Shortly after the navy had given up its Firth of Flensburg base, which had been in existence since the Kaiser's time, at the turn of the millennium, a group of developers acquired the promising site. The group developed a little urban quarter here, about 3 km north of Flensburg old town, and called it Sonwik, from the north Frisian words Son (sun) and Wik (bay). Its principal attraction is a housing estate, unique in Germany, consisting of 20 water-houses, picked out in color. They are placed in loose series on a right angle by a jetty, at the same time forming the outer framework for a large marina for 400 sailing boats and yachts. The striking characteristic of this building ensemble, alongside the roof terrace and the private mooring in the cellar, is the four colors red, blue, orange and yellow, applied to large facade panels and visible over a great distance.