Living by the wadden sea - before
LIFE ON THE WADDEN SEA ISLANDS FROM A COMMUNITY OF INDEPENDENT WOMENFOLK TO A DESTINATION FOR TOURISTS
The Danish Wadden Sea islands have been settled since the Middle Ages. For almost three centuries, the maritime industry changed the way of life on the Wadden Sea islands - also economically by the men’s absence. During the last 150 years, the islands have experienced a conflicting trend: tourists seeking the incredible beaches and the awe-inspiring nature. The Danish Wadden Sea islands have been settled since the Middle Ages. Life on the islands has been permeated by two conflicting currents: maintaining the islands’ traditions and way of life in contrast to the modern life the men came into contact with though their sailing in international waters. Starting in the 17th century and ending in the last half of the 19th century, the maritime industry was the main trade on the islands. The whaling expeditions to the North Atlantic Ocean with Dutch and German whaling ships are especially famous - expeditions that started on Rømø in the middle of the 17th century with Fanø following troop barely a 100 years later. The wealth from the maritime industry has made a lasting imprint on the islands, especially on the architecture, where the Frisian-inspired farms on Rømø and the Captains’ homes in Sønderho show the prosperity of the 18th century. During the 19th century, the maritime industry abated on Rømø and Mandø, where farming and husbandry started to play a more important role, while on Fanø, Nordby took over from Sønderho and thus experienced growth in the sailing and shipbuilding industries from
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the middle of the 19th century when Nordby was at its most prosperous. Fishing and agriculture were the primary occupations on the islands, but functioned for many years as a subsidiary to the maritime industry. Farming was very difficult, since the soil was poor and sand drift an ever-present problem. From the middle of the last century, Fanø and Rømø attracted attention as tourist destinations and, since then tourism has been the primary industry on the islands.
The Islands – a community of womenfolk
The lives of the men and the women were very different. There was a strong seafaring tradition within all families and many men went on long voyages. On the ships, the men were part of an international seafaring culture where they became inspired by modernity and the world at large, while the women lived most of the year on the islands, alone with their
Anne Marie Overgaard, Museum Sønderjylland & Mette Slyngborg, Sydvestjyske Museer Translation: Nanna Mercer, Sirius Translation
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