Angeln

Lakes

The largest North Angeln lakes are:

• Sankelmarker See (Sankelmark Sø) [de; da]
• Südensee (Søndersø) [de; da]
• Winderatter See (Venerød Sø) [de; da]
• Treßsee (Træsø) [de; da]
• Havetofter See (Havetoft Sø) [de; da]
• Munkbrarupau (Brarup Å) [de; da]

The largest South Angeln lakes are:

• Langsee (Schleswig) (Langsøen)
• Arenholzer See (Arnholt Sø) [de; da]
• Idstedter See (Isted Sø) [de; da]
• Reethsee (Rørsø) [de; da]
• Bocksee (Buksø) [de; da]

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  Winderatter See
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  Sankelmarker See
• 
  Winderatter See
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  Angelstelle (angling spot) sign in Anglia (Südensee)

Rivers

The chain of hills running across Angeln between Husby and Kappeln constitutes the drainage divide between the Baltic and North Seas. East of it, small streams mostly called Auen flow towards the Baltic. West of it, most streams flow towards the Treene and later the Eider and hence into the North Sea.

The Treene is the longest tributary of the Eider, and its two headstreams, Bondenau  [de; da] and Kielstau [de; da], rise in and flow through Angeln. The sources of the Bondenau are in Mohrkirch and in Sörup-Sörupholz. At Mittelangeln-Bondebrück the Südensee Au [de] joins the Bondenau. The Kielstau rises in Sörup-Schwensby, passes through the Winderatter See and flows into the Bondenau at Großsolt, just before the Bondenau enters the Treßsee. Upon leaving the lake the river takes on the name Treene and leaves Angeln to the west. It enters the Eider at Friedrichstadt, which in turn enters its extensive estuary, the Purrenstrom [de], at Tönning.

The largest river system that flows entirely in Angeln from its sources to its mouth is the system of the Loiter Au (also called Füsinger Au). It is formed by the confluence of the Boholzer Au (which is called Wellspanger Au [de; da] in its upper course) and the Oxbek [de; da] (whose upper reaches are also called Mühlenau, and whose longest tributary is the Flaruper Au), at a place called Kreuzau in Süderbrarup-Brebelholz. After the confluence, the river flows in a southerly direction, and after approximately 18 kilometers, it flows into the Kleine Breite [de; da] of the Schlei at Winningmay (municipality of Schaalby), east of Schleswig.

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  Map of the longest rivers in northern Schleswig-Holstein
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  The Kielstau entering the Winderatter See
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  The Treene valley just west of the Treßsee
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  The Lippingau flowing towards the Baltic

Nature reserves

There are 10 officially designated nature reserves (Naturschutzgebiete) in Angeln:

• Geltinger Birk (Gelting Birk) [de; da]
• Holnis (Holnæs) [de; da]
• Hechtmoor (Hegemose) [de; da]
• Höftland Bockholmwik und angrenzende Steilküsten [de] (Höftland Bockholmwick and adjacent steep coasts)
• Obere Treenelandschaft [de] (Upper Treene Landscape)
• Os bei Süderbrarup (Sønderbrarup Ås) [de; da] (Esker near Süderbrarup)
• Pugumer See und Umgebungp (Pugum Sø) [de; da] (Pugumer See and surroundings)
• Reesholm/Schlei (Rejsholm, Palør)) [de; da]
• Tal der Langballigau [de] (valley of the Langballigau)
• Schleimünde (Sliminde) [de; da] (mouth of the Schlei)

There is also one nature park, Naturpark Schlei [de; da]. The Haithabu-Dannewerk [de] nature reserve lies just southwest of Angeln. It stretches along the Danevirke and around the Viking settlement of Hedeby, which constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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  Coast of the Geltinger Birk
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  Landscape of the Geltinger Birk
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  Coast of the Holnis peninsula
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  Schleimünde lighthouse

Cities

There are five cities in Anglia. All other settlements are just municipalities, all belonging to an Amt, which is a collection of municipalities administratively classified as between the local and the county government. The only exception is the city of Arnis, which belongs to the Amt of Kappeln-Land.

