| c. 8000 BC |
Sylt is separated from the mainland and becomes an island. |
| 449 AD |
The Angles and Saxons are believed to have crossed over to Britain from Wenningstedt to conquer the island. |
| 1141 |
The name of Sylt is mentioned in a document for the first time. |
| 1350 |
The plague reaches the island and claims many lives. |
| c. 1425 |
Sylt’s inhabitants increasingly engage in herring fishery. |
| 1436 |
A severe storm tide swallows up Sylt’s main village, Eidum. The survivors build a new settlement further east, later to become Westerland. |
| 1640 |
First mention of a Sylt school. |
| 1642 |
First Sylt islanders go whaling. |
| 1668 |
The herring becomes the island’s heraldic animal. |
| 1742 |
First arrival of coffee on the island. |
| 1769 |
A census is taken, according to which Sylt has 2,814 inhabitants. |
| 1792 |
A regular postal delivery is officially instituted. |
| c. 1800 |
Grass is planted on the dunes to protect the land behind them from the sea. |
| 1855 |
Foundation of the health resort of Westerland. |
| 1855 |
In Kampen, Sylt’s first lighthouse starts sending out signals. |
| 1872 |
Construction of the first groynes. |
| 1888 |
A railway line is built between Munkmarsch and Westerland and is later extended to Hörnum and List. |
| 1920 |
Referendum on the question of nationality: the great majority votes in favour of Germany and against Denmark. |
| 1925 |
First air connections to Sylt. |
| 1927 |
The island is connected with the mainland via the Hindenburgdamm. |
| 1939 |
Sylt becomes a fortified area and is littered with bunkers and artillery installations. |
| 1949 |
Germany’s northernmost casino opens in Westerland. |
| 1950 |
First vehicles are transported along the causeway by train. |
| 1954 |
Opening of the first naturist beach. |
| 1969 |
Completion of the island’s largest complex of buildings, Westerland’s former Kurzentrum (health resort centre). |
| 1970 |
The island’s railway service is discontinued. |
| 1970 |
The villages on the east coast of Sylt – Archsum, Keitum, Morsum, Munkmarsch and Tinnum – are consolidated in the new community of Sylt-Ost. |
| 1972 |
First trials of beach nourishment. |
| 1976 |
The biggest shopping street, Westerländer Friedrichstraße, is turned into a pedestrian precinct. |
| 1985 |
Sylt’s Wadden Sea is designated part of the nature reserve “Nationalpark Wattenmeer”, thus gaining top conservation status. |
| 1993 |
Rantum’s premium mineral water, labelled “Sylt-Quelle”, begins to bubble up from its source below the dunes. |
| 1994 |
Opening of the leisure pool “Sylter Welle”. |
| 1999 |
Sweeping over Sylt with wind speeds of up to 190 kmph, storm “Anatol” causes severe damage. |
| 2004 |
The Sylt Aquarium in Westerland opens its doors. |
| 2007 |
A foundation for coastal protection is established. |
