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Formerly a Danish and British possession, the islands (population 1,650) are located in the Heligoland Bight (part of the German Bight) in the southeastern corner of the North Sea. They are the only German islands not in the immediate vicinity of the mainland and are approximately two hours' sailing time from Cuxhaven at the mouth of the River Elbe. In addition to German, the local population are ethnic Frisians who speak the Heligolandic dialect of the North Frisian language called Halunder. GeographyHeligoland is located 70 km (44 miles) from the German coast line and actually consists of two islands: the populated triangular-shaped 1 km² (0.4 sq mi) main island (Hauptinsel) to the west and the Düne ("dune," Heligolandic: de Halem) to the east. While the former is what the place name "Heligoland" normally is used to refer to, the latter is somewhat smaller (0.7 km²), lower, surrounded by sand beaches and not permanently inhabited. The main island is commonly divided into the Unterland ("Lower Land," Heligolandic: deät Deelerlun) at sea level (to the right on the photograph, where the harbour is), the Oberland ("Upper Land," Heligolandic: deät Boperlun) consisting of the plateau visible in the photographs and the Mittelland ("Middle Land") between them on one side of the island; the latter came into being in the course of the "Big Bang" (see below). The main island also features small beaches in the north and the south and drops down to the sea 50 metres (about 160 feet) in the north, west and southwest. In the latter, the ground continues to drop underwater to a depth of 56 metres below sea level. Northwest of the island proper Heligoland's famous landmark is found: The Lange Anna ("Long Anna" or "Tall Anna") which is a free standing new red sandstone rock (or column), 47 metres high and weighing about 25,000 tonnes. The two islands were connected until 1720, when the natural connection was destroyed by a storm flood. The highest point is on the main island, reaching 61 metres (about 200 feet) above sea level. Although culturally closer to North Frisia in the German district of Nordfriesland, the two islands are part of the district of Pinneberg in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The main island has a good harbour and is frequented mostly by sailing yachts.
ClimateHeligoland sports a very healthy offshore climate, being almost free of pollen and thus ideal for allergics. Since there is no land mass in the vicinity that could cool down too much in the winter time, it hardly gets colder than -5 °C (23 °F) in any year. At times, winter temperatures can be higher than in Hamburg by up to 10 °C (18 °F) because cold winds from Russia are weakened. While spring tends to be comparatively cool, autumn on Heligoland is often longer and warmer than on the mainland and statistically, the climate generally is sunnier.
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