Flensburg: The largest city touching Anglian territory is Flensburg (pop. 92,550). The city is called Flensborg in Low German and Danish, Flensborre in South Jutlandic, and Flansborj or Flensborag in North Frisian. Only about half of the city is considered part of Anglia, namely the eastern boroughs of Engelsby, Fruerlund, Jürgensby, Mürwik, Sandberg and Tarup, not in Anglia are the boroughs of Altstadt (Innenstadt), Friesischer Berg, Neustadt, Nordstadt, Südstadt, Weiche and Westliche Höhe.^[10] The Anglian districts alone have a population of around 46,000 inhabitants, which is enough to make Flensburg the by far most populous city in the region.

Schleswig: The second-largest city is Schleswig (pop. 25,832), which belongs almost entirely to Anglia, including the city centre. It is called Sleswig in Low German, Slesvig in Danish, and used to be called Slasvjig in Anglian Danish. There are just two boroughs that do not belong to Anglia because they are located on the adjacent Swania Peninsula: St. Jürgen and Klosterhof. To compensate for the loss of political and administrative functions as former capital of the Duchy of Schleswig and later the Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig became the seat of the Schleswig-Holsatian Higher Regional Court, the State Archives, the State Museum of Art and Cultural History and the Archaeological State Museum (the latter two being located in Gottorf Castle) between 1947 and 1948. Schleswig is therefore a cultural and the justicial centre for the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Kappeln (Danish: Kappel) (pop. 8,607) is the third-largest city on Anglian territory. Although most of the city's area has been on the Swania Peninsula since the incorporation of Olpenitz in 1970, most of the districts and the city centre belong to Anglia. The Anglian boroughs are: Dothmark, Ellenberg, Kappeln (core city), Mehlby, Sandbek and Stutebüll. The boroughs in Swania are: Kopperby and Olpenitz. In Kappeln, the region's largest urban development project is being carried out, in the course of which the former Olpenitz naval base is being converted into the "Olpenitz Baltic Sea Resort" (de:Ostseeresort Olpenitz).

Glücksburg (Ostsee): The fourth-largest city of Glücksburg (Ostsee) (pop. 6,377) is the largest city lying entirely in Anglia. It is called Glücksborg in Low German and Lyksborg in Danish. It is the northernmost city in Germany, as List on Sylt, that is known as northernmost settlement of the country, is just a village and municipality. The core area of the city consists of the boroughs of Bremsberg (Bremsbjerg), Sandwig (Sandvig) with Quellental (Kildedal), and Ulstrupfeld (Ulstrupmark). The entire area of the Holnis Peninsula was incorporated into Glücksburg.

Arnis: With less than 300 inhabitants, Arnis (Danish: Arnæs) (pop. 273) is the least populous city in Germany and, at 0.45 square kilometres (0.17 sq mi), also the smallest city in terms of area.^[11] The city extends on a densely built-up small peninsula in the middle of the Schlei.

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  Flensburg is the largest town in Anglia. View of the borough of Jürgensby (Jørgensby) on the Anglian side of the Flensburg Firth.
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  Another view of Jürgensby and the harbour of Flensburg.
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  View from Schleswig Cathedral
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  View of the Schlei Bridge in Kappeln
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  View of the Baltic Sea Resort in Kappeln-Olpenitz

Rail

The Neumünster–Flensburg railway runs along the western edge of Anglia, and connects the two largest Anglian cities of Flensburg and Schleswig via the stations of Tarp and Jübek. In the south, it merges into the route to Hamburg, and in the north into the route to Fredericia.

Anglia is crossed by the Kiel–Flensburg railway, that runs from the Schleswig-Holsatian capital of Kiel to Flensburg and connects the Baltic Sea ports of Kiel, Eckernförde and Flensburg. After leaving Kiel, it crosses the Kiel Canal on the Levensau High Bridge, and then runs via Eckernförde and across the Swania Peninsula in the direction of the Schlei. It crosses the Schlei on the Lindaunis Bridge - a bascule bridge that has been broken for many years and is to be replaced by a new structure by 2027^[12] - between the stations Rieseby in Swania, and Lindaunis, which is the first station in Anglia. It then runs across Anglia in the direction of Flensburg via the stations Süderbrarup, Sörup and Husby. An additional stop is to be set up in Flensburg-Tarup.

