300 years of coastal salinization research in Germany – the Homann (1718) map of the Christmas Flood of 1717

Abstract

The Christmas Flood of 1717 was one of the most destructive storm floods in the North Sea region and affected large parts of the shores of Germany, the Netherlands and Germany (e.g. Jakubowski-Tiessen 1992). It occurred in the night from the 24th to the 25th of December 1717, when a strong northwesterly storm front pushed massive volumes of water into the funnel-shaped German Bight. Adding to the astronomical high tide occurring this night, water levels rose up to 4 m higher than the mean tidal high water mark. This lead to widespread overtopping and breaching of the dikes, which had been neglected in the preceding years due to extended periods of war and unrest. Since the event happened at night, the population was unable to react. About 9,000 people in Germany lost their lives and around 2,500 in the Netherlands. The small German town of Jever alone lost 1,700 people. In the village of Stollhamm, located on the peninsula of Butjadingen, which was exposed to the flood from two sides, 582 out of a population of 1,200 perished and only a third of the houses were not destroyed. In Eastern Frisia, 922 houses were completely destroyed and 1,672 damaged. In all of the affected regions in Germany, at least 3,000 houses were completely destroyed. Agriculture was severely affected by the salinization of large tracts of agricultural land and the loss of 2,300 horses, 9,500 cows, 2,800 sheep and 1,800 pigs was recorded in Eastern Frisia. In the following years, famines and epidemic plagues took a further toll on the population. Many people emigrated. It took several decades to reconstruct the dikes and to restore the livelihoods of the population.