Langeoog is one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands at the edge of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea in the southern North Sea, located between Baltrum Island (west), and Spiekeroog (east). It is also a municipality in the district of Wittmund in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Langeoog means Long Island in the Low German dialect.
Tourism is the main source of income for Langeoog’s economy. There are guest rooms in almost all island buildings. There are also several hotels. The youth hostel is several kilometers outside the town. The island’s unpolluted air makes it popular with people who have respiratory problems.
Langeoog can be reached from Bensersiel port on the East Frisian mainland by the ferries of the Langeoog Shipping Company Langeoog I, Langeoog II, Langeoog III and Langeoog IV. Langeoog ferries’ schedule does not depend on the tide, which is unusual among East Frisian ferries. The port and the town are linked by a railway. Langeoog also has an airport. Only the fire department and ambulance service have standard motorised vehicles. The policemen and doctors get about on bicycles. Some companies (construction, drink delivery, post office, etc.) have electric cars. The post office and the shipping company have one electric car each. If one does not want to walk, one can rent a bicycle or take a horse carriage taxi.
Singer-songwriter Lale Andersen, whose 1939 interpretation of the song Lili Marleen became tremendously popular during World War II, lived here for several years. Although she died in Vienna in 1972, she is buried on the island’s dune cemetery. A bronze memorial in her honor has been erected on Langeoog.
Spiekeroog to the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony in Germany. The only village on the island is also called Spiekeroog. Spiekeroog covers an area of 18.25 km², the shortest distance to the mainland is 5.7 km. The island is – with the exception of fire and rescue vehicles – free of cars. A daily ferry service from the harbour of Neuharlingersiel connects the island with the German mainland. The origin of the name “Spiekeroog” is disputed. Today, most of its people tend to believe that it is a translation of “storage island”.
Spiekeroog was a frequent vacation destination for various German presidents. As a North Sea coastal resort the island is home to various health institutions including a wellness centre, a mother/child health centre and an island spa. Spiekeroog has a capacity of 3,500 beds for guests – counting all hotels, pensions, private rooms, vacation apartments and health and leisure centres.
The “Old Island Church” (Protestant) was built in 1696 and is therefore the oldest of all the churches on the East Frisian Islands. The portrait of the Virgin Mary within the church is supposed to have come from a ship of the Spanish Armada that was stranded on Spiekeroog in 1588. The Island Museum shows historical artefacts from the island, the development of the coastal resort and the nature on the island. The Shell Museum at Kogge House has an exhibition of 2000 shells from all over the world. From April to September (depending on holiday times), a horse-drawn railway operates between the old railway station and Westend.
