Editing Sylt (section)

==History==
Geographically, Sylt was originally part of [[Jutland Peninsula|Jutland]] (today Schleswig-Holstein and mainland [[Denmark]]), with evidence of human habitation going back to 3000 BC at [[Denghoog]]. The first settlements of Frisians appeared during the 8th century and 9th century. In 1386, Sylt was divided between the Duke of Schleswig and the King of Denmark; except for the village of List, Sylt became part of the Duchy of Schleswig in 1435.

During the 17th and 18th century, [[whaling]], fishing and [[oyster]] breeding increased the wealth of the population. At this time, Keitum became the capital of the island, and a place for rich captains to settle down. In the 19th century, tourism began. Westerland replaced Keitum as the capital. During [[World War I]], Sylt became a military outpost. On 25 March 1916, British seaplanes bombed the German<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/ |title=First World War.com Day by day |website=First World War.com |access-date=27 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325140414/http://www.firstworldwar.com/ |archive-date=25 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2016}} airship sheds on Sylt. The main connection for tourists was boats from [[Højer]]. Since Højer was ceded to Denmark in 1920, a rail causeway to the mainland was built in 1927, the [[Hindenburgdamm]], named after [[Paul von Hindenburg]]. During [[World War II]], Sylt became a fortress, with concrete bunkers built below the [[dune]]s at the shore, some of which are still visible today. [[Lager Sylt]], the [[concentration camp]] on [[Alderney]] was named after the island. [[Rudolf Höss]] hid on the island after [[Nazi Germany]]'s defeat, but he was later captured and brought to trial in Poland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/40-45/liberation/ |title=Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State. Auschwitz 1940–1945. Liberation & Revenge |publisher=PBS |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827064159/http://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/40-45/liberation/ |archive-date=27 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Robby Naish a-1.jpg|thumb|Windsurf World Cup Sylt in 2006]]
Today, Sylt is mainly a tourist destination, famous for its sandy beaches and healthy climate. The {{convert|40|km|0|abbr=on|adj=mid|-long}} west beach has a number of surf schools and also a nude section. The [[PWA World Tour]] Windsurf World Cup Sylt, established in 1984, is annually held at Westerland's beach front.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=38&tx_pwaevent_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=291&cHash=1fb8687881e6356a95cd1858c9350fc4|title = PWA WORLD WINDSURFING TOUR: Detail}}</ref> Sylt is also popular for second home owners, and many German celebrities who own [[vacation home]]s on "the island".

===The ''Freikörperkultur'' and nude bathing===
{{Main|Freikörperkultur}}
At the beginning of the 20th century, the bathing beaches on Sylt were [[Sex segregation|segregated by sex]] into "ladies' bath" (''Damenbad'') and "men's bath" (''Herrenbad''); one bathed in long bathing dresses of that time period. From the beginning of the 20th century - starting from the Free German Youth camp Klappholttal and the intellectuals and artists in the village of [[Kampen (Sylt)|Kampen]] - a social movement developed that lived a beach life without clothing (part of the German ''[[Freikörperkultur]] - FKK'' and ''[[Lebensreform]]'' movement). The first official nude bathing beach in Germany was opened on Sylt in 1920.<ref name="DW1">{{Cite news|title=Why Germany's nudist culture remains refreshing|url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-germanys-nudist-culture-remains-refreshing/a-43917929|first=Richard|last=Loxton|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|location=Bonn|date=2019|page=|language=en|access-date=2021-07-24|isbn=}}</ref> Nude bathing and sunbathing (also erroneously referred to as "nudist" or "nudism") spread over the entire island. "Sylt" was associated with nude bathing and the ideal environment for supporters of the ''Freikörperkultur (FKK)''. Since the 1960s, there have been designated [[nudist]] beaches (marked ''FKK-Strand'') with names such as "Abyssinia", "Samoa" or "Zanzibar" on the entire west beach. The most famous nudist beach on Sylt became the "[[Groyne]] 16" (''Buhne 16'') in Kampen through regular reports in the tabloid media. Today the boundaries between nude and textile beaches are becoming more and more blurred. While nude beaches have lost some of their popularity, it is no longer unusual or sensational to bathe or sunbathe on "normal" beaches with no clothes on.