Hallig Hooge

A Hallig is a salt marsh island in the Wadden Sea without a protective dike, so storm surges flood the whole surface; on Hooge, around five and a half square kilometres, the buildings stand on Warften, artificial mounds raised over centuries, and the flooding, called Landunter, happens on average several times a year, isolating each mound as an island in the sea. About a hundred people live there. Rainwater collected on the mounds was historically the only fresh water. The Halligen were left when storm surges broke up a larger marshland in the medieval period. Hooge lies inside the Wadden Sea national park.

The landscape

• The Warften - houses on raised mounds above the marsh.
• The Landunter - regular flooding of the whole island surface.
• The salt marsh - grazed grassland with no dike protecting it.
• The Königspesel - a room decorated with Dutch tiles in one of the houses.

When to go

May to September; ferries run in season and are weather dependent. Flooding happens mostly in autumn and winter storms, when visiting is impractical.

Before you go

The island is very small with minimal facilities. Ferries are limited and tide-bound. There is little shelter and constant wind.

Nearby

Föhr and Amrum lie west; the mainland dike is east.

Key facts