Flensburg (Danish: Flensborg, Frisian: Flansborj) is an independent town in the North of the German state Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region Südschleswig. After Kiel and Lübeck it is the third largest town in Schleswig-Holstein.

The nearest larger towns are Kiel (68 km south) and Odense in Denmark (92 km north-east).

In Germany, Flensburg is known for

• the nation-wide database of traffic violators
• the large erotic mail-order companies Beate Uhse and Orion
• its beer Flensburger Pilsener
• the center of the Danish national minority in Germany
• the greeting Moin
• its handball team SG Flensburg-Handewitt

Geography

Flensburg is situated in the north of the German state Schleswig-Holstein, on the German-Danish border. After Westerland on Sylt it is Germany's northernmost town. Flensburg lies at the innermost tip of the Flensburg Fjord, an estuary of the Baltic Sea. Flensburg's eastern shore is part of the peninsula Angeln.

History

Flensburg was founded in the 13th century at the innermost tip of the Flensburg Fjord and began to rise after the decline of the Hanseatic League. Between 1460 and 1864 it was one of the major ports of the Danish monarchy. In the Second war of Schleswig in 1864 the city was captured by Prussia, and Germany retained the city in the Schleswig Plebiscite following World War I. There is still a large Danish community living in Flensburg. The Danish name of the town is Flensborg. In the Second World War the town remained virtually undamaged. Admiral Karl Dönitz fled here in 1945 to escape the Allied troops, but was captured at last in Flensburg.

Danish minority

The Danish minority in Flensburg and the surrounding towns run their own schools, libraries and Lutheran churches but do not exclude themselves from the German majority. Rather than that, the co-existence of these two groups is considered a sound and healthy symbiosis.

In Denmark, Flensburg seems to be mainly associated with its duty-free shops where, until 2003, liquor and candy could be purchased at significantly lower rates than in Denmark.

External links

• http://www.flensburg.de
• http://www.flensburg-tourist.de
• http://www.skoleforeningen.de
• http://www.flensburg-online.de