Schleswig-Holstein Timeline

9th century
In order to protect themselves from invading Saxons, the Danes in the north built the DANEWERK and the Saxons built a protection against the Wenden (Slavs), the LIMES SAXONIAE, running from Kiel south to the River Elbe, through Lüneburg. In Wagrien                    (now Ostholstein, Probstei) we still find traces of  Wendish influence, i.e. the name of the village Wenddorp (Wendtorf), some Wendish  family names, like Jessien, Puck and Steffen. Names ending in –iz, -ow or –in are usually names of Slavic origin.

1140	Wagrien, land of the Slavs is conquered by the Holsten and Storman. The Slavs lose their independence, become Christians and assimilate with their neighbors, who were recruited from Flanders, Holland, Westphalia and Friesland.

1200	Beginning of dyke building, first under the supervision of the church, then it became privatized. In the 1600s this lead to more reliable structures, i.e. people from the Netherlands brought techniques with them for considerable improvements.

1201	The land north of the river Elbe becomes Danish

1202	Stadtrecht (privilege of towns to have separate laws than the rest of the country) in Schleswig and other cities, like Mölln and Lübeck, Oldenburg, Plön, Itzehoe, Kiel, Eutin, Lauenburg. The Bürger (citizen) comes into being. Next to tax records citizenship records were kept.

1227	Battle of Bornhöved signified the end of Danish rule in Holstein

1273	Holstein was divided into 5 duchies: Kiel, Segeberg, Plön, Rendsburg and Pinneberg

1350	The first Black Death epidemic swept over Schleswig-Holstein, the last one occurred in the middle of the 1700s. It wiped out up to 50% of the population in some areas.

1350s       The Hanse (an alliance of merchants) with the seat in Lübeck flourishes in the Baltic region, to be reduced in influence by Dutch enterprising and Hamburg’s outreach to the West in the 1600s.

1362	The great tidal wave “De grote Manndränke” claimed more than 100.000 deaths, 34 churches and the city of Rungholt. After this tragedy, the race for land reclamation started in Northern Frisia.

1459	Death of Duke Adolf VII. He is the last Schauenburger.

1460	Election of Christian I, Duke of Schleswig and Earl of Holstein Privilege of Ripen, a promise that the territories of Schleswig und Holstein will not be divided any more.

1465	Husum receives the status of Flecken. A Flecken is a settlement be- tween the seize of a village and a town, also known as Blek. Flecken were rural villages centrally located. They had guild privileges for journeymen, exemption from military service and the right to hold market days. 1475	First printing press in Lübeck

1494	First printing of the Bible in Lübeck

1496	        Vierstädtegericht (four city courts)  In order to get away from Lübeck law (Lübeck had the court of ultimate resort) the Danish King Johann and Duke Friedrich I established a new court system.

1522	Beginning of Reformation in Husum.

1530	Beginning of witch hunt with first burn-up in Kiel, comes to an end in 1734

1542	Acceptance of the order of the Lutheran Church in Schleswig and Holstein. Founding of state church. Pinneberg and Lauenburg are stragglers. They accept Lutheran order in 1561 and 1585 respectively. Church books with sometimes marriage records first and then birth and deaths information are kept.

1581	Dithmarschen was divided into North- and South Dithmarschen

1584	The first known protection of Jewish citizens in Altona proclaimed Jewish citizens were few in Schleswig-Holstein. They were mainly accepted in towns and Altona had the greatest contingent. Portuguese Jews, the Sephards settle in Glückstadt in the early1600s.

1614	Serfdom accepted by Schleswig-Holstein’s governing forces. Serfdom came into being through wealthy landowners buying surrounding land belonging to farmers. With the purchase of their land the farmers had to give their services to the land owner and were bound by the “Schollenband” (no freedom to move). Services given to the wealthy land owners started at 6 years old. The land owner had total control over his serfs, gave permission to marry and was also responsible for his subjects’ conscription.

1627	The 30 Years War reaches the North. Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein were occupied by Wallenstein’s troops and by 1629 the land was devastated because the soldiers lived of the land.

1643	Swedish-Danish War. The war was instigated by Christian IV, who imposed tariffs. The Swedes saw this as a threat because Denmark interfered their trading with the Netherlands and Hamburg. Anew devastation of the land followed

1650	Around this time Holländer (Dutch citizens) start dairy farming in Schleswig-Holstein

1655	Danish-Swedish War until 1660 when in Denmark Absolutism (the legislative, judicial and executive authority was in the hands of one sovereign) was introduced which spread throughout Europe and ended with the French Revolution, which basically questioned the appointment by divine right. 1688	Abolishment of serfdom starts in Schmoel. By 1805 serfdom was altogether abandoned.

1711	Bannmeilenverordnung. To protect the urban trade from the rural one, the authorities put a one-mile ban around the city. Working ones trade was only possible within a certain perimeter. 1720	The Danish crown receives the Gottorf part of Schleswig 1721	The Danes get Rantzau 1761   Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön becomes Danish Kolonisten (colonizers) arrive in Southern Jutland and Schleswig- Holstein 1769	First census taken in the Duchies controlled by the Danes

1770	No more use of patronymics in Schleswig by royal decree

1773   Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein become permanently Danish, 1815 the Duchy of Lauenburg also becomes Danish.

1798	 First address book for Lübeck 1800	   Before this date seamen and adventurers would immigrate, but at the beginning at the 19th century immigration from Schleswig- Holstein would really pick up among the population, peaking in           1880 with 12000 to 14000 people leaving, many via Hamburg starting 1850

The population starts to choose German as their language rather than Danish. The German language advances to Flensburg in the first decades

1803   Duchy of Lauenburg occupied by Napoleon

1805	 Census taken

1810	 Principality of Lübeck is occupied by Napoleon I until 1813, after which it becomes part of Oldenburg again

1811	City of Lübeck becomes part of  France,  Lauenburg too

1812	 Immunization mandatory

1814	 School becomes mandatory

1815	 Duchy of Lauenburg becomes Danish

1819	 Steam ship line Caledonia Kiel-Copenhagen opens

1835	Census 1840	Census 1845	Census

1848	Revolt of the German Schleswig-Holsteiners against Denmark 1855	Census 1860	Census

1864	After several military turmoils Denmark abdicates the three Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg.

1867	Schleswig-Holstein becomes a Prussian province

1874	Civil Registration begins

1875	Lauenburg becomes part of the Prussian province Schleswig-Holstein

1890	Helgoland becomes part of Schleswig-Holstein 1920	Poll in the area north of Flensburg and south of Tondern to decide whether to remain Danish or become German. Approx. ¾ of the population opted to be Danish. The border between Denmark and Germany runs just north of Flensburg to this day.