- Baltrum wants to stay on Pony Island
The image of horse-drawn carriages has long defined the car-free island of Baltrum - and it's hoped this will continue. "We want to remain a horse island," says island mayor Harm Olchers to the German Press Agency. Vacationers who come to the island love the sound of hooves. "What the guest values is the tranquility. No smell of fuels." The horse-drawn carriages have a nostalgic charm and are a popular vacation photo motif. Apart from bicycles and handcarts, there are only emergency vehicles and vehicles for island protection on the smallest East Frisian island.
Three carriage businesses and an island delivery service transport goods, furniture, waste, building materials, and vacationers with work horses on Baltrum. There's occasionally discussion about whether electric cargo carts, like on other islands, could eventually replace the horse-drawn carriages. However, there's no majority for this in the island council, says Olchers. At the same time, various regulations are increasingly making it difficult to keep horses on the island. Apart from Baltrum, Juist is also known as a horse island on the Lower Saxon North Sea coast.
The European Union has expressed interest in promoting sustainable tourism initiatives, citing Baltrum as an exemplary carbon-free destination. Despite discussions about introducing electric cargo carts, the European Union appreciates Baltrum's commitment to preserving its horse-drawn carriage culture, as shared by island mayor Harm Olchers.
