Because of the lockdown, travel within Germany is hardly possible at the moment, but vacationers should make a note of some destinations. The North Sea island of Föhr, for example, has more to offer than just flat land.
A Danish protest pig grunts 400 meters from the dike. Trude is tall as a calf and ringed in red and white. The mother sow sniffs at her piglets in the half-open barn of farmer Jan Hinrichsen in Klein-Dunsum.
What a holidaymaker usually does not suspect: like a lively cultural monument, the bristle animal tells an important piece of Föhr history. But let’s start at the beginning.
The Aussiedlerhof including courtyard café is located in the northwest of the island of Föhr. It is surrounded by flat marshland. The North Sea, wind and a wide horizon are omnipresent here. Behind the dike, your gaze wanders across the Wadden Sea to Sylt. So far, so expectable. But between the courtyard café, pigsty and petting zoo, the lettering is emblazoned above another entrance: „Hinrichsen’s Farm Distillery“– plus in typical American typography.
Everything organic: farmland owned by the Hinrichsen family
Photo: Photo: Harald Bickel / dpa-tmn
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A whiskey still in the middle of the Wadden Sea
“Our family has been farming on Föhr with farm and fields here in Dunsum since 1630,” explains Hinrichsen. But falling milk prices forced the family to change. The Hinrichsens completely redesigned their courtyard. This not only includes the change to an organic farm or the café restaurant. The island’s first still has recently been built on the farm. The idea is owed to the typical Föhrer “thinking outside the box”.
For centuries the North Frisian Islands were shaped by seafaring. International merchant shipping followed the whaling era. Private navigation schools on Föhr released highly trained officers and captains. They came back with hands full of money and cultural influences from distant lands.
A good drop is made here: a look into Föhr’s first and to date only whiskey distillery
Photo: Photo: Harald Bickel / dpa-tmn
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Bye Prussia – Moin America!
The western half of Föhr was still part of the Kingdom of Denmark at that time. Only after the German-Danish War in 1864 did Föhr – just like Sylt and Amrum – fall to Prussia and Austria. From then on, Prussia not only banned the legendary Föhr seafaring schools, but also introduced a three-year military obligation.
That was not for the stubborn and freedom-loving Frisians who were simply looking for happiness and earning opportunities elsewhere – and countered on the islands with that red and white “protest pig” because they were no longer allowed to fly the Danish flag.
The first big wave of emigrants to America began: 40 percent of the Föhr confirmands emigrated, including Jan Hinrichsen’s great-great-grandfather. He became a logger in the Midwest and only returned after 15 years to continue running the farm. In 1905 the great grandpa, who hired himself as a bartender in Florida, also left.
“Finally, in 1928, my grandfather also emigrated and opened – like so many others – a delicatessen store in New York,” explains Hinrichsen. “My father was born in New York and only came to Föhr at the age of 19 to take over the grandfather’s farm.” It was a completely strange world for him.
While the first televisions were already flickering in the USA and dishwashers were doing the housework, there was a single telephone for the whole village on Föhr and not even running water. On the other hand there was the beautiful nature, the good air and the freedom of the island.
The “New Make” whiskey matures in these barrels.
Photo: Harald Bickel / dpa-tmn
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The whiskey idea was born in America
Like many other Föhrer families, the Hinrichsens maintain their ties to US relatives to this day. “It was on a trip to New York Upstate that I saw whiskey as a real luxury item for the first time, and I was enthusiastic about the concept of a courtyard distillery in which all the ingredients came directly from my own farm,” says Jan Hinrichsen .
The 45-year-old read books and attended malting courses. He works with distilleries in Denmark and takes advice from whiskey experts. Today the autodidact stands on his malting floor and demonstrates not only the germination process of his barley, but also all his pride: the first barrels, filled with “New Make”. The drop will mature into whiskey for three years in old sherry barrels from Andalusia.
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A breath of New York blows over the whole island
If you keep your eyes and ears open, you will find numerous traces of the emigration era on Föhr. This is also the case in the café and deli “Macke Pudel” that opened in 2019 in the tranquil village of Oevenum. Behind the nickname Macke Pudel hides the great-grandfather of the siblings Stina and Nils Barnert. Macke, actually Markus, also emigrated and ran a delicatessen shop in Queens in the 1950s. In the café on Föhr, real New York cheesecake is sold over the counter.
Last but not least, Föhr’s national drink should not be missing: the cocktail “Manhattan”, a recipe that those returning from New York brought with them. In just under three years, the drink will face strong competition – made on Föhr.
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