island was German, then the Danish king ruled, and finally in 1807 Helgoland became a British crown colony and experienced an economic heyday as an important smuggling center.

With the end of the Napoleonic era, Helgoland became a seaside resort in 1826. The island remained a British crown colony until it was handed over to the German Empire in 1890.

Since 1890, the German flag has flown on the island. The island experienced its most difficult times during the two world wars.

Twice the island was evacuated and in 1945 it was razed to the ground as a bombing target of the Allies.

The day of release falls on March 1, 1952.
Reconstruction begins and Helgoland can look forward to a peaceful future as a health and seaside resort.

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