At Süderbrarup station, the "Anglian Steam Railway" (Angelner Dampfeisenbahn) (de) branches off from the Kiel–Flensburg line. It runs from Süderbrarup to Kappeln via Wagersrott, Scheggerott, Rabenkirchen, Faulück and Arnis-Grödersby. Some journeys carried out with railbuses do not end in Süderbrarup, but continue all the way to Flensburg.^[13]

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  The Neumünster–Flensburg railway
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  The Kiel–Flensburg railway
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  Bilingual German/Danish signage at Flensburg train station
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  The Anglian Steam Railway at Kappeln

Road

The Bundesautobahn 7 (Federal Motorway 7, from Grenzübergang/Grænseovergang Ellund (D)/Frøslev (DK) to Grenzübergang Füssen (D)/Vils (AT)) runs along the western edge of Anglia, and connects Flensburg to Schleswig. Exits along the Anglian Peninsula are "Flensburg/Harrislee", "Flensburg", "Tarp" and "Schleswig/Schuby". It merges into the Danish Sønderjyske Motorvej (E45) in the direction of Kolding in the north.

Early history

The region was home to the Germanic Angles, some of whom, together with Saxons and Jutes, left their homeland to migrate to the island of Great Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries.

Later history

It is assumed that by around 550 AD the peninsula was only very sparsely populated, or at least that the population had declined significantly. The fact that the name Angeln persisted for the area could indicate that a small portion of the original population remained. After 600 AD, Jutes and Danes settled on the peninsula, a fact still evident in many place names in Angeln ending in -by and -rup, meaning "village" and "settlement," respectively. South of the Eider River, such Nordic place names occur only sporadically. In the 10th century the chronicler Æthelweard reported that the most important town in Angeln was Hedeby. Even today, many Angeln residents identify as belonging to the Danish minority. However, the (Low) German language began to spread increasingly in modern times; in the course of the 19th century, Angel Danish was completely replaced by German and Standard Danish.^[17] The last record of the dialect was made in northern Angeln in the 1930s.^[18]

Naval Academy Mürwik

The Naval Academy Mürwik (Marineschule Mürwik; MSM) in Flensburg-Mürwik (Flensborg-Mørvig) is the officer training school of the German Navy. German naval officers have been trained there since 1910. Naval officers receive their general military training at the MSM. Malbork Castle, a former Teutonic Knights' fortress, was supposedly the architectural model at the request of Kaiser Wilhelm II.^[19] The building complex with its red brick facades is prominently situated on the Flensburg Fjord and is therefore also known as the Rote Burg an der Förde ("Red Castle on the Fjord")^[20] and the Rotes Schloss am Meer ("Red Palace by the Sea").^[21] The Osbek (Danish: Osbæk) stream flows through a ravine on the south side. Other buildings for the MSM were erected in the surrounding area, including the Naval Water Tower and the Flensburg-Mürwik Naval Hospital.^[22]

The Sonwik harbor district is the civilian-inhabited, waterfront part of the Flensburg-Mürwik naval base district,^[23] which also includes the Mürwik Naval Academy. The 12.5-hectare area largely comprises the facilities of the former Flensburg-Mürwik naval base. It belongs to the Mürwik district and consists primarily of the Sonwik Marina, bordered by 20 nationally acclaimed waterfront buildings, and a waterfront promenade lined with former naval buildings in the North German Brick Neo-Gothic style.

Seaside Resorts

Angeln boasts several seaside resorts, most of which are officially recognized as health resorts. These are from northwest to southeast: Harrislee-Wassersleben (formerly Sostie; Danish: Harreslev-Sosti; where the Baltic Sea reaches its westernmost point), Glücksburg-Sandwig (Lyksborg-Sandvig), which is the location of the Strandhotel Glücksburg, also known as "White Castle by the Sea",^[24][25] Munkbrarup, Langballig (Langballe), Westerholz (Vesterskov), Steinbergkirche (Stenbjergkirke), Steinberg (Stenbjerg), Niesgrau (Nisvrå), Gelting, Nieby (Nyby), Pommerby, Kronsgaard, Hasselberg (Hasselbjerg) and Maasholm (Masholm).

