Deutsches Sielhafenmuseum in Carolinensiel

The Deutsches Sielhafenmuseum Carolinensiel stands in the former harbour quarter of Carolinensiel, a small town in Wittmund district, Lower Saxony. It occupies three listed buildings beside the restored harbour basin and the old rescue shed by the Friedrichsschleuse lock. The museum shows how people lived and worked in the region’s 19th-century tidal harbours, when Carolinensiel was a busy trading port on the Wadden Sea coast. The displays are arranged in four historic buildings. In the Groot Hus of 1840 visitors follow the harbour’s change from trade to museum quay. The Kapitänshaus of 1803 presents the lives of skippers’ families, while the Alte Pastorei from around 1800 explains coastal defence, storm surges and the building of dykes. A 1910 rescue shed shows the history of the German lifeboat service, and the restored 1929 cutter Gebrüder AZ 5 offers short trips on the Wadden Sea. Outside, the Museumsweg Carolinensiel links the four buildings with nineteen illustrated panels that describe land reclamation and the town’s growth. The harbour itself is framed by the old brick warehouses and the Klappbrücke swing bridge, rebuilt in 1990 to let traditional sailing barges pass once more. Every August the WattenSail gathering brings Dutch and German flat-bottomed ships to the quay, reviving the scene of the 19th century.