Wyk is situated on the southeastern edge of the island. About 4,500 inhabitants live there, but during the tourist seasons 20,000 or more people will stay there. It serves as a regional centre for the islands of Föhr and Amrum, providing shopping centres, doctors, a post office, etc. and it is the seat of the AmtFöhr-Amrum and the social care centre for the islands. The approximately 4,200 other inhabitants of Föhr proper live in other villages on the island. Wyk's major source of income is the tourism business.
History and tourism
Humans have been living in the area of Wyk since at least 14,000 years, as numerous mesolithic and neolithic tools and cremation urns from the iron age were found in the village of Boldixum.[2]
Today’s Wyk originates from a settlement originally only consisting of the packing office of a merchant, first documented in 1601 as By der Wycke. By 1634, the settlement significantly grew as a result of a lot of people moving there after the Burchardi flood destroying many Halligen. 15 years later, 172 People already lived here, of whom many still witnessed the Erteilung der Fleckensgerechtigkeit (1706), which resulted in Wyk being legally recognized as a Flecken [de], which means a very small settlement. The newly founded municipality included the settlements of Rebbelstieg, Badestraße, Königsgarten and Sandwall. Hans Köllner, the first mayor, was elected in 1679. He held the office until 1711.[3][2]
In 1704, Wyk was granted the rights of a seaport, and six years later, the rights of a market town were awarded.[2] In 1819 a seaside spa was established,[4] being the first of its kind in Schleswig-Holstein.[5]
Thereby the state began to level up with the Baltic Sea region (Heiligendamm, 1794 and the East FrisianNorth Sea area (Norderney, 1794). In the first year, 61 guests were recorded, in 1820 there were 102, but only from 1840 on the numbers exceeded 200. From 1842 to 1847 the Danish king Christian VIII chose Wyk as his summer resort,[4] which attracted numerous new tourists.[6] In 1844 Hans Christian Andersen followed his king to Wyk and is known to have said about Wyk's beach: "I bathed every day and I must say it was the most remarkable water I have ever been in".[5] But Andersen also criticized the problems of journeying there. For example, from Hamburg, on the road, a traveller needed four days to reach Föhr, by ship via Heligoland, it took two days only but included the danger of sickness. [citation needed]
To ensure that Christian VIII would also visit Wyk in the following years, the city planned to gift him a property for a royal palace to be built. The house previously standing on that property was destroyed and rebuilt on 20 Süderstraße, where it stands to this day. The plans for the royal palace where cancelled, when Christian died in 1848.[6]
The town further grew and witnessed two mayor town fires.[3][7] On 7 May 1857, a fire was caused during the construction of a new hotel. Wind caused the fire to spread into the center of Wyk and because of low rainfall, little to no firefighting water was available. 114 buildings were destroyed in total and a similar number of families became homeless. Another fire happened on the night from 7 to 8 July 1869.[7]
Already before 1900, Wyk had electricity, a well established train and ship connection and health care and a growing amount of telephone connections.[3]
Bathing carts in Wyk around 1895.
Mayor Lorenz Petersen (b. 1848 - d. 1908) contributed to Wyk being officially granted full town rights in 1910. In 1919 the Women's suffrage was introduced in Germany, also bringing the first Woman into Wyk's city council. It took multiple decades until a second woman accomplished that. In 1924 the village of Boldixum was merged into Wyk, a decision facing backlash within Boldixum's citizens. In the same year, the Südstrand (translating to South beach) became a part of Wyk as well.[3]
After World War II the first female principal of a school came to power. She was criticized for literally "Femininizing the educational system." Mayor Heinrich Henke Wyker organized the first local council election in September 1946. It was reported to be "difficult to accept the conflict as an inevitable expression of a free political life.” In 1947 Wyk applied for the honorary title Seeheilbad [de]. The application was accepted in 1950.[3]
Wyk's promenade Sandwall does not only offer a view on the sea, but also a view on the Halligen, already beloved by king Christian. It is counted among Germany's most beautiful seaside promenades.[citation needed]
Not at least due to the high number of sanatoriums and recovery institutions, Wyk is a highly frequented spa throughout the year.[citation needed]
In 2002 Wyk belonged to the ten most important centers of tourism in Schleswig-Holstein: 46,368 guests, 325 (0.7%) of which from foreign abroad, booked 492,041 overnight stays. The town had 4,733 beds to offer.[citation needed]
In 2019, the towns 200-year anniversary was celebrated.[3]
Sights
Church of St. NicolasHouse at the south beachAdministration buildingWyk beach with beach chairs
Inside Wyk's town limits, in the Olhörn area, there is a minor lighthouse. Frisian customs and the history of Wyk are documented at the Dr. Carl Haeberlin Museum, whose entrance portal is made up of two whale jaw bones.
The church of St. Nicolas is a roman style building from the 13th century, situated in the Boldixum town district. It has got a colourful and amply decorated interior.
Traffic
A car and passenger ferry leaving Föhr.
Wyk is the only harbour of Föhr, providing a ferry port, a fisheries and freight port and a marina. From the ferry port, several sailings per day are scheduled to the mainland port of Dagebüll while other ferries depart in the opposite direction towards the island of Amrum. Most ferries to Dagebüll have a train connection from there to Hamburg via Niebüll. The ferries are operated by Wyker Dampfschiffsreederei Föhr-Amrum GmbH whose seat is in Wyk.
Other than scheduled ferrying, foray tours are offered to the Halligen of Langeneß and Hooge and in the summer season, passenger ferries sail to Hörnum on Sylt.
Wyk can moreover be reached by small planes via an airstrip, a daily flight schedule connects Föhr and Sylt during the summer season. Bus lines connect to the villages of the island.
Education
Wyk has a high school (Gymnasium), a Realschule with Hauptschule part, an elementary school including a special school and a Danish school. The town also hosts a branch of Nordfriesland's District School of Music.
Health care
A district hospital serves the population of Föhr and Amrum. Moreover, a number of sanitoriums are located in town, among them a clinic for oncology, an institution for mothers with children and several other private and public clinics. There is also an old people's home.
Politics
The local council has 17 members. Since the municipal elections of 2023, the distribution of seats in the town council is as follows:[8]
On 21 June 2023, the 17 council members re-elected Hans-Ulrich „Uli“ Hess of the CDU, mayor of Wyk for the second time. Hess was previously mayor of Meschede from 1999 to 2015.[9][10]
The mayor and the members of the council work on an honorary basis.[11][12]
Arms
Blazon: Gules. On a base azure, wavy, a shipwrecked 17th-century full-rigged ship or, without sails and with broken tops. In chief a mullet of six rays or.[13]
Motto: Incertum quo fata ferunt.[12] From Latin it translates roughly to 'It is uncertain where the fates carry [us]'. The motto refers to the dangers of shipping. Its importance for the town in earlier centuries was extraordinary. Both the flag and the Coat of arms are official since 1956.[14]
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