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10 million
The Wadden Sea World Heritage Destination attracts 10 million people, about 50 million overnight stays and 30-40 million day-trippers every year.
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25 people
The island of Neuwerk, which is part of the National Park Hamburg Wadden Sea, is the only inhabited area in the Wadden Sea World Heritage site, with only 25 people living there.
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8,000 years
Since the end of the last ice age, the Wadden Sea has evolved over the last 8,000 years. Hence, it is a very young ecosystem in geomorphological and evolutionary terms.
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3.7 million
Around 3.75 million people live on the mainland along the Wadden Sea. A further 75,000 people live on the islands.
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2 new islands
In the last decades two new islands have been formed: the Kachelotplate (170 ha) near the Lower Saxon islands of Memmert and Juist, and a new island of about 14 ha at Norderoogsand in Schleswig-Holstein. The islands evolved from growing sandbanks that are no longer flooded during high tides enabling vegetation to grow. But losses have also occurred and sandbanks have disappeared illustrating the highly dynamic nature of natural processes.
International cooperation
With the inscription of sites on the World Heritage List, UNESCO aims to promote international collaboration between sites and countries. This philosophy has a long heritage in the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation.
Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Programme (TMAP)
TMAP is the joint monitoring programme of the Wadden Sea states. Launched in 1997, the programme spans a broad range of topics, such as morphology, ecological processes, wildlife and human activities.
The dynamics of the landscape cannot only be explored at Skallingen peninsula. The estuary of Varde Å, for example, is a fascinating, almost natural estuarine area and Varde Å is the only river where the water can flow unimpeded into the Wadden Sea, without a dike or sluice. At ‘Havsand’ on Rømø a new dune ridge is developing.
Discover the salt marshes – one of the most valuable natural habitats in Denmark. They provide food and shelter for hundreds of species of wildlife. The beauty of these natural features along the Danish coast also inspired the Golden Age painters in the seventeenth century. When travelling in autumn, plan to experience the ‘Black sun’, thousands of starlings dancing in the sky. Margrethe Kog at Tøndermarsken is an important bird sanctuary.
The coastal mainland holds evidence of the last glacial periods. Stretching along 18 km, moraines can be found, along with active cliffs and a shoreline rich in ancient boulders and pebbles. You should take a closer look at this unusual phenomenon, because it is rare in the Wadden Sea area. Where there is no geest, you will find sea dikes as clear limits between the salty environment in the tidal area and the freshwater environment in the marshes behind the dikes.