Schleswig

Home > Places > Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe > German Political Geography

Schleswig , Dan. Slesvig, former duchy, N Germany and S Denmark, occupying the southern part of Jutland. The Eider River separates it from Holstein . German Schleswig forms part of Schleswig-Holstein . Danish Schleswig, known as North Schleswig (Dan. Nordslesvig or Sønderjylland ) includes the cities of Åbenrå, Haderslev, Sønderborg, and Tønder, and was incorporated with Denmark following a plebiscite in 1920.

The duchy of Schleswig, created in 1115, was a hereditary fief held from the kings of Denmark. King Waldemar III (who had been duke of Schleswig as Waldemar V) conferred Schleswig on his uncle, Gerhard, and granted a charter forbidding the union of Schleswig and Denmark under a single overlord. In 1386 the count of Holstein received Schleswig as a hereditary fief. His descendant, Christian I of Denmark, inherited (1460) both Schleswig and Holstein, but he was obliged to recognize the inseparability of the two territories and to affirm that they were bound to the Danish crown by a personal union only.

In the 16th cent. Schleswig and Holstein (which had also become a duchy) underwent complex subdivisions, although theoretically the principle of the inseparability of the two duchies was not violated. The three main divisions were: a ducal portion, including parts of both duchies, which was conferred on Adolphus, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, younger brother of Christian III of Denmark, and on his descendants, the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp; a royal portion, including parts of both duchies, ruled directly by the Danish kings; and a common portion, ruled jointly by the Danish kings and the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp.

By the Treaty of Roskilde (1658) the Danish crown renounced its suzerainty over ducal Schleswig; the resulting quarrels between Denmark and the duke of Holstein-Gottorp were a major factor in the Northern War (1700–1721), which ended with the dispossession of Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp and the union of the ducal portion of Schleswig with the Danish crown. Grand Duke Paul (later Emperor Paul I), renounced (1773) the ducal portion of Holstein, yielding it to the Danish crown, in exchange for Oldenburg . Thus all Schleswig and Holstein were once more united under the Danish kings. The events related in the article Schleswig-Holstein led to the annexation (1866) of both duchies by Prussia.

Schleswig city (1994 pop. 26,857), Schleswig-Holstein, N Germany, on the Schlei, an inlet of the Baltic Sea. The city's economy is based on the production of food products and leather and on fishing. One of the oldest cities in N Germany, Schleswig was known by c.800. It was a Roman Catholic episcopal see from 947 until the Reformation (16th cent.). The city was the residence of the dukes of Schleswig and (1514–1713) of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. It was the capital of Schleswig-Holstein from 1866 to 1917, when it was replaced as capital by Kiel. The fortified Gottorf, or Gottorp, castle (16th–18th cent.) in Schleswig now houses museums of art and early history. The Gothic Cathedral of St. Peter (12th–15th cent.) contains a fine carved reredos by Hans Brüggemann (16th cent.) and the tomb of Frederick I of Denmark.

Schleswig, Germany, USA Germany (Schleswig‐Holstein): formerly Sliesthorp and Sliaswich. Located at the head of the Schlei, its name consists of the river name and the Old Scandinavian vík ‘bay, place of commerce’. Schleswig is also the name of a historical region; it became a Danish duchy in the 12th century. Following dynastic problems, the Danes were forced to relinquish it in 1864 after Prussian and Austrian troops had invaded and in 1866, together with the Duchy of Holstein, it was annexed by Prussia. In a plebiscite in 1920 the northern part (north of Flensburg) of Schleswig voted to join Denmark to become the county of Sønderjylland ‘South Jutland’ while the southern element elected to stay within Germany.

Schleswig •big, brig, dig, fig, frig, gig, grig, jig, lig, pig, prig, rig, snig, sprig, swig, tig, trig, twig, Whig, wig •Liebig • shindig • whirligig •thingamajig • Pfennig • Gehrig •thimblerig • Meurig • oilrig • Leipzig •Schleswig • bigwig • periwig • Ludwig •earwig • Danzig • Zagazig