Rungholt, the Drowned Town
A rich medieval port on Germany's North Sea coast vanished in a single storm flood, and its traces still surface in the mud.
What was reported
Rungholt was a wealthy trading town in North Frisia, on what is now Germany's North Sea coast. On 16 January 1362, the great storm flood known as the Grote Mandrenke, the 'great drowning of men', broke through the dykes and swept it away along with wide areas of farmland.
For centuries it was half a legend, with tales that its people's pride had angered God. Fishermen said they could hear its church bells under the sea.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists have found traces of its dykes, wells, fields and buildings in the Wadden Sea mud near the island of Hallig Südfall, and in 2023 a survey located what's thought to be its church. The town's existence is now confirmed, though its size is still being studied.
- When
- 16 January 1362
- Where
- North Frisian Wadden Sea, Germany
- Witnesses
- Medieval chronicles, and archaeologists today
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.