54 28 '12 "N 9 30' 51" E / 54.47, 9.51416

Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein (Schleswig-Holstein)
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of Schleswig-Holstein (dark green) within Germany
Administration
Country	Germany
Capital	Kiel
Minister-President	Peter Harry Carstensen ( CDU )
Party (or parties)	CDU and FDP
Diet : CDU : SPD : FDP : A90/Verts : Die Linke : SSW : Total:	34 25 14 12 6 4 95
Number of votes in the Bundesrat	4
Statistical data
Area	15 799.38 km ( 12th )
Population (31/12/06)	2,834,305 inhab. ( 9th )
Density	179.39 inhabitants / km ( 10th )
GDP (2006)	69.862 billion ( 10th )
GDP per capita.	24 600 ( 9 th )
Other information
ISO 3166-2	DE-SH
Official site	Schleswig-holstein.de

Schleswig-Holstein (also: Schleswig-Holsace, in French) is one of the German Lnder component of Germany.

Physical Geography

Schleswig-Holstein is the crossroads of Germany to Scandinavia and in particular to Denmark , with an area of 15,770 km ² and has 2.8 million inhabitants. Located between the North Sea and Baltic Sea , is bounded on the north by Denmark and south by the Elbe , and also adjoins the Lnder Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , in Lower Saxony and Hamburg. The Land consists of two historical entities, the former duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, separated at the height of the channel Kiel , which links the two seas.

If the inhabitants of Schleswig-Holstein usually speak a little German mark, the use of Low German (Plattdeutsch) however is still very widespread in the countryside. It even lists some 10,000 speakers of the language Frisian Nordfriesland in the region on the west coast, and the use of Danish in the Danish minority.

Geography

Administrative Subdivisions

Districts (Kreise) and cities, districts (Kreisfreie Stdte)

Below the headquarters of Kiel , Schleswig-Holstein has four cities with autonomy ( Kiel , Lbeck , Flensburg , Neumnster ) and 11 Kreise (districts).

The 11 districts (Kreise) of Schleswig-Holstein:

The 4 cities districts (Kreisfreie Stdte) in Schleswig-Holstein:

In addition, there are four cities boroughs or independent cities (Kreisfreie Stdte) that pertain to any district:

1. Kiel
2. Lbeck
3. Neumnster
4. Flensburg

Cities and towns

History

History of Schleswig-Holstein is marked by its location between two seas, and especially by the power struggle between Danes and Germans. The river Eider in the north channel of Kiel , is from the ^nineteenth century the natural border between Danes and Germans. The privilege granted by Emperor Barbarossa in the city of Lbeck in 1188 is the basis for his ascension as the capital of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages. In 1356 and 1634 two major storm surges (Mandrnke) swallow nearly a quarter of the Land and give birth to the islands of the West Coast.

The Schleswig is a Danish fief, while the Holstein is a stronghold of empire. Not until the Treaty of Ripen in 1460 the Schleswig-Holstein, consisting of the Duchies of Schleswig in the north and that of Holstein to the south, is definitively established as an entity under the reign of Christian ^I of Holstein , King of Denmark and Norway. From this period dates the currency of the Land "op Evig ungedeelt (indivisible for eternity). If the Danes say their suzerainty over the country until its final connection in 1806 the Danish krone, its policy of forced annexation causes a number of disorders. In 1864 , Bismarck has the cooperation of Austria to intervene and push the Danes on the peninsula of Jutland : the " war of the Duchies. Following the convention of Gastein , the Denmark was forced to cede these territories. Schleswig is then administered by Prussia and Holstein by Austria. In 1866 , after the expulsion of Austrians from the Germanic Confederation , the two areas become full-fledged province of Prussia as the province of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1920 , after the First World War , a referendum is held in the central and northern Schleswig, resulting in the return of Northern Schleswig to Denmark and the final fixing of the border between Germany and Denmark.

In 1945 , the Germany is divided into four occupation zones , the province of Schleswig-Holstein is then placed in the British zone (except for an area east of Ratzeburg , which was attributed to the area Soviet occupation and later integrated to Land East Germany in Mecklenburg ). It regained its autonomy in 1949 , during the reorganization of the German State Land.

The Second World War has not only caused the destruction of an important part of the heritage of Kiel and Lbeck , seaports and major port, but has primarily affected the population structure of the Land. Indeed, almost a million refugees from the eastern provinces of the Third Reich - over a third of the population - have settled in the state after 1945.

Environment

The Land is located on an important area of biological connectivity (corridors of avian migration and underwater corridors including linking the Baltic Sea to the English Channel / North Sea ), important for the pan-European ecological network and the proposed Green Belt.

The coastline and seabed could however be affected by several sequels of war , including a potential source of pollution that are dumped munitions depots after the world wars , and wreck containing ammunition and other pollutants. This matter is subject to environmental assessment and on maritime safety (navigation, fishing, scuba diving ...) followed by the ministry of agriculture, environment and rural areas .

Politics

Generalities

Like all German states , Schleswig-Holstein has its own constitution (Verfassung), enacted in 1949 under the title "regional status" (Landessatzung). It establishes a parliamentary system in which government, led by Minister-President (Ministerprsident), is responsible to the regional parliament, called the Diet , which can be dissolved under certain conditions.

