Föhr

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Föhr (Fering North Frisian: Feer; Danish: Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its area is 82 km², and its population is 8,800, making it the largest and most populous German island not reachable by car or railway.

The only town on the island is Wyk on its south eastern coast which is a popular seaside resort. In addition there are sixteen tiny hamlets on Föhr, three of them with very old churches from the 12th and 13th centuries. A major part of the population in the west of the island speaks, besides German, a local idiom of the North Frisian language known as Fering or Föhring. A local peculiarity is that almost all place names end with the suffix -um (e.g. the villages Nieblum, Oevenum,, Utersum, Wrixum etc).

The island is accessible by a car-ferry connecting the mainland port of Dagebüll and the town of Wyk (approximately 10-12 sailings a day). There also are frequent car-ferry services to the neighbouring island of Amrum and seasonal pedestrian ferries to Heligoland, Sylt and the Halligen.

During the Second World War, Allied submarines sank several ferries which ran aground on the beach. After the war, the British occupied the island.

A popular attraction on the island is the "aqua wyk", a wave pool and health spa in Wyk.