Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein (Abbr: SH)is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig and most of the historical duchy of Holstein and. The capitolof the state is Kiel. Other notable town are Lübeck and Flensburg.

This project is aimed to cover individuals born, lived, influenced or died in Schleswig-Holstein as well as function as an umbrella project for specific projects regarding Schleswig-Holstein. History of the region is recognized, and fully acknowledged. However, for the sake of uniformity and simplicity, individuals, events, places are, unless otherwise specified, are considered from within the perspective of the borders of the state of Schleswig-Holstein as they are today.

Also known in more dated English as Sleswick-Holsatia, the region is called Slesvig-Holsten in Danish. The Low German name is Sleswig-Holsteen, and the North Frisian name is Slaswik-Holstiinj. Historically, the name can also refer to a larger region, containing both present-day Schleswig-Holstein and the former South Jutland County, Northern Schleswig; now part of the Region of Southern Denmark.

Schleswig-Holstein lies on the base of Jutland Peninsula between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. To be precise, "Schleswig" refers to the German Southern Schleswig (Südschleswig or Landesteil Schleswig, Danish: Sydslesvig), whereas Northern Schleswig is in Denmark (South Jutland County, Region of Southern Denmark or Region Syddanmark). The state of Schleswig-Holstein further consists of Holstein, as well as Lauenburg and the formerly independent city of Lübeck. Schleswig-Holstein borders Denmark to the north, the North Sea to the west, the Baltic Sea to the east, and the German states of Lower Saxony, Hamburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the south. In the western part of the state, the lowlands have virtually no hills.

Schleswig-Holstein

History

The term "Holstein" derives from Old Saxon Holseta Land, (Holz and Holt mean wood in modern Standardised German and in literary English, respectively). Originally, it referred to the central of the three Saxon tribes north of the River Elbe: Tedmarsgoi (Dithmarschen), Holstein and Sturmarii (Stormarn). The area of the tribe of the Holsts was between the Stör River and Hamburg, and after Christianization, their main church was in Schenefeld. Saxon Holstein became a part of the Holy Roman Empire after Charlemagne's Saxon campaigns in the late eighth century. Since 811, the northern frontier of Holstein (and thus the Empire) was marked by the River Eider.

The term Schleswig comes from the town of Schleswig. The name derives from the Schlei inlet in the east and vik meaning inlet in Old Norse or settlement in Old Saxon, and cognate with the "-wick" or "-wich" element in place-names in Britain.

The Duchy of Schleswig or Southern Jutland was originally an integral part of Denmark, but was in medieval times established as a fief under the Kingdom of Denmark, with the same relation to the Danish Crown as for example Brandenburg or Bavaria vis-à-vis the Holy Roman Emperor. Around 1100, the Duke of Saxony gave Holstein, as it was his own country, to Count Adolf I of Schauenburg.

Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, or virtually have been independent of both nations. The exception is that Schleswig had never been part of Germany until the Second Schleswig War in 1864. For centuries, the King of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein. Essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief.

The German national awakening that followed the Napoleonic Wars gave rise to a strong popular movement in Holstein and Southern Schleswig for unification with a new Prussian-dominated Germany. This development was paralleled by an equally strong Danish national awakening in Denmark and Northern Schleswig. The ensuing conflict is sometimes called the Schleswig-Holstein Question which lingered for ages, and ended up with the Schleswig-Holstein annexed as a province of Prussia in 1867.

Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers arranged a plebiscite in northern and central Schleswig. On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig officially returned to Danish rule. The Danish/German border was the one and only one of the borders imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I which was never challenged by Adolf Hitler. Instead, in 1937, the Nazis passed the so-called Greater Hamburg Act, where Hamburg was expanded. To compensate Prussia for their losses - and partly because Hitler had a personal dislike for Lübeck - the 711-year-long independence of the Hansestadt Lübeck came to an end, and its territory was incorporated into Schleswig-Holstein.

After World War II, the Prussian province Schleswig-Holstein came under British occupation. On 23 August 1946, the military government abolished the province and reconstituted it as a separate Land. Due to the forced migrations of Germans between 1944 and 1950, Schleswig-Holstein took in almost a million refugees after the war, increasing its population by 33%. A pro-Danish political movement arose in Schleswig but was supported neither by the British occupation administration nor the Danish government. In 1955, the German and Danish governments issued the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations confirming the rights of the ethnic minorities on both sides of the border. Conditions between the nationalities have since been stable and generally respectful.

The Present

Schleswig-Holstein is divided into 11 Kreise (districts): Dithmarschen, Lauenburg (formally Herzogtum Lauenburg or "Duchy of Lauenburg"), Nordfriesland, Ostholstein, Pinneberg, Plön, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Schleswig-Flensburg, Segeberg, Steinburg and Stormarn. Furthermore, the four separate urban districts are: Kiel (KL), Hansestadt ("Hanseatic town") Lübeck (HL), Neumünster (NMS) and Flensburg (FL).

See also

• Schleswig
• Ministers-President of Schleswig-Holstein
• List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein
• People from Schleswig-Holstein
• Dukes of Schleswig
• Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein
• Holstein-Glückstadt
• Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Norburg
• Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Rethwisch
• Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig
  

Est'd 2021-02-07