Tolk-Schau

The Tolk-Schau (lit. 'Tolk-Show') is a family amusement park in Tolk, near the city of Schleswig. It is primarily aimed at families with children up to about eleven years old.^[26] The Tolk-Schau originated in the 1960s from a tourist attraction designed as a fairytale forest and is therefore still often referred to locally as the "fairytale park". The park covers an area of 30 hectares.^[27]

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  Naval Academy Mürwik
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  Naval Academy Mürwik
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  Glücksburg-Sandwig beach
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  The entrance portal of the Tolk-Schau

Churches

The Angeln peninsula boasts an unusually high density of Romanesque churches dating from the 12th and early 13th centuries, most of which were built of fieldstone, but some of which were constructed of brick. This is the result of a building program undertaken by the Diocese of Lund, which aimed to provide the entire Angeln region with churches.^[28] The churches in Ulsnis and Sieverstedt are considered the oldest, those in Brodersby-Goltoft and Havetoft the most original, the one in Grundhof the largest, and the one in Sörup the most architecturally significant. Besides the fieldstone and brick churches, the churches built from precisely hewn granite blocks stand out, presumably constructed by craftsmen from the Schleswig Cathedral workshop. Typical features of the region include the nave, which in most churches is entered from the south side through the former men's entrance, and a chancel that is lower (recessed) in comparison to the nave. Instead of stone church towers, which were added to some churches in later centuries, many Angeln churches still have freestanding bell towers called Glockenstapel (Danish: Klokkestabel), the oldest of which is preserved in Norderbrarup, or low wooden bell towers attached directly to the church.^[29] Glockenstapel (lit. 'bell stacks') are bell towers that are particularly common in the marshlands of Schleswig-Holstein, in Angeln, and in neighboring Denmark, as well as in parts of Sweden (Swedish: Klockstapel). These often wooden bell towers usually stand freely next to churches and are not structurally connected to them. They are generally shorter than typical church towers.

One of the most visited and famous churches in Angeln is Schleswig Cathedral. It houses the Bordesholm Passion Altarpiece (Bordesholmer Passionsaltar), also known as the Brüggemann Altarpiece (Brüggemannaltar), a 12.6 m (41.3 ft) high winged altarpiece crafted by Hans Brüggemann between 1514 and 1521. Originally the main altarpiece of the Bordesholm monastery church, it has stood in the choir of Schleswig Cathedral since 1666. This altarpiece, from the transitional period between the Late Gothic and Renaissance periods, is considered one of the most important altarpieces in Germany, both for its artistic design and its comprehensive iconographic program.^[30]

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  St.-Annen-Kirche, Taarstedt (Torsted Kirke)
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  Interior of Marienkirche Schaalby-Kahleby (Kalleby Kirke)
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  Detail above the portal of Marienkirche Sörup (Sørup Kirke)
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  The Bordesholm Passion Altarpiece in Schleswig Cathedral

Castles

Gottorf Castle (German: Schloss Gottorf; Danish: Gottorp Slot; Low German: Slott Gottorp) in Schleswig is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein.^[31] Over its more than eight-hundred-year history, it has been rebuilt and expanded several times, transforming from a medieval castle to a Renaissance fortress and finally to a Baroque palace. It gave its name to the ducal House of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, from which, among others, four Swedish kings (see House of Holstein-Gottorp (Swedish line)) and several Russian tsars (see House of Romanov) emerged in the 18th century. The castle was owned by the Danish royal family and the Dukes of Schleswig. After Denmark annexed the Gottorf portion of the Duchy of Schleswig in 1713, the castle served as the seat of the Royal Danish Governor of Schleswig, and subsequently as a barracks. Today, it houses two Schleswig-Holstein state museums as well as the Schleswig-Holstein State Museums Foundation. North of the castle, the Neuwerk Garden, one of the first Baroque terraced gardens in Northern Europe, has been reconstructed in recent years.

Glücksburg Castle (German: Schloss Glücksburg; Danish: Lyksborg Slot; Low German: Slott Glücksborg) is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe;^[32][33] the moated castle is located in Glücksburg on the Flensburg Fjord and is one of the most famous sights in Schleswig-Holstein. It houses a museum and is open to visitors. Glücksburg served as the ancestral seat of the ducal lines of the House of Glücksburg; the family members are related to almost all European dynasties. For a time, the castle was the residence of the Danish royal family.

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  Gottorf Castle
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  Castle chapel of Gottorf Castle
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  Glücksburg Castle
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  Glücksburg Castle