Visit to the museum harbour in Carolinensiel
- Written by Portal Editor
Despite heavy storms and sometimes heavy downpours, we wanted to use our presence on the North Sea to visit the old fishing ports of Carolinensiel, Harlesiel and Neuharlingersiel.
We started our short visits at the Museumshafen Carolinensiel, which is now used as a berth for old flat-bottomed ships. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was the second largest East Frisian sewer and trading port on the North Sea coast.
The port in Carolinensiel, which had already partially silted up, was filled in and rendered worthless by the Harlesieler port, about five kilometres away. On September 9, 1987, the museum harbor was reopened.
A special highlight is the annual Sielhafenfest, a meeting of traditional ships, which takes place on the second weekend in August.
With the opening of the Sielhafenmuseum at the beginning of the 1980s, the reconstruction of the Carolinensieler Hafen as a museum harbour was pushed ahead.
In 1986 the expansion of the historic port began. The Friedrichsschleuse in the Harle was provided with a bascule bridge again.
The museum harbour was opened on September 9, 1987 and the first ships were able to call at Carolinensiel again.
In summer, the small paddle steamer CONCORDIA II commutes between the museum harbour of Carolinensiel and the inland port of Harlesiel across the Harle.
The inland port of Harlesiel has a large number of berths for sailors and motor-boats, which is why it is also called a marina.
The ships reach the outer harbour of Harlesiel via the lock of the Harlesiel pumping station. Here are the piers for the island ferries to the island of Wangerooge, the excursion ships for trips to the Wadden Sea, the transport ships for supplying the island, the fishing cutters and some other special ships.
The German Sielhafenmuseum with its four historical exhibition houses (Groot Hus, Kapitänshaus, Alte Pastorei and the old sea rescue shed) is located around the museum harbour in Carolinensiel.
The "Groot Hus" is the granary at the Old Port, completed in 1840. On its storage floors, it shows an exhibition about land and sea, the history of the sluices and ports, dyke construction as well as fishing and sailing ships.
Please read as well:
Carolinensiel - a floating Christmas tree in the harbour
The seaside resort of Saranda - just a stone's throw to Corfu