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Who gave the island its name, what stands as an arch in the village, and which plant holds its dunes together? Ten questions about Schiermonnikoog.
Ferry hopper 0–4 · Salt marsh rambler 5–8 · Schiermonnikooger at heart 9–10
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Lauwersoog lies in the province of Groningen and was only founded in 1969, when the Lauwerszee bay was closed off by a dyke. Holwert, in Friesland, has ferries to a different island.
Photo: Steven Lek, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The only village has the same name as the island. When the last ferry leaves in the evening, calm returns to its main street, the Langestreek.
Photo: Patlo@mail.com, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Schiermonnikoog National Park was founded in 1989 and covers most of the island: dunes, salt marshes, beaches, woods and mudflats. In the breeding season parts of it are closed to protect the birds.
Photo: Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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The island belonged to the monks of Klaarkamp Abbey. 'Schier' is an old word for grey, the colour of their robes, 'monnik' means monk and 'oog' means island.
Photo: A. J. van der Wal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Since 2013 the island's buses have been fully electric, to keep the air clean. About 5,000 rental bikes are the other favourite way to get around.
Photo: User:Lord Alpha, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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The jaw comes from a blue whale caught in the icy Southern Ocean in 1950, and a ship's captain gave it to the island. Blue whales are the largest animals that have ever lived.
Photo: NOAA Photo Library, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The island was sold to the rich Stachouwer family, then to a man from The Hague and later to a German count. Only after the Second World War did it become state property.
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Marram grass has long roots that hold the sand together, and it keeps growing even when sand blows over it. Its scientific name Ammophila means 'sand friend'.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Most of the country celebrated freedom in May 1945, but about 600 German soldiers on the island only surrendered on 11 June. After weeks of talks, they were taken back to Germany.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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Schiermonnikoog Frisian is the most endangered of the West Frisian languages. Many islanders today come from the mainland, so fewer and fewer people speak it.
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