There, according to the electoral law adopted in 2003 , 69 members elected since 2000 , for a term of five years. To enter, parties must obtain at least 5% of the vote, with the exception of the Federation of voters in Schleswig-du-Sud (SSW), representing the Danish minority and sits right in the Landtag.

Political History

Although the Constitution dates from 1949 , the state is created from 1945 by the British occupation authorities. It becomes 1950 a bastion of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), which govern alone or in coalition until 1988. The first ten years were marked by a strong political instability since eight governments and six successive presidents Minister between 1945 and 1954.

The Christian Democrat Kai-Uwe von Hassel , brought to a head of government in 1954 , will be the first to succeed himself after elections in 1958 , then 1962. He resigned shortly thereafter, opened eight years in office of Helmut Lemke , head of a coalition with the Liberals. That the elections of 1971 , which gives way to Lemke Gerhard Stoltenberg , the CDU will truly establish its dominion over the Land winning the absolute majority of seats in the Landtag. This scenario was repeated in 1975 and 1979 , making the Schleswig-Holstein, the stronghold of Stoltenberg.

Upon leaving the Land for the federal government in 1982 , he was replaced by Uwe Barschel , aged just 38 years. This reinforces the position of the Christian Democrats in election 1983 , before losing in a case of espionage against the Social Democratic Bjrn Engholm , during the election campaign of 1987. The case was revealed on the eve of the vote, the CDU lost a lot of support and the regional parliament finds himself divided between 37 members of the center-right and as many left-center. Barschel committed suicide a few days later in Geneva and a new poll, conducted in 1988 , was won by the SPD with 54.9% of votes, the highest score of a party in the state.

Engholm, renewed in 1992 , was forced to resign a year later, caught in its contradictions concerning espionage Barschel. It is then replaced by his finance minister, Heide Simonis , who became the first woman to head a government in Germany. In 1996 , she is forced to form a coalition with the environmentalists , it ensures the re-election in the elections of 2000 against former Christian Democrat Minister of Defense Volker Rhe.

In 2005 , the CDU, led by MP Peter Harry Carstensen , needed a seat facing the Social Democrats but can not form of alliance with the FDP , it amounted to only 34 deputies out of 69. For its part, the coalition of Simonis holds only 33 but thinks he can count on the support of both elected Danish minority party. However, during the investiture vote, a voice missing systematically Minister-President to be invested for a fourth term, and she finally gave up to succeed. Carstensen then entered negotiations with the SPD to form a grand coalition in which he takes the lead on 27 April 2005.

Recent political life

The last election was held on 27 September 2009 , in advance, because of the failure of the grand coalition between Christian Democrats and Social Democrats , who together hold 59 seats. During this election, no fewer than 95 members were elected, because of the additional terms obtained by the CDU.

Following these elections, the Minister-President outgoing Christian Democrat Peter Harry Carstensen , could form a black-yellow coalition involving his party Liberal Democrats and with a majority of 49 elected. However, following a recount of votes, the Liberals have lost a member in favor of the leftist party Die Linke. Moreover, the Constitutional Court ruled on 30 August 2010 , following a complaint by the Greens and Danish minority party , the electoral law was contrary to the Constitution of 1949 and that it should be amended before the organization of regional elections expected in 30 September 2012 at the latest.

Economy

Schleswig-Holstein is currently one of the first German tourist areas. If in addition to tourism, agriculture (cattle and pigs, wheat) and maritime activities (shipyards, maritime transport) still play an important role in the establishment of industries (eg medical technology or Subcontracting car) and the creation of research units have modernized the economy of the Land. However the richness of the Land is unevenly distributed: the catchment area of Hamburg , home to one third of the population of Schleswig-Holstein is a growth area of the first order, while the west coast and the neighboring region of Denmark ( Flensburg ) experience a decline in activity.

The unemployment rate of the Land (9.7% in 2003) is in the national average but remains slightly higher than in the old Lnder. If the Schleswig-Holstein has caught up in the last decade some of its economic backwardness compared to the national average since 2003 is more affected by economic conditions.

Culture

To become better known abroad, Schleswig-Holstein holds for fifteen years been the "Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the largest international festival of classical music in Europe. Many people who have marked the cultural and political heritage of Germany came from Schleswig-Holstein as the composer Carl Maria von Weber , the painter Emil Nolde , writers Friedrich Hebbel and Theodor Storm and especially the great German novelists of ^twentieth century , the brothers Thomas Mann and Heinrich Mann , born in Lbeck. Similarly, major politicians have roots: Willy Brandt , former Chancellor, Lubeck, his successor Helmut Schmidt and finally Otto von Bismarck , first chancellor of the Second Reich.

This is also the land that is held each year on Wacken Open Air , the largest festival of metal in the world.

See also

Related articles

• List of dukes of Schleswig
• Ferdinand Tnnies
• VfB Lbeck , football club

External Links

• Official site of the Land Schleswig-Holstein
• VfB Lbeck (football club, www.vfb-luebeck.de)

References

The 16 federal states of Germany
Baden-Wurttemberg Lower Saxony Bavaria Berlin Brandenburg Bremen Hamburg Hesse Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Rhine-Westphalia Rhineland-Palatinate Saar Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig-Holstein Thuringia

• Germany portal

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