An environmental and knowledge history of land reclamation and coastal protection infrastructures in North Frisia, 1850-1990.
Using the example of the embankments of the Cecilien-, Sönke-Nissen- and Beltringharder Koog, the project examines how human and non-human factors transformed the coastal landscape of North Frisia in the late 19th and 20th century. The selection of embankments as part of the Reußenköge is of particular relevance, as they are among the largest connected land reclamation operations of the 20th century. Their history not only provides insights into the historical transformation processes of the North Sea coast, but also contributes to an understanding of the complex interactions between human actors, environmental factors and technological developments.
Animation: Survey maps „Chronologen der Preußischen Landesaufnahme“ and „ATKIS-DTK“ from 1878-1880, 1902-1930, 1932-1950, 1953-1956, and 2025. Provided by the Landesamt für Vermessung und Geoinformation Schleswig-Holstein.
The project, which focuses on the history of the environment, technology and knowledge, concentrates on three fundamental questions: How did human coastal protection and non-human factors such as sedimentation, weather conditions, soil and the ecosystemic interconnections change the coastal landscape of North Friesland in the 20th century? Which different groups of actors and experts were significantly involved in this knowledge-based transformation process of the North Frisian coast, and how did their agency and knowledge bases change over time? The coastline created off the Reußenkögen between 1902 (begin of the embankment of the Cecilienkoog) and 1987 (dike closure at the Beltringharder Koog) was the result of conflictual negotiation processes between various actors and environmental factors influencing coastal protection and land reclamation, according to the basic assumption of the doctoral project. In particular, actors such as hydraulic engineers, construction companies, marsh farmers, local authorities and environmentalists had a decisive and hitherto unexamined influence on dike construction. The micro-historical study of the three embankments thus offers the opportunity to take a closer look at the role of different groups of actors and environmental factors over a longer period of time and, in particular, to examine the significance of knowledge for coastal protection.
Image: Daniel Jankowski
An envirotechnical analysis is conducted on the basis of the available source material, most of which comes from the Landesarchiv Schleswig-Holstein and the Kreisarchiv Nordfriesland. In order to be able to examine the influence of human and non-human factors on the transformation of the coastal landscape off the Reußenkögen in micro-historical terms, the project proceeds in three steps. Firstly, the shape of the coastline in the years 1905, 1926 and 1987, when the work on the three embankments was completed, is reconstructed and photographic documentation is used to trace more than a century of changes in the coastal landscape. Secondly, this is followed by an analysis of the sources on the groups of actors, knowledge bases and environmental factors that are associated with the transformations of the coastal landscape. Finally, the influence of the knowledge bases and the interactions between human and environmental factors is examined for the three the embankment projects.
Images: Daniel Jankowski