Harle (gat)

Wangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea located close to the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is also a municipality in the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony in Germany. Wangerooge is one of the East Frisian Islands. It is the easternmost and smallest of the inhabited islands in this group (according to some other measurements, Baltrum is the smallest) and the only one that belonged to the historical district of Oldenburg between 1815 and 1947, whereas Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog and Spiekeroog always belonged to the county of Ostfriesland. As of the census of 2004, the island has 1,055 inhabitants. Especially in summer the island accommodates more than 7,000 visitors a day. Wangerooge is separated from the island of Spiekeroog by a gat known as the Harle. The island is attractive to tourists due to the beaches, various recreation facilities and its relaxed atmosphere. The island's slogan, visible on a sign at the harbor, emphasizes this: "God created time, but he never mentioned haste." A yearly beach volleyball tournament, usually held at the beginning of August, is one of the main attractions in the summer, and has served to modify the general impression that the island is exclusively attractive to older people and young families. In addition, windsurfing, kite-surfing and board-riding activities attract younger people. In order to guarantee a relaxed atmosphere, cars are prohibited on the island. The island can be reached by ship from Harlesiel, or it can be reached by plane via its airfield, regular service being offered from Harlesiel, Bremen, or Hamburg. The ferries leave at different times every day according to the tide. As on most East Frisian Islands, a small narrow gauge railway line, the Wangerooge Island Railway, connects the harbor to the main village. As for historical sites and other places of interest, the island has one active lighthouse, one old lighthouse, and the Western Tower. Since the whole island used to be shifting constantly eastwards until sea defenses were built a century ago, old buildings were gradually lost to the sea. The Western Tower was built in 1597 and was originally in the east of the island. Wangerooge is also known as the site of a historic World War II B-17 Flying Fortress crash, or rather a double crash. During a bombing mission on Hamburg on New Year's Eve, 1944, a B-17 squadron was attacked by German fighter planes on its homeward flight. While in tight formation, one plane was shot down and became entangled with the plane below it. One of the pilots managed to take control of the two aircraft and steer them back towards the German coast for an emergency landing. At the time, the two entangled aircraft were described as resembling breeding dragonflies as the ball turrets of each plane were caught in the chassis of the other. Most of the crew bailed out, while two remained and successfully made a crash landing in a field. Wangerooge has an airfield with scheduled services.

Wangerooge Airfield, German: Flugplatz Wangerooge (IATA: AGE, ICAO: EDWG), is a small airfield in Wangerooge, Lower Saxony, Germany.

The Harle (in its upper course: Norder Tief) is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany, in the district of Wittmund in East Frisia. Its entire course is within the borough of Wittmund and it discharges near Harlesiel through a Siel, a sluice in the dyke, into the North Sea. Near the village of Willen two headstreams Nordertief and Südertief join forming the Harle. Both tributaries are streams that originate in bogland depressions in the neighbouring borough of Aurich. The Harle runs eastwards past the town of Wittmund and then flows in meanders in a northerly direction. It passes Carolinensiel and discharges through a lock and a scoop wheel into Harlesiel Harbour and from there into the North Sea. The Harle is popular with tourists for rowing and, in the harbours of Carolinensiel and Harlesiel, for boats and ferries. Harlesiel is a ferry port for trips to the island of Wangerooge.

The Harlebucht or Harle Bay was originally a bay approximately 15 kilometers wide that reached about 10 kilometers inland north of Wittmund in today's East Frisia. (A more appropriate translation of bucht here might be Bight; the German word can mean either.) The water encroachments into the hinterland in the Grote Mandrenke (Second Marcellus Flood) in 1362, which reached as far as the Geest near Jever, gave rise to side bays and greatly enlarged the Harlebucht. Around 1550 began a period of building dikes and polders, draining the Harlebucht and turning it into farmland. Piece by piece, fertile farmland was created from what had been marsh and bay, until in 1894 the Elisabethgroden section was completed.

The Blaue Balje is a gat in the southeastern North Sea in the outer estuary of the Jade. It runs in a north-south direction between the East Frisian Islands of Wangerooge and Minsener Oog. Its main channel divides towards the south into the three channels of Telegraphenbalje, Mittelbalje and Minsener Balje. The location and depth of the actual shipping channel in the Blaue Balje is subject to constant changes. At the eastern tip of Wangerooge are the stumps of posts that supported the old landing stage of the East Pier (Ostanleger). The landing stage was abandoned in 1958 and has since fallen increasingly into ruins. From 1905 to 1958 the East Pier was the main landing stage on Wangerooge and a terminus on the island railway. As on the other East Frisian Islands, a lot of sand was deposited on the eastern side of Wangerooge, the resulting silting up making it increasingly difficult to land at the East Pier. The dredging needed to keep the pier accessible was not cost-effective, and in 1958 the pier was closed and the eastern section of the island railway dismantled.

Hohenkirchen is a village in the municipality of Wangerland in district of Friesland in Lower Saxony. The village is the administrative center of the municipality of Wangerland, formed in 1971.

Wangerland is a municipality in the district of Friesland, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approximately 20 km northwest of Wilhelmshaven, and 10 km north of Jever. Its seat is in the village Hohenkirchen.

Minsener Oog, also Minser Oog or Minsener Oldeoog, is an uninhabited East Frisian island that belongs to the parish of Wangerooge in the north German district of Friesland in the state of Lower Saxony. It has been artificially enlarged through the construction of groynes.

Werdum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Jever is a German beer brand, named after the town of Jever where it is brewed. It has been brewed by the "Friesisches Brauhaus zu Jever" (the Jever Frisian Brewery) since 1848.

Jever (German pronunciation: [ˈjeːfɐ]) is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted city status in 1536. Unofficially Jever is sometimes referred to as Marienstadt (Maria city) in reference to Maria of Jever, the last independent ruler of the city. The inhabitants of Jever are named Jeveraner ("Jeverans").

Wittmund is a town and capital of the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany.