Biikebrennen Simonsberg

A Frisian Tradition with UNESCO Status

The Biikebrennen is more than a folk festival — it is the identity-forming tradition of the North Frisian coast. Every year on the evening of February 21st, countless large bonfires blaze into the night sky on the marsh coast between Husum and Sylt. Since 2014, the Biikebrennen has held UNESCO status as intangible cultural heritage, an acknowledgment of this custom's importance for regional identity. In Simonsberg, the volunteer fire brigade, together with the municipality, organizes the bonfire on the foreland by the reservoir — one of five Biike sites in Husum Bay.

What 'Biike' Means

'Biike' comes from the Old Frisian word for bake or beacon. The origins of the custom are based on several theories: pagan sacrificial fires to ward off winter, light signals for Frisian whalers who set sail in February and whose wives lit the fire to bid their husbands farewell, or a Christian procession of lights. Today, the focus is on the community — the fire as a symbol for the end of winter and the approaching renewal.

The Ceremony in Simonsberg

Preparations begin weeks in advance: locals collect discarded Christmas trees, branches, and brushwood throughout autumn and winter. These are piled into a mighty heap. On February 21, 2026, the community gathers around 6:00 PM on the foreland by the reservoir in Simonsberg. With the traditional call 'Tjen di Biiki ön!' ('Light the Biike!'), the Biike is lit around 6:30 PM. The fire burns for several hours, bringing neighbors, families, and guests together around the warming flames — singing, talking, symbolically bidding farewell to winter.

Follow-up: Grünkohlessen

The Frisian Biike is inextricably linked with a communal Grünkohlessen (kale supper) after the fire — typically with Kassler (smoked pork) or Kohlwurst (kale sausage), accompanied by a kurzer (schnapps) or a Pharisäer (coffee with rum and cream). In Simonsberg, the municipality and local restaurateurs often organize this gathering afterward; you can find out the exact details on-site or from the municipality.

Simonsberg and Husum Bay

The small municipality of Simonsberg in the North Frisia district is located directly on Husum Bay, southwest of Husum on the Beltringharder Koog. Its location by the reservoir (with a Wadden Sea character in the background) makes the Biike bonfire here particularly atmospheric. Husum Bay has five Biike sites: Husum Dockkoog, Schobüll, Hattstedt, Hattstedtermarsch, and Simonsberg — anyone in the region can experience the glow of the Biike at multiple locations.

Organizers

The Simonsberg Municipal Council and the Simonsberg Volunteer Fire Brigade are responsible for the Simonsberg Biike in close coordination — the construction, securing of the burning site, and lighting are traditionally handled by the fire brigade.