The Noah's Ark Story
In 1959 the economic miracle took place in Germany. The cars had large tail fins, Ted Herold, Freddy, Dalida and Peter Kraus dominated the hit parades. In Hollywood, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor won their first Oscars. The time was characterized by upswing, optimism and unclouded thinking about progress. The holiday and bathing activities on the coast experienced one visitor record after another. This is also the case and especially in St.Peter-Ording. This year, Ordinger veteran Horst Wieben built his first pile dwelling on the sandbank and called it “Noah's Ark”. Unfortunately, he underestimated the elemental power of the sea and built it too deep. It was destroyed in the great storm surge of 1962. Wieben, who tried to the last to save what could be saved, only narrowly escaped drowning.
The second Noah's Ark
In 1963 he built the second Noah's Ark, this time on stilts that rose 6 meters above the water. Today the terrace commemorates the first height of Noah's Ark. It was built on some of the remains of the first wooden piles. During this time, Noah's Ark also became the “harbor” for the famous Ordinger sand yachts. In the 1920s, Wieben's father Otto, together with the spa doctor Dr. Felten basically “invented” beach sailing. His son Horst was the winner of various national and international championship titles. Also unforgettable is the “largest sand yacht in the world” with a mast height of over 20 meters, in which Wieben could accommodate up to 15 people (for a fee, of course) and race over the entire sandbank. Before the increasing bathing activity made it necessary to designate demarcated zones for sand yachtsmen in order to prevent accidents, some regattas took place directly past Noah's Ark. The award ceremonies after the races and the parties that follow are legendary today. The hobby has now become a recognized international sport. Until the mid-1960s it was even possible to land airplanes on the sandbank.