Helgoland

A beautiful sunset on Helgoland

There are many islands on Germany’s North Sea coast, but none of them are comparable to Helgoland. At a distance of around 70 km from the mainland, this huge, red variegated sandstone cliff topped with green earth emerges from the water, presenting its unique flora and fauna and a mild open-sea climate, aided by the nearby gulf stream. Helgoland is an oasis of peace and quiet for anyone suffering from stress, and a unique natural monument which is far removed from environmental problems. Helgoland is also a diverse holiday and discovery island, however. It is a spa and a climatic health resort in all four seasons.
This is where Helgoland is perhaps not quite as you would expect. Taking a little ramble over Helgoland, you can discover all kinds of fascinating, useful, surprising and thought-provoking things about Germany’s only open-sea island. For Helgoland really is unparalleled.
Helgoland – in facts and figures
 

Sights of interest and places to visit
 

Helgoland – the island of nature – the guillemot cliffs
Nature is a very special kind of capital on Helgoland, for the island is a paradise for nature lovers. It has an exceptional and unique range of flora and fauna. For instance, it is home to the guillemot cliffs, the world’s smallest nature reserve and Germany’s only bird rock. In April, Helgoland becomes the ‘world’s largest maternity ward’, as more than 5,000 pairs of birds – guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars, northern gannets and oyster catchers - take up residence in their rock face and concentrate on the business of breeding.

‘Helgoländer Felssockel’ nature reserve
The ‘Helgoländer Felssockel’ – the largest in Schleswig-Holstein with an area of 5,138 hectares – is also worth a visit. The cliff mudflats prove an outstanding habitat, with a great diversity of algae, invertebrate, fish and bird species. Many of the plant and animal species represented here can only be found in the Helgoland cliff mudflats. 

Flora and fauna of the bathing dune
Meanwhile, on the bathing dune, attentive observers will notice a quite different habitat to the one on the main island. Here a very particular kind of flora and fauna flourishes above the water line. Coming from the beach, you find sea couches, sand oats and sand rye. Even the rare quack grass, sand holly and long-bracted sedge are represented alongside the stonecrop and sea buckthorn. The diversity of the plants, some of which are very rare, certainly makes it a worthwhile trip.

Themed routes all about Helgoland
Of course, as well as nature, sun, sand and an unpolluted environment, Helgoland has more to offer its holiday guests. There is certainly not a moment of boredom on Germany’s only open-sea island. This is thanks to the ‘themed routes’, for example, which escort holidaymakers on paths to discover the red cliffs. The ‘culture route’ and the ‘history route’ offer diverse and interesting walks through the fascinating culture and varied history of Germany’s only open-sea island. The ‘nature route’ leads day-trippers and holidaymakers through the wonderful, unspoiled flora and fauna of the island and allows them to experience nature and the mild, healthy climate at close quarters. The cliff hiking route around the Oberland provides guests with some interesting insights into Helgoland – for example, the thickness of its red variegated sandstone or the beauty of its sunsets.
 

Regional location
 

Helgoland lies at a distance of around 70 km from the coast in the German Bight. The island and its 1,400 inhabitants belong to the district of Pinneberg in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1720, the natural link between the main island and the dune was destroyed by a storm tide, which means that the isle now consists of the block of red variegated sandstone with its cliff line which projects 61 m high out of the sea, and a small, neighbouring island, the bathing dune. The ‘main island’ is approximately 1 sq km in size, and the neighbouring bathing dune measures 0.7 sq m.

Getting there

Airports

• Air Hamburg (Hamburg-Uetersen)
• OLT Ostfriesische Lufttransporte (Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Heide/Büsum)

Harbours

• Fast ferries (catamarans) from Hamburg, Wedel, Cuxhaven
  and from Emden, Norderney and Borkum
   
• Ship connections from Büsum, Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven in high season