Against the Wind in Nordfriesland – Sankt Peter Ording

The little Spa Resort of Sankt Peter Ording on the Eiderstedt peninsula offers a great variety of nature and leisure. It is the only seaside resort in Germany that has a sulfur spring and the most overnight stays of Schleswig-Holstein. I have been there for some mud flat hiking.

We found a place to sleep in a little village nearby and a little outside the ‘huzzle buzzle’ of SPO, short version of Sankt Peter Ording. My purpose was mainly to do some mud flat hiking. Friends told me the best place to do so would be here. So most of the time we spent in the nature resorts but one afternoon we had also a walk through the little town.

We more happened in the center of the town because we were looking for some tourist information. We found it right at the market place, parked out car and walked over to the tourist information center. I would really recommend to go to some because they can give you good directions and what absolutely to see and what you maybe could skip.

Historically SPO is a conjunction of a few fishing villages. Sankt Peter was first mentioned in 1373 and was called then Ulstrup. Once there lived the Vikings. In the middle of two centuries ago the two villages Sankt Peter and Ording merged into one village.

The life was not always easy in the area. Dunes wandering with the strong winds that even for a long time parishioners had to shovel their way to the church. Planting a permanent vegetation helped a lot to stop the continuous sanding. In the ’70s of the 19th century the tourism started with the first hotel and is still a famous health resort for the high levels of aerosolized salts and iodines. I know that during the WWs people would send their children here for a better health. But also today it is a great place for people with hay-fever for example, no allergens are her. The air is good for heart, metabolism and blood circulation.

The stilt houses along the beaches – by the way the beach here is the largest in Europe with nearly two kilometers to walk before you actually can touch the water – are characteristic and are saving them from flooding during storms for example.

After getting more wisdom we just walked into the old center. I loved loved loved the little thatched houses, more cottage-like sometimes, and especially the front-gardens. They are always so full of flowers, oftentimes wild flowers, but always like English gardens or cottage gardens. A dream for all nature and flower lovers.

There is also (along the beaches) a very new part; one with hundreds of shops and restaurants. We had a look there as well and took a break with coffee and some snack sitting in a beach chair on the sidewalk of the main street.

We visited also the very small local museum which was very interesting. In the evening we were lucky to go for an organ concert in the main church of SPO.

We unfortunately had not enough time to see the Robbarium, a place for injured or ill seals. The lighthouse didn’t seem to me a must-see, maybe I am wrong with that. I think it is very nice you have hotspots along the beaches so you can surf in the internet even sitting in your private beach chair at the beach. The beach is a great sports ground for Kite-surf, Kite-buggy, Kite-sailing and Kite-flying. You see, the wind is the key-ingredient here. Did you ever hear about the against-the-wind-triathlon? It is an annual event here.








Sankt Peter Ording, Schleswig-Holstein/Germany:

For further information:
A little bit more about Sankt Peter Ording (in German)


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