Sylt - Germany's noble northern lights
Hardly any island is more characterized by contrasts than Sylt: between luxury and nativeness, glamour and natural idyll. A visually stunning look at a place full of magic.
Between luxury and nativeness: However, Sylt also suffers from its attractiveness: More than 750,000 visitors annually pay a visit to the island off Corona, to the benefit but also to the chagrin of the locals. This film takes a look at the parallel world in the far north.
For many tourists, the journey to Sylt alone is unusual. Most arrive with their car piggybacked on the car transporter from Niebüll by train, experience the water world of the Wadden Sea to the right and left of the Hindenburg Dam. On the island it continues with the contrasts: between luxury and nativeness, between Kampen + camping. Sylt is an island of contrasts. Lively life in Westerland, deserted stretches of beach at Lister Ellenbogen. The short report gives an insight into the parallel world of a majestic and supposedly extravagant island, beyond the tourist hotspots.
For locals almost priceless: In the foreground, sheep; behind them, three people behind a fence in a field. The salt marsh sheep on Sylt are the pride and joy of the Petersen family. The film also focuses on genuine islanders like farmer John-Ricklef Petersen. He is one of about 14,000 people who come from here and even still speak the Sylt dialect Söl'ring. For more than 100 years, the Petersens family has been farming on the island's meadows, now in its third generation.
The 250 Galloway-Angus cattle from their own breeding are the heart of the organic farm. The family also works in the fields and on the dike when tourists are still slumbering in their hotel and cottage beds during the high season. The relationship between them and the locals is ambivalent. The island thrives on tourism, but it puts a strain on the nature reserves and drives up property prices. Many locals have long been unable to afford their own island.
Salt marshes and mussel beds: a harbor. In the foreground a blue coastal ship, behind it a mooring with other ships. The "Simon-Alexander" is one of the few fishing vessels off Sylt with a license to fish for mussels. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Phillip Grossmann is firmly rooted on the island. He can usually be found off Sylt's southern tip, about six kilometers from Bauer Petersen's salt marshes, on the "Simon Alexander". It is one of only five fishing vessels allowed to fish for mussels off Sylt. The yield is great, because Sylt is considered a paradise for mussels.
Farmer John-Ricklef Petersen not only keeps a constant eye on his cattle, but above all on his equally large number of salt marsh sheep, 250 woolly natives of Sylt. They graze on the salt marshes on the east side of the island until November and determine the family's annual rhythm. Everything is timed almost to the day so that around 400 lambs see the light of day in time for Easter.
Broadcasting on 10th of October 2021 at 05.35am + on 11th of October 2021 at 05.40am on3Sat
Music: POPVIRUS Library