page_title: Heligoland
section_title: Road restrictions
hierarchical_section_title: Heligoland / Road restrictions
caption_attribution_description: English: Police van on Heligoland Deutsch: Polizeiauto auf Helgoland
context_page_description: Heligoland is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became the possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890, and briefly managed as a war prize from 1945 to 1952.
  The islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the southeastern corner of the North Sea and had a population of 1,127 at the end of 2016. They are the only German islands not in the vicinity of the mainland. They lie approximately 69 kilometres by sea from Cuxhaven at the mouth of the River Elbe. During a visit to the islands, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the lyrics to "Deutschlandlied", which became the national anthem of Germany.
  In addition to German, the local population, who are ethnic Frisians, speak the Heligolandic dialect of the North Frisian language called Halunder. Heligoland used to be called Heyligeland, or "holy land", possibly due to the island's long association with the god Forseti.
context_section_description: A special section in the German traffic regulations (Straßenverkehrsordnung, abbr. StVO), §50, prohibits the use of automobiles and bicycles on the island. No other region in Germany has any exceptions to the general regulations in the StVO, although other North Sea islands, such as Baltrum, have also banned the public from using cars and motorbikes. Kick scooters are sometimes used as substitutes for bicycles.
  There are very few cars on Heligoland; except for the local ambulance van and the small firetrucks, the only motor vehicles on the island are electrically powered and used primarily for moving material. The island received its first police car on 17 January 2006; until then the island's policemen moved on foot and by bicycle, being exempt from the bicycle ban.
caption: The Heligoland police van
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