What is what in Schleswig-Holstein
Hedgerow landscape (Knicklandschaft)
High tide
Fjords
Low Tide
Marshes
Mudflats (Wattenmeer)
Tidal range
Tides
Upland (Hügelland)
Saint Marcellus flood or Grote Mandränke
Salt marshes
Wetlands Moor
Hedgerow landscape (Knicklandschaft)
Hedgerows are shrubs and trees planted together to form a kind of wall. In Schleswig-Holstein they are known as Knicks, and were created as ‘living fences’ in the context of the land reforms in Germany in the 18th century. A typical Knick consists of a five-metre wide and relatively dense (but not particularly high) ‘wall’ of shrubs and trees. Upon the base of stones and earth, you generally find hazelnut bushes, hornbeams and ashes, the occasional large beech, and oaks, which are the primary building material in East Frisia. Today, these hedgerows are protected due to their significance as a habitat for various flora and fauna.
High tide
High tide or high water is when the sea level rises as a consequence of the tides. In the period between low water and high water, the tide is said to be ‘coming in’.
Fjords
The term fjord normally refers to a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity. The difference between the fjords on the Baltic coast and Norwegian fjords (marked in German by the use of the terms ‘Förden’ and ‘Fjorde’ respectively) is a geological one. Whereas the latter were formed by glaciers moving from the land towards the sea, with the former it was the glacier tongues of the ice crust over what is now the Baltic Sea which carved out canals in the land, and these were filled up with sea water when the ice melted.Because the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein is marked by a large number of ‘Förden’, people refer to this coast as a ‘Fördenküste’.
Low Tide
Low tide or low water is when the sea level sinks as a consequence of the tides.
Marshes
Marshes are generally flat areas of land without natural elevation. They are situated approximately at sea level, inland from the mudflats and salt marshes. In terms of their creation, they are amongst the youngest geological formations: they are of Holocene origin, so they came about after the ice age. The marshes in Schleswig-Holstein are fertile areas in flat coastal regions which are affected by the tides. The marshes are protected by dykes.
Mudflats (Wattenmeer)
Mudflats are coastal wetlands which are strongly influenced by the tides. Mudflats are flooded regularly twice a day at high tide, and they dry up again at low tide. At these times you can join guided mudflat hikes. The German term for mudflats, ‘Wattenmeer’, literally means a ‘wadeable sea’, and also refers to these particular mudflats in Schleswig-Holstein which we call the Wadden Sea.
Saint Marcellus flood or Grote Mandränke
The Saint Marcellus flood (also called ‘Grote Mandränke’ – great drowning of men) refers to a devastating storm flood of 1362. The chronicles describe it in terms of the largest storm flood on the North Sea coast, and it even sank the town of Rungholt.
The flood, which swept several metres over the dykes, penetrated far inland and fundamentally altered the shape of the Schleswig-Holstein coast. The first Halligen islands were formed, and the inhabitants of the North Sea coast began to reclaim the land they had lost by systematically constructing dykes. Residents also started building their houses on artificially-created and normally circular dwelling mounds (‘Warfts’).
Salt marshes
Salt marshes are situated only just above sea level and consequently become flooded, sometimes more than 100 times per year. Around 40 highly specialised plants, such as sea lavender, sea asters and sea wormwood, are able to grow here since they cannot be harmed by water and salt. The grasses and herbs of the salt marshes also provide a habitat for some 1,800 species of insects and spiders.
Tidal range
The tidal range is the difference in height between high and low tides.
Tides
Tides are the rising and falling of Earth's ocean surface caused by the tidal forces of the Moon and the Sun acting on the oceans.
Upland (Hügelland)
The upland (Hügelland) of Schleswig-Holstein is one of the three landscape types of the region, along with marshland (by the North Sea) and Geestland (in inland areas).
The upland and the Geestland were both formed in the last ice age as a terminal moraine landscape. These accumulations of material deposited by glaciers formed the landscape of Holstein Switzerland and thus also created Bunsberg, Schleswig-Holstein’s tallest mountain at a height of 168 m.
Wetlands (Moor)
The German term ‘Moor’ specifically refers to wetland areas which are saturated to the surface with moisture from groundwater or high rainfall. Due to a lack of oxygen, partially decayed plant material has accumulated in this land over a long period of time, forming peat.
The high concentration of organic substances means that the ground of the wetlands is often used to make mudpacks for health treatments.
© Alexander Seidlich