Tom`s travels: Husum, Friedrichstadt & Glückstadt (17/11/2018)

On this day we decided to head north into Schleswig-Holstein and reach by train the town of Husum located in the proximity of the North Frisian Wadden Sea. After reaching the destination we continued on foot and walked through the town center, passing by the church of St Mary dating to the 19th century, and through the Markt, the main square. The weather was fine, sunny and not too cold and we enjoyed strolling around for a bit. We then walked under an arched house and through a pretty street until we reached the castle. Being the only defensive structure on the western coast of the state, it shows how the city had an important role in the area. The castle was built in the Dutch Renaissance style during the 16th century under the request of Duke Arnold von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf. It is surrounded by a moat and a nice small park. We saw that visits were only through guided tours and later in the afternoon so we decided to just admire it from the exterior. As we walked further we passed by the Ostenfelder Bauernhaus, a perfectly preserved example of a 17th-century farmhouse which was dismantled and carried from the eastern part of the state and reassembled in this location.
Unfortunately, it was closed so we decided to take a picture and continue onwards. We walked along the nice small harbor and then headed back to the station where we took a train that took us in just a few minutes to the town of Friedrichstadt. After getting off the train we then headed towards the city center which was just a few minutes on foot. The town is known for its well kept old town characterized by two islands divided by a canal and surrounded by water. It reminded us a lot of a typical Dutch city and it was in fact founded by Dutch settlers in the 17th century encouraged by Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp who promised them religious freedom. As we walked through we reached the Marktplatz, the town's main square which featured some nice gabled houses on its western end. We then crossed the canal that splits the town in two and visited the northern island where alleyways were laid out in a perfectly symmetrical and orderly as the rest of the town. The island ended where the Treene river had formed a large body of water still used to this day to direct its waterway in the town's canals. As we walk back towards the southern island, we then passed by the Remonstratenkirche, the church dedicated to the early inhabitants who practiced the protestant remonstrant religion. It was interesting to see the dedications on the church's facade all written in dutch. From there, walking along the pretty streets we reached the train station and took another ride further south reaching the small town of Glückstadt. Literally translated as "luck city" it was founded in the 17th century by King Christian IV of Denmark promising the settlers to be exempted from taxes and free to profess their religion. Its location on the Elbe was meant to serve as commercial competition to the much larger and important city of Hamburg, a position which it never achieved. After getting off the train, we decided to walk through the center, passing by the Stadtkirche which was already closed. From there we continued through the Marktplatz and then a little further until we reached the small harbor. Here we walked along the waterside until we reached a concrete pier jutting out into the Elbe river. The sun was setting so we stayed there for a bit while enjoying the beautiful over the river and the surrounding landscape. After that, we headed back into town, grabbed a few fries from a shop and then headed to the train station where we took the day's final ride back into Hamburg.