Editing Southern Schleswig

{{Short description|Southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany}}
[[File:Südschleswig.png|thumb|Southern Schleswig (with German, Danish and North Frisian place names)]]
[[File:Lyksborg slot 9-7-2005.jpg|thumb|Residence of the Danish kings at [[Glücksburg Castle]]]]
[[File:DanmarkSydslesvigSkaaneland.png|thumb|Today's Denmark and the former Danish provinces Southern Schleswig, Skåne, Halland and Blekinge.]]
[[File:Flag of the Danes of Southern Schleswig.png|thumb|The [[Coat of arms of Schleswig|Schleswig Lions]] as heraldic emblem of Schleswig / Sønderjylland]]
'''Southern Schleswig''' ({{langx|de|Südschleswig}} or ''{{lang|de|Landesteil Schleswig}}'', {{langx|da|Sydslesvig}}; {{langx|frr|Söödslaswik}}) is the southern half of the former [[Duchy of Schleswig]]<ref>Kathrin Sinner: Schleswig-Holstein - das nördliche Bundesland: Räumliche Verortung als kulturelles Identitäskonstruk, page 86</ref> in Germany on the [[Jutland Peninsula]]. The geographical area today covers the large area between the [[Eider (river)|Eider]] river in the south and the [[Flensburg Fjord]] in the north,<ref>Sønderjylland A-Å, Aabenraa 2011, page 364</ref> where it borders [[Denmark]]. Northern Schleswig, congruent with the former [[South Jutland County]], forms the southernmost part of Denmark. The area belonged to the [[Denmark|Crown of Denmark]] until Prussia and Austria declared war on Denmark in 1864. Denmark wanted to give away the German-speaking [[Holstein|Holsten]] and set the new border at the small river [[Ejderen]]. Prussian chancellor [[Otto von Bismarck]] concluded that this justified a war, and even proclaimed it a "holy war". He also turned to the [[Emperor of Austria]], [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] for help. A similar war in 1848 had gone poorly for the Prussians. With Prussia's modern weapons and the help from both the Austrians and General [[Helmuth von Moltke the Elder|Moltke]], the Danish army was destroyed and forced to make a disorderly retreat. The Prussian-Danish border was then moved from the [[Elbe]] up in [[Jutland]] to the ''{{lang|da|Kongeåen}}'' creek.

After the [[First World War]], two referendums decided a new border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/genforeningen-1920/|title=Vis|last=103982@au.dk|date=13 April 2018|website=danmarkshistorien.dk}}</ref><ref>German, Troels Fink: "Geschichte des schleswigschen Grenzlandes" Publisher: Munksgaard, Copenhagen 1958, pages 178-192.</ref>
The northern part reverted to Denmark as ''{{lang|da|Nordslesvig}}'' (North Slesvig). But the middle and southern part, including Schleswig's only city, [[Flensburg]], remained in what since the [[unification of Germany]] had become German hands. In Denmark, the loss of ''{{lang|da|Flensborg}}'' caused a political crisis, ''{{lang|da|Påskekrisen}}'' or the Easter Crisis, as it happened during the Easter of 1920.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.historiefaget.dk/emner/1920erne-1930erne/paaskekrisen-1920/ |title=Påskekrisen 1920: HISTORIEFAGET |access-date=2016-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507194406/http://www.historiefaget.dk/emner/1920erne-1930erne/paaskekrisen-1920/ |archive-date=2016-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_historie/Danmark_1849-1945/P%C3%A5skekrisen_1920|title=Påskekrisen 1920 - Gyldendal - Den Store Danske|website=denstoredanske.dk}}</ref> After the [[Second World War]] the area remained as German territory and, with [[Holstein]], formed the new [[States of Germany|state]] of [[Schleswig-Holstein]] as a part of the [[Federal Republic of Germany]] ([[West Germany]]) in 1948.

==History==
The Schleswig lands north of the [[Eider (river)|Eider]] river and the [[Bay of Kiel]] had been a [[fief]] of the [[Denmark|Danish Crown]] since the Early Middle Ages. The southern [[Holstein]] region belonged to [[Francia]] and later to the [[Holy Roman Empire]], but it was held as an imperial fief by the Danish kings since the 1460 [[Treaty of Ribe]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.region.de/index.php?id=162&L=1%2Ftrainers.php%3Fid%3D%27__| title = Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig: ''Politische Entwicklungen im Mittelalter''}}</ref>

