Province of Schleswig-Holstein

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Schleswig-Holstein

Province of Prussia

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1868 — 1946

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Flag	Coat of arms

The Province of Schleswig-Holstein (red), within the Kingdom of Prussia, within the German Empire

Capital

Kiel (1866-1879)
Schleswig (1879-1917)
Kiel (1917-1946)

History

- Established

1868

- Loss of N. Schleswig

15 June 1920

- Greater Hamburg Act

1 April 1937

- Disestablished

1946

Area

- 1905 (?)

19,004 km²
7,337 sq mi

- 1939

15,682 km²
6,055 sq mi

Population

- 1905 (?) est.

1,504,339

Density

79.2 /km²
205 /sq mi

- 1939 est.

1,598,328

Density

101.9 /km²
264 /sq mi

Today part of

Schleswig-Holstein
Region Syddanmark

Map of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein as of 1905.

The Province of Schleswig-Holstein (German: Provinz Schleswig-Holstein) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in 1864. Following the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, which ended in Austrian defeat, Schleswig and Holstein were annexed by Prussia. The province was created in 1868 and also included the Duchy of Lauenburg.

Following the defeat of Imperial Germany in World War I, the Allied powers organised two plebiscites in Northern and Central Schleswig on 10 February and 14 March 1920, respectively. In Northern Schleswig 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% for staying with Germany. In Central Schleswig the situation was reversed with 80% voting for Germany and 20% for Denmark. No vote ever took place in the southern third of Schleswig.

On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig was officially reunited with Denmark (see: South Jutland County). The remainder of Schleswig remained part of Schleswig-Holstein, now a province of the Free State of Prussia.

With the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937, the Free City of Lübeck was incorporated into the Schleswig-Holstein province, while the city districts of Altona and Wandsbek were incorporated into the Hansestadt Hamburg.

After World War II, Schleswig-Holstein was part of the British occupation zone, although a small part of Schleswig-Holstein east of Ratzeburg was reallocated to Mecklenburg in the Soviet occupation zone. The British-occupied section became the the new German state of Schleswig-Holstein in 1949.