Schleswig-Holstein | Fotoeins Fotografie

Posts tagged ‘Schleswig-Holstein’

Fotoeins Friday: Haithabu-Hedeby, 🇩🇪 UNESCO WHS

Just outside the city of Schleswig, Germany is the site of a former Viking settlement near the western end of the inlet Schlei. The sheltered harbour and a relatively short overland (portage) distance between the North and Baltic Seas made this an ideal location for settlement. The Viking sites Haithabu and Danevirke nearby have been inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018.

I made the image above on 30 May 2024 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the following settings: , and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-wI3.

24T23 Haithabu: Viking power on the Schlei

E22

Haithabu, Heiðabýr: “colony/settlement on the heath”.

Hedeby, or Haddeby.

Established in the early 9th-century CE, until its abandonment and destruction in the 11th-century, Vikings set up a village in the Schlei inlet inbound from the Baltic Sea, at an easy-to-ford location at the narrowest part of the Jutland peninsula over to the North Sea. At its height, the village was one of the largest Nordic towns during the Viking age. Later, Danish king Harald Bluetooth ordered in the 10th-century the construction of fortifications to protect the village, Northern European crossroads, and trade centre. The settlement also paved the way for the Christianization of Denmark.

The town and the surrounding Danevirke fortification received inscription as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.

ᚼᛁᚦᛅᛒᚢ “hitabu” (rune in Younger Furthark). Hey, how about that: the rune for “b” is the modern symbol for Bluetooth technology.

*The Vikings got very good at making boats. They were “jetting” around the North and Baltic Seas.*

*Sailing around Cape Skagen vs. sailing to Haithabu and fording over to the Treene and Eider rivers to reduce valuable travel time between the Baltic Sea and North Sea.*

*Squeezed between Frisians, Danes, Slavs, and Franconian Saxons, the Vikings sure found a sweet spot on the peninsula.*

*Viking sites as UNESCO World Heritage Sites: L’Anse aux Meadows* 🇨🇦 *(lower left); Haithabu* 🇩🇪 *(lower right).*

*One of many finds: a steer symbol for St. Luke.*

*Grave number 33. Needed the zoom to pick out the cross.*

*“A meeting of cultures” (and one of many finds): multi-sided non-cubic dice. Plus runes and Vikings, equals live-action early-medieval D&D to the death.*

*For almost 1000 years, a part of a Viking ship lay buried in the Haddeby Noor (“lagoon”) near the Haithabu site.*

*About 1km south of the museum is the estimated location of the village and recreation of 7 example houses.*

*Recreated dock/jetty into the nearby Haddeby Noor (lagoon) to launch boats, and receive trade goods from the sea and faraway lands.*

The Viking Museum Haithabu is located about 30-minutes by bus south-southeast from the centre of Schleswig. Open daily from 9am to 5pm, the 11€ charge includes admission to both museum and the houses (about 1.5 km walk to the south). The museum also has a great café.

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 30 May 2024. I received neither sponsor nor support from any organization. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T21 Welcome to Schleswig

E20

There is the actual city of Schleswig (“bay of the Schlei”), but the capital of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein is the city of Kiel. But I’m in Schleswig for one big reason: the Viking settlement of Hedeby, for its importance inscribed as a world heritage site. That’s for tomorrow.

Today I’m looking for St. Peter’s church and the former fishing village of Holm. After picking up some groceries, St. Peter’s is closed when I arrive, but in time for early-evening illumination. There’s a scatter of sailboats on the waters of the Schlei. Based on the Danish word for “little island”, Holm began around 1000CE and developed on its own as a local fishing centre with imperial permits for the right to fish on the Schlei.

*Calm waters of the Schlei, a narrow inlet that meets up with the Baltic Sea*

*Many have gathered here for the Fischbrötchen (fish rolls) at Zanders Nordlicht, with St. Peter’s in the background.*

*The house at right has in front: “1658”, apparently when the house was built in the middle 17th-century.*

*“Seezeichen” (sea sign), by B. Lothar Frieling, 1986.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 28 May 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T18 Heligoland from the sea

E17

I wrote yesterday about some 1st impressions about a red rock and sandy islet in the North Sea. With some time before the return ferry to Hamburg in the afternoon, I purchased a trip on a little boat to go around the island of Heligoland.

*Around the northwest corner of Heligoland, with Düne in the background at left.*

*Weathered sandstone rock pillars “Lange Anna” (left) and “Kurze Anna” (right-centre).*

*Heading around the southeast corner: overcast, misty, low chop, light rain showers.*

*Into the inner harbour, with the bright colours of the former lobster shacks (Hummerbuden).*

*“To be blue” in German means “to be drunk.” Drunk in blue and colours, definitely.*

*Museum Helgoland: the flag for Helgoland consists of 3 horizontal stripes: from top-down, respectively, green for the land, red for the sandstone cliffs, and white for the white sand.*

*Museum Heligoland: Why does the “Lange Anna” sandstone-pillar look like a happy carrot?*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 25 May 2024. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.

24T17 Heligoland & Dune

E16, Helgoland & Düne

Helgoland (Heligoland) is a piece of red rock in the North Sea, about 63 km (40 mi) to the northwest of Cuxhaven. The island is only 1.7 square-km (0.7 sq mi) in area with a population of about 1500. The neighbouring islet of Düne was created when surge from the 1721 New Year’s Day storm submerged the land connection with Helgoland. Helgoland has the towering red cliffs; Düne has lots of fine white sand.

*823am, memorial to Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, who in 1841 on visit to Helgoland wrote the text to Germany’s national anthem.*

*828am, Hafenstrasse: the former lobster shacks (Hummerbuden) have been put to good commercial use.*

*909am, after the 10-minute shuttle ferry to Düne, there’s this morning view of Helgoland*.

*1121h, Dünen Südstrand: high tide 1319h, low tide 1959h, ocean temperature +13C (56F).*

*1125h, Dünen Südstrand: Strandkörbe (beach baskets).*

*54 degrees & 11 minutes North latitude; 7 degrees & 53 minutes East longitude.*

*1710h, Oberland, down into Unterland and the islet of Dünen across the channel.*

*Oberland: Brits’ post-war attempt to blow up the island failed, but one of their 5000-kg bombs made a “Big Bang”, resulting in this crater tens of metres across.*

*Oberland: the red cliffs are home to northern gannets and guillemots*.

*Northern gannets (Basstölpel). Many “nesting” mounds visible; some with eggs laid, others with hatched chicks.*

*1846h Oberland: sharing the small red island.*

I made all images above with an iPhone15 on 24 May 2024. Listed times are in CEDT. This post composed with Jetpack for iOS appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com.