The [[Schleswig-Holstein Question]] was first brought to a head during the [[Revolutions of 1848]], when, from 1848 to 1851, revolting German-speaking [[National liberalism|National liberals]] backed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] fought for the separation of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark in the [[First Schleswig War]]. Though the ''status quo ante bellum'' was restored, the conflict lingered on, and on 1 February 1864 Prussian and [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] troops crossed the Eider, sparking off the [[Second Schleswig War]], after which Denmark had to cede Schleswig and Holstein according to the [[Treaty of Vienna (1864)|Treaty of Vienna]]. After the [[Austro-Prussian War]] of 1866, victorious Prussia took control over all Schleswig and Holstein but was obliged by the [[Peace of Prague (1866)|Peace of Prague]] to hold a referendum in predominantly Danish-speaking Northern Schleswig, which it never did.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.region.de/index.php?id=169&L=0%252C%252C| title = Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig: ''Nationale Entwicklung im 19. Jahrhundert'' {{in lang{{!}}de}}}}</ref>

After the German defeat in [[World War I]], the [[Schleswig Plebiscites]] were decreed by the 1919 [[Treaty of Versailles]], in which the present-day German-Danish border was drawn. The border took effect on 15 June 1920, dividing Schleswig into a southern and northern part and leaving a considerable Danish and German minority on both sides.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.vimu.info/general_04.jsp?id=mod_4_5&lang=da&u=general&flash=true| title = vimu - Det Virtuelle Museum: ''Genforening'' {{in lang{{!}}da}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.vimu.info/general_04.jsp?id=mod_4_5&lang=de&u=general&flash=true&s=| title = vimu - Das Virtuelle Museum: ''Volksabstimmung'' {{in lang{{!}}de}}}}</ref>

==Modern day==
Southern Schleswig is part of the German [[states of Germany|state]] (''{{lang|de|Bundesland}}'') of [[Schleswig-Holstein]], thus its denotation as ''{{lang|de|Landesteil Schleswig}}''. It does not, however, form an administrative entity, but instead consists of the [[districts of Germany|districts]] (''{{lang|de|Landkreise}}'') of [[Schleswig-Flensburg]], [[Nordfriesland]], the [[urban districts of Germany|urban district]] (''{{lang|de|Kreisfreie Stadt}}'') of [[Flensburg]] and the northern part of [[Rendsburg-Eckernförde]] (former district of ''Eckernförde'' plus the historic ''Hohner [[Hundred (county division)|Harde]]'').

[[File:Learn Danish in Germany, 2012, ubt.JPG|thumb|''Learn Danish'' banner in [[Flensburg]], one of the major cities of Southern Schleswig]]
Besides Standard German, [[West Low German|Low Saxon]] dialects ([[Schleswigsch]]) are spoken, as well as [[Danish language|Danish]] (Standard Danish or South Schleswig Danish) and its [[South Jutlandic]] variant, plus [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]] in the west.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.region.de/index.php?id=219&L=0%252C%252C| title = Region Sønderjylland-Schleswig: ''Sprachen und Dialekte südlich der Grenze''{{in lang{{!}}de}}}}</ref> Danish and North Frisian are official minority languages. Many of the inhabitants who speak only German and not Danish do not consider the region any different from the rest of Schleswig-Holstein. This notion is disputed by those defining themselves as [[Danes]], South Schleswigans or Schleswigans, particularly historians and people organised in the institutions of the [[Danish minority of Southern Schleswig]], such as the [[South Schleswig Voter Federation]], a political party representing the Danish and North Frisian minorities in the [[Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein]] and exempted from the 5% [[Election threshold|electoral threshold]]. Many of the last names found in the region are very often of Scandinavian or Danish form, with the ''-sen'' endings like Petersen.

The major cities of Southern Schleswig are [[Flensburg]], the city of [[Schleswig (city)|Schleswig]], [[Eckernförde]] and [[Husum]].

== See also ==

* [[Danish Royal Enclaves]]
*[[Southern Schleswig Danish]]

==Bibliography==
* Lars Henningsen: ''Sydslesvigs danske historie'', Flensborg 2013.
* Lars Henningsen: ''Zwischen Grenzkonflikt und Grenzfrieden'', Flensburg 2011 (as [http://star.dcbib.dk/publikationer/065_Zwischen_Grenzkonflikt_und_Grenzfrieden.pdf pdf document])
* Karen Margrethe Pedersen: ''Dansk sprog i Sydslesvig: det danske sprogs status inden for det danske mindretal i Sydslesvig'', Institut for grænseregionsforskning Aabenraa 2000

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Regions of Schleswig-Holstein]]
[[Category:Duchy of Schleswig]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Denmark]]
[[Category:Denmark–Germany relations]]