Book Notes

Cultural Heritage of the Wadden Sea Region

ELERIE, J.H.N. & WOUDSTRA, A. (ed) 1997: A new perspective for the Wadden area.
The 7th Keuning conference. Jubilee conference of the Dutch Society for the Preservation of the Wadden Sea. 55 pp., ISBN 90-5028-093-5.

FISCHER, L. (ed) 1997: Kulturlandschaft Noordseemarschen. Nordfriisk Instituut, Hever.
254 pp., ISBN 3-88007-249-3 Nordfriisk Instituut, ISBN 3-930691-07-8 Hever.

FISCHER, L. 1994: Westerhever - Ein Dorf an der Nordsee. Vergangenheit - Gegenwart - Zukunft. Hever. 224 pp., ISBN 3-930691-05-1.

KUNZ, H. & PANTEN, A. 1997: Die Köge Nordfrieslands.
Nordfriisk Instituut. 104 pp., ISBN 3-88007-251-5.

INTEREST IN CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

The past couple of years has manifestêarkably increasing interest in the Wadden Sea cultural landscape. A fully justified increase because if the Wadden Sea outside the dikes is unique the combination of the Wadden Sea and the adjacent embanked marsh areas and its settlement and water management history makes the Wadden Sea region truly unique world-wide. There are several reasons to explain this attention. An important one has already been suggested above, namely, the sea dikes have too long been a line of separation in a comprehensive landscape and the increasing recognition by nature conservationists of this relationship. Another important element is the rapid transformation of the Wadden Sea landscape which threatens to eradicate some of the most valuable of its assets, in particular, the openness and the witness of the settlement history.

WESTERHEVER - A VILLAGE ON THE NORTH SEA COAST

The book on Westerhever - famous for its two lighthouses - by Ludwig Fischer, which was published to accompany an exhibition at the "Schleswig-Holsteinisches Freilichtmuseum um Kiel-Molfsee" in 1994/95, is a very nice demonstration of the radical changes on the level of a village in

the Wadden Sea region, practically, in all aspects of life which so many villages have undergone. Such changes are, however, not confined to the Wadden Sea region but is a general phenomenon with specific Wadden Sea traits, of course.

MAPPING OF THE EMBANKMENT HISTORY

Only in the past two years, three conferences or workshops have been held on this subject. Starting with the last workshop held in Ribe in September 1997 on the invitation of the Danish government - it is referred to in the short note on this workshop in the present WSNL issue. One of the recommendations of this workshop, later endorsed at the Stade Conference, was to map the Wadden Sea cultural landscape.

"Die Köge Nordfrieslands" by Harry Kunz and Albert Panten is just a good and successful example of a mapping of the embankment history of the region North Frisia. An invaluable publication to assess the unique landscape elements of a part of the Wadden Sea region which must be considered preserved before it is too late. In particular, the Eiderstedt peninsula entails some of the most interesting embankment and water management elements Wadden Sea-wide.

30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DUTCH WADDEN SOCIETY

In 1995, the Dutch Wadden Society devoted the celebration of its 30th Anniversary to highlight the Wadden Sea cultural landscape. The publication from the conference held in Leeuwarden is now available in English and the Society must be highly credited for its initiative. At the conference, many aspects were presented, not only by scientists, but also by policy-makers. The presentation by Meindert Schroor: "From 1000 to 2000 AD: Landscape and Economy in the Wadden Area" is an excellent overview of the development of the Wadden Sea landscape. Mandatory reading for all who have anything to do with this landscape. Or the stimulating presentation by Rik Herngreen on nature and landscape development in the region.

CONFERENCE OF THE NORDFRIISK INSTITUUT

In 1996, a conference on "Kulturlandschaft Noordseemarschen" was held on the initiative of the Nordfriisk Instituut in Husum. This conference was an inter-disciplinary scientific conference with presentations of historians, geographers, sociologists, literary scientists, archaeologists, ecologists and planners. The publication of the contributions by Ludwig Fischer is, probably, currently one of the best scientific overviews of the Wadden Sea landscape in all its aspects. Excellent presentations, unfortunately, available only in German.

At the risk of doing injustice to the others, the contribution by Otto Knottnerus on "Agrarverfassung und Landschaftsgestaltung in den Nordseemarschen" should be accentuated.

Whereas the Wadden Sea region is nowadays at the margins of the social and economic development of our countries, it was at the center of development and trade routes throughout previous centuries, highly populated and affluent. Its marginalization is a fairly new phenomenon. According to Knottnerus, the building of dikes was not necessary from a safety point of view. He suggests that economic motives were predominant. Schroor indicates that the building of dikes - the so-called ring dikes establishing "islands" in the marshes, so to speak - was an attempt to solve the problems with the water management from the hinterland peat bogs. Other interesting contributions are Manfred Jakubowski-Tiessen "Mentalität und Landschaft" and Ludwig Fischer "Die Ästhetisierung der Nordseemarschen als Landschaft".

The publications from the last both conferences are valuable contributions bringing the issue of the management of the Wadden Sea landscape forward and, hopefully, also to the attention of those, who make policies in this field. For those it is obligatory reading, for others leisure reading.

J. A. Enemark
CWSS
Virchowstr. 1
D-26382 Wilhelmshaven
E-mail: enemark@cwss.whv.net