SCHLESWIG - HOLSTEIN - Geography and history
Lying between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Schleswig-Holstein is the most northerly Bundesland and is bounded by Denmark, and the Bundesländer Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony. Without division on NUTS 2-level (Regierungsbezirke), its 1 127 municipalities (including two uninhabited) are administratively divided at NUTS 3-level into four town districts (Kreisfreie Städte) and 11 rural districts (Kreise). The capital of the Land is Kiel. The Land includes Fehmarn island in the Baltic Sea, Helgoland in the North Sea and the North Frisian islands within the Wadden Sea to the west.
Since the time of Charlemagne the northern border of the old empire has been formed by the river Eider running straight across the Land. Many centuries later the people of Schleswig in the north and those of Holstein in the south joined together. Friendly relations with Denmark were established after a varying history.
Schleswig-Holstein continues to act as a link and hub: the highway route to Denmark across the northern border as well as the ferry route via Fehmarn island and the ferry routes from the harbours of Kiel and Lübeck are important gateways to northern Europe, the Baltic countries and Russia. The Kiel Canal running between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea is one of the busiest man-made waterways in the world.
Little industry but an unspoiled environment
Schleswig-Holstein is well suited to leisure pursuits. The Baltic coast with its undulating hills, bays, firths and beaches contrasts with the flat west coast, where marshland, tidal flats and islands with great beaches combine to form a unique beauty. The southern part bordering Hamburg is a popular residential area for many commuters who work in Hamburg.
However, the transport infrastructure does not reflect the geographical importance of the Land, which has increased still further with the reunification of Germany and the opening of the border to Mecklenburg. In particular, the road and rail crossings of the Elbe by bridge or tunnel are still bottlenecks.
The weight of manufacturing industries in the Land is still below average. There is almost a complete absence of heavy industry, car manufacturing and aircraft construction. Worth mentioning are manufacturing of chemicals, chemical and pharmaceutical products, medical and surgical equipment, publishing and printing as well as manufacturing of mobile phones and food products. Many firms are subsidiaries of non-resident companies. The once important shipbuilding industry has experienced a number of crises in worldwide competition. As everywhere, agriculture has declined in importance but still makes a larger contribution to value-added than in any other of the old Bundesländer. The region has always had the largest proportion of servicemen per population of any Bundesland. Therefore the extensive troop reductions in recent years have caused greater concern here than elsewhere, because the regional labour market had formerly depended greatly on the army's presence.
Differentials from north to south and east to west
Shipping conditions on the Baltic coast are considerably better than in the North Sea. That is why the largest cities in the Land are in the east: Flensburg, Kiel and Lübeck. Already in the 19th century there was a difference in population distribution between east and west, which led to an economic difference in the course of industrialisation. The chemical works at Brunsbüttel and the oil refinery at Heide are the only important industries on the west coast. The west coast does not have any universities, and only one public technical college is located in this region in Heide. There is also a considerable economic disparity between north and south. After the Second World War there was a shift in population from the city of Hamburg to parts of southern Holstein, although many of those involved continued to work in Hamburg. The north was particularly affected by the structural changes in agriculture and shipbuilding, while the south saw the establishment of a large number of businesses, due to its proximity to the Hamburg metropolis. The result was long-term economic growth above the average for the Land and a lower level of unemployment. The average disposable income of private households in the four administrative districts (Kreise) bordering Hamburg is much higher than in Schleswig, the northern part of the Land.
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