Historically, not everything was flooded in high water. Warfels were built at a town site. The church, then, was built in the very center (highest part) of the warfel. Houses would be clustered around the church. There was safety in being close to the church.This can readily be seen in all of the small towns close to the coast of Ostfriesland. Most of them now have a narrow road around the church and streets built outward from there like the spokes of a wagon wheel.
Starting in 1825, the dikes were maintained and enlarged on a regular basis. A siel (pronounced zeal) is a spot in the dike where a river or a canal runs out at low tide; at high tide you shut the gate, and the North Sea doesn’t come in. The North Sea coast is lined with dikes; the dikes are all perforated regularly with siels, to let all these little streams (or tiefs) flow out. Nowadays, pumps are used to move unneeded rainwater back into the sea. They are likely powered by huge, modern electricity-producing windmills.
These gates remain to this day - bigger and better, of course, but they still have the job of blocking the sea and when the tide is out, allowing rivers and canals access to the sea for drainage. Pumps were fashioned like a water wheel, powered by huge windmills. In this way, the low lands were claimed for additional farm land.
Today, all around the coastline of Ostfriesland, dikes are there - providing safety, pasture, recreation trails and beauty.
Above, the dike near Emden has a rock face "seawalll" that will be familiar to folks from Galveston.
Below is a list showing the increasing height of the dike in the last 100 years. Global warming has prompted officials in Germany to consider even higher levels.
1906: 4.96 meters high
1973: 5.35
Starting in 1825, the dikes were maintained and enlarged on a regular basis. A siel (pronounced zeal) is a spot in the dike where a river or a canal runs out at low tide; at high tide you shut the gate, and the North Sea doesn’t come in. The North Sea coast is lined with dikes; the dikes are all perforated regularly with siels, to let all these little streams (or tiefs) flow out. Nowadays, pumps are used to move unneeded rainwater back into the sea. They are likely powered by huge, modern electricity-producing windmills.
These gates remain to this day - bigger and better, of course, but they still have the job of blocking the sea and when the tide is out, allowing rivers and canals access to the sea for drainage. Pumps were fashioned like a water wheel, powered by huge windmills. In this way, the low lands were claimed for additional farm land.
Today, all around the coastline of Ostfriesland, dikes are there - providing safety, pasture, recreation trails and beauty.
Above, the dike near Emden has a rock face "seawalll" that will be familiar to folks from Galveston.
Below is a list showing the increasing height of the dike in the last 100 years. Global warming has prompted officials in Germany to consider even higher levels.
1906: 4.96 meters high
1976: 6.30
2008: 8.00
Planned: 9.00 meters
The following website has even more information:
http://www.mrjumbo.com/contents/ostfriesland/maps/wasserflutt.html
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