SCHLESWIG, town and capital of the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein on the narrow arm of the sea called the Schlei, 3o m. to the N.W. of Kiel on the railway from Hamburg to Flensburg. Pop. (1933) 20,687. The town consists mainly of a single street, 31- m. long, forming a semicircle round the Schlei. The church of St. Peter (I 'co), renewed in the Gothic style in the i 5th century, contains a fine carved oak reredos by Hans BrUggemann. The former commercial importance of the town has disappeared, and the Schlei now affords access to small vessels only. Fishing, tanning, flour-milling and gardening are the chief industries.
(ancient forms Sliesthorp, Sliaswic, i.e., the town or bay of the Slia or Schlei) seems to have been already a place of importance in the 9th century, as a medium of trade between the North Sea and the Baltic. The first Christian church was built here by Ansgarius (d. 865), and it became the seat of a bishop about a century later. The town, which obtained civic rights in 1200, also became the seat of the dukes of Schles wig, but its commerce gradually dwindled owing to the rivalry of Lubeck, the wars in which the district was involved, and the silting up of the Schlei. At the partition of 1544 the old castle of Gottorp, built in 116o for the bishop, became the seat of the Gottorp line of the Schleswig-Holstein family, which remained here till expelled by the Danish king Frederick IV. in 1713. From '731 to 1846 it was the seat of the Danish governor of the duchies. For later history see SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION.
a province in the north-west of Prussia, formed out of the once Danish duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and lauenburg, and bounded west by the North Sea, north by Denmark, east by the Baltic Sea, Llibeck and Mecklen burg, and south by the lower course of the Elbe (separating it from Hanover). It thus consists of the southern half of the Cim brie peninsula, and forms the connecting link between Germany and Denmark. As a result of the plebiscite taken in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles in 1920, the Northern Zone of the existing German province of Schleswig-Holstein was restored to Denmark, while the Southern Zone remained part of German territory. The new boundary line runs just north of Sylt, south i
of TOnder and north of Flensburg. In addition to the mainland, which decreases in breadth from south to north, the province in cludes several islands, the most important being Fehmarn in the Baltic, and Heligoland, Sylt and Fi5hr in the North Sea. The total area of the province is 5,815 sq.m.
The more ancient geological formations are scarcely met with in Schleswig-Holstein. The contrast between the two coast-lines of the province is marked. The Baltic coast has generally steep well defined banks and is irregular, being pierced by numerous long and narrow inlets (Fohrden) which often afford excellent harbours.
The North Sea coast is low and flat, and its smooth outline is interrupted only by the estuary of the Eider and the peninsula of Eiderstedt. Dunes or sand-hills, though rare on the protected mainland, occur on Sylt and other islands, while the small flat islands called Halligen require protection by dykes.
The climate of Schleswig-Holstein is mainly determined by the proximity of the sea, and the mean annual temperature, varying from 45° in the north to 49° in the south, is rather higher than is usual in the same latitude. Rain and fog are frequent, but the climate is on the whole healthy. The Elbe forms the southern boundary of Holstein for 65 m., but the only river of importance within the province is the Eider, which rises in Holstein, and after a course of 12o m. falls into the North Sea, forming an estuary 3 to I2 m. in breadth. It is navigable from its mouth as far as Rendsburg, which is on the Kaiser Wilhelm (Kiel-Elbe) canal, which intersects Holstein. There are numerous lakes in north-east Holstein, the largest of which are the Ploner See (12 sq.m.) and the Selenter See (9 sq.m.).