Westerland, Germany

Westerland (; Vesterland; Söl'ring North Frisian: Weesterlön’) is a seaside resort and a former municipality located on the German North Sea island of Sylt. Since 1 January 2009, Westerland has been part of the municipality Gemeinde Sylt. Westerland is part of the Nordfriesland district in Schleswig Holstein. It is the largest resort on the island, the local transportation hub and the centre of Sylt's tourist industry.

Westerland is partly one of the younger settlements on the island of Sylt. After the All Saints' Day Flood of 1436 had destroyed the biggest part of the community of Eidum (except for the area that is today called Enden and the Church), the survivors built a new community to the northeast on a heath. The new settlement was called Hedigen (heath area). In the 16th. century most of the people on Sylt were involved in the hunting of Herring near Heligoland, Westerland was no exception. The Old Church of Eidum St. Niels was demolished in 1634, mainly due to a particularly bad stench, and rebuild in the heath area, far away from the sea, in 1636. Westerlant (probably an old field name used by the people of Tinnum) had its first documentary mention in 1462. In 1636 there were 43 and in 1695 76 taxable houses. The village grew rapidly during the 17th and 18th centuries because people experienced a great increase in wealth thanks to whaling. Previously, people had only lived from the sea and what little their fields could provide (they were often destroyed by the wandering dunes or flooding). In 1855, the local Landvogt decided to turn Westerland into a seaside resort. After 1857, the minor village centred on a church began to grow into a larger resort. That year the first hotel opened the Dünenhalle. Many others followed, although a number of them have since been torn down to make room for different structures. In 1880, the first solid building was erected on the dunes right at the beach. Electricity was available from 1893. In 1897, a telephone cable to the mainland was laid. In 1888, the Kurhalle was inaugurated, followed in 1903 by the art nouveau hotel Miramar, which still stands on the promenade today.

The major attraction at Westerland is the beach and the 6 kilometre long promenade with its Musikmuschel music pavilion. During the season, 4,000 Strandkörbe are placed on the beach. Although Westerland used to have the status of Stadt (city, awarded in 1905), the new municipality so far refrained from applying for this status. One reason is that the Ortsteile do not want to advertise their tourism services as simple suburbs (Stadtteile).

Sylt, and thereby also Westerland, cannot be reached by road from the mainland. Instead, there is a shuttle train that carries cars, the Sylt Shuttle, that runs between Niebüll and Westerland. The railway line, called the Marsh Railway (Marschbahn), runs across the 11.3 km long Hindenburgdamm, a causeway across the Wadden Sea joining Sylt to the mainland. Passenger trains, both local and long distance, also serve Westerland, reaching it across the causeway. Westerland can also be reached by air through Sylt Airport, and by car ferry from the nearby Danish island of Rømø.

T Systems operates the , a 90 metre radio mast located in the middle of the town.

A song by the German punk band Die Ärzte is named after Westerland.