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 | Breakwater |
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The western part of the island Baltrum is reinforced by some constructions. In older days a lot of sand on the west side of the island was lost and washed ashore on the east side of the island because of the wind, the water and the waves. If the first island church of hundreds of years ago would still have existed today, it would - as a result of that - be located on the island of Norderney.
 The reinforcements on the west end consist mainly of breakwaters (called "Buhnen") that break the force of the waves long before they reach the beach. From the coast, they stretch into the sea for almost a hundred metres. Since the top of a breakwater is under water at high tide and is therefore dangerous for the ships, each breakwater has a warning signal on the top that is also visible at high tide. The breakwaters are made with big basalt and sandstones and in the middle as well as on the edge they have rows of wooden pools. Between the stones there is a variety of animals, amongst others also eatible kinds of crab, e.g. the common crab that is sometimes bigger than a fist. People say, there are still islanders, who catch those crabs with bare hands without being scared of the claws of the animal.
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