10 Comments

Fascinating, as always! I'd never hear of Rungholt either, or the other towns lost to that storm. It makes one wonder if history is going to repeat itself soon.

I felt sorry to hear that you have never really gotten over Seattle. It took me a long time, but after both of my parents died, I definitely turned the page. France is home now and I would never move back to the USA, although I still love the PNW.

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Thanks for commenting Betty. I have gotten over Seattle because I now prefer living in Europe, but Seattle was the only city I really grieved for. And grief for a city feels different than grief for a person. To me, that is the feeling of Rungholt.

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Rungholt - I learned something new today, thank you for that! A very interesting story!

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Thank you, Gabi — and coming from someone as well-travelled as you, that compliment is special.

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I'm not THAT well-travelled, far from it, but thank you 😘

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I'd never head of Rungholt before and how interesting to hear it describes a feeling as much as a place.

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That was exactly the point of my post, so thanks for that comment. Most people outside of Northern Germany haven’t heard of Rungholt, but all of Northern Germany knows the story and the legends surrounding it.

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The longing for a time and place that no longer exists is an emotion I am familiar with, but didn't realize there was such a great word for it: Rungholt.

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Very interesting! I know Dunwich well and we have similar legends of the church bells ringing beneath the waves. In Dunwich's case a lot of the damage had been done in earlier storms in 1286/7 with the 1362 one being the final death knell to Dunwich as a great port. Today it is a tiny village, although a busy one in the summer!

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Thanks for commenting and for the tidbits of English history. It’s fascinating that both places have legends of the church bells ringing under water. Who knows? Maybe that really happened. I wonder what an underwater churchbells sounds like. Must be eerie.

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