About us

Oswald GmbH is located on the beautiful island of Helgoland. Helgoland is Germany's only high sea island and is located about 70 km from the mainland. The island is historically something very special. Here, historical events and new-modern charm meet. This makes Helgoland a worldwide unique and very special place in the North Sea.

Oswald GmbH was founded by Johann Peter Oswald on Helgoland in 1981.

The island was known for "Butterfahrten" and still today for duty-free shopping on site. It is not for nothing that it bears the name "Tax Paradise" Germany.

This unique selling point brought Johann Peter Oswald to the island and laid the foundation of the company.

The company is still managed by the Oswald family in the 2nd and 3rd generation.

The two largest duty free stores, the Seehotel with the smokers lounge "Cohibar" and the Onlineshop-Helgoland belong to the family business on Helgoland.

The Onlineshop-Helgoland already exists since 2011 and is therefore one of the first online stores in the area of spirits, perfume, tobacco and more.

You'll find us here:

Our shop is located directly at the entrance gate of the island (Landungsbrücke) on the corner of the main shopping street, next to the hotel "Atoll Helgoland".

Duty-free shop Helgoland, Lung Wai 23, 27498 Helgoland.

From spring 2024 you will also find us in the southern harbor at Hafenstraße 1075-1078.

Assortment selection

Onlineshop Helgoland" is the largest online store in the North Sea with a diverse selection of spirits, perfumes, confectionery, cigars, delicacies and much more.

We offer you the complete assortment of our Duty Free and Travel Value products and create for you the possibility to shop without traveling and that all over the world!
Through our range of products we create the opportunity for you to travel around the world with luxury goods.
Shop easily and comfortably from home, at top prices and super offers. All items we offer can also be purchased on Helgoland in our local store tax-free and for the reason much cheaper.
Remember, on Helgoland no taxes are charged, so it is definitely worth a trip to the beautiful island.
All items we offer can also be purchased on Helgoland in our local store tax-free and for the reason much cheaper.

History

Helgoland is located about 70 km from the mainland and is Germany's only high sea island, in the middle of the North Sea. The island presents itself with unique nature and mild high sea climate.

Hardly any other island has such an eventful and unique history as Helgoland. Before the war, the island of Helgoland was a naval base and even the largest goods handling center in Europe.

Helgoland has many underground bunkers and tunnels, which are still used today as a historical excursion. In these bunkers were stored about 6500 tons of ammunition, shells, rockets and explosives, which were destroyed on April 18, 1947, by British. This blast is known as "Big Bang".

The aim of this blast was to completely destroy Heligoland, since from a military point of view it was a very important and advantageous location for the defense of the German bay.

However, the British did not succeed in this, as no one expected the special rock that Helgoland is made of. Due to the soft sandstone, the shock wave of the detonation was much smaller than planned.

After Helgoland was handed over to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1952, reconstruction began.

The reconstruction of Helgoland is, like the historical story, unique.

Even today, rebuilding the island, which is located in the middle of the North Sea, would be fraught with many challenges and problems.

However, the people of Helgoland managed to rebuild their island piece by piece. Today it is one of the most popular destinations in Germany.

The daily ferry service makes it possible to plan a day trip to Helgoland. Alternatively, Helgoland offers many overnight accommodations, so nothing stands in the way of an overnight stay with fresh sea air.

The following companies will bring you safely to the island of Helgoland:

Die tägliche Fährverbindung ermöglicht es, einen Tagesausflug nach Helgoland zu planen. Alternativ bietet Helgoland viele Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten, sodass einer Übernachtung mit frischer Seeluft nichts im Wege steht.

Folgende Unternehmen bringen Sie sicher zu uns auf die Insel Helgoland:

Why is Helgoland tax-free?

Since Napoleon wanted to stop trade with England, the English conquered Helgoland in 1807 in order to escape the economic blockade from there.

Due to the economic blockade, the English could no longer call at any European port. English goods could therefore no longer be sold on the mainland in Europe. To get around this, after conquest the kingdom exempted the island of Heligoland from tax and customs duties to get a foothold in European trade again.

Unlike other islands, Helgoland not only offers VAT-free shopping, but Helgoland also offers a spectacular natural spectacle, such as the largest grey seal population, the spectacular guillemot jump and the "Lange Anna", which attracts about 400,000 tourists and day visitors every year.

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Jobs

Do you feel like trying something new and would you like to work where others go on vacation? Then feel free to contact us and send us your application.

We are looking forward to anyone who wants to join our team, because we can always use a good support!

Contact us at: Info@onlineshop-helgoland.de