Nordstrand, Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nordstrand
Coat of arms Location
Nordstrand has no coat of arms
Nordstrand, Germany (Germany)
Nordstrand, Germany
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Schleswig-Holstein
District Nordfriesland
Municipal assoc. Nordsee-Treene
Mayor Jens-Johann Jacobsen (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area 57.43 km² (22.2 sq mi)
Elevation 2 m  (7 ft)
Population 2,234  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 39 /km² (101 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate NF
Postal code 25845
Area code 04842
Website www.nordstrand.de
Location of Nordstrand within Nordfriesland district
Map

Coordinates: 54°29′0″N 8°53′0″E / 54.48333, 8.88333

This article is about the peninsula and municipality in Germany. To read about the borough in Oslo, Norway, see Nordstrand, Norway.

Nordstrand (North Frisian Noordströön) is a peninsula and former island in North Frisia on the North Sea coast of Germany. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its area is 50 km², and its population is 2,300. Nordstrand has two municipalities, Nordstrand and smaller Elisabeth-Sophien-Koog, which are part of the Amt Nordsee-Treene.

In medieval times Nordstrand was a part of the larger island of Strand which was torn into pieces in a disastrous storm tide in 1634. Other remnants of Strand are Pellworm and the Halligen islets.

Nordstrand is accessible by road over a causeway which connects to the mainland and was built in 1936. In 1987, the polder Beltringharder Koog was completed, turning the former island into a peninsula.

Nordstrand is the origin of a locally famous beverage, the Pharisäer ("Pharisee") which the islanders developed to be able to drink alcohol in the presence of their local priest, who preached abstinence. It is made from strong hot coffee, sugar, dark rum (4 cl of 54 %vol) and whipped cream (to prevent the alcohol from evaporating). The priest got the only cup without rum, but one day the cups got mixed up. When he discovered the deceit he exclaimed "Ihr Pharisäer!" ("You Pharisees!", connoting: "hypocrites"). Hence the name.[1][2] A curious issue is the name of a small village: It is called England.

The original Nordstrand island (before the flood of 1634) is thought to be the ancestral homeland for the North American surname "van Nostrand" (including variants: vanNostrand, vanNordstrandt, vanOstrand). Two brothers emigrated from here to what is present day New York, USA in 1637 and 1638 after the flood.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

In-line:
  1. ^ Jysk Ordbog (Danish)
  2. ^ Jyllands-Posten which dates this event to 1873 (Danish)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: