White Nights
White nights are called nights in which the sun only sets for a short time, so that it is also twilight or light at night . White nights occur in all places that are roughly between 57 ° north latitude and the north pole or 57 ° south latitude and the south pole . Beyond the polar circles (≈ 66.57 °), the sun no longer sets on the days around the solstice .
The White Nights of Saint Petersburg (just under 60 ° N), as described by Dostoyevsky in his story of the same name from 1848, are famous . In Germany, white nights can only be experienced to a limited extent in its northernmost regions at just under 55 ° N, such as the North Sea island of Sylt and near Flensburg . There, on the nights around the summer solstice, a clearly visible silver lining on the northern horizon moves from west to east. Something similar can be observed in the southern hemisphere around the solstice at the end of December at just under 55 ° S, for example in Ushuaia or in the south of South Georgia . In the polar regions , the sun no longer sets around the summer solstice, so the midnight sun shines instead of white night . The shorter the distance to the pole, the longer the period. On the Poles themselves, this period, called polar day , is six months.
White nights in art
Dostoyevsky's novel was the model for the Italian-French film of the same name, White Nights, from 1957.
By Martina Sahler there is the historical family saga White Nights, vast land where the emigration of Germans to Russia is described in the 18th century and in which the White Nights in St. Petersburg at the time of Empress Catherine II. A central role in the plot play.
Ingmar Bergman's film The Smile of a Summer Night deals with the turbulence of four lovers on a white midsummer night . The American dance film White Nights was made in 1985, based on a drama by Taylor Hackford . The title refers to the short, bright summer nights in northern Siberia , where parts of the plot take place.
