Angeln

Angeln Angeln, Angel
Geographical region Peninsula
From top, left to right: Glücksburg Castle, St. George's church Flensburg-Jürgensby, wind mill in Nieby, nature reserve Geltinger Birk
Coat of arms
Interactive map of Angeln
Country	Germany
State	Schleswig-Holstein
District	Schleswig-Flensburg
Part of	Southern Schleswig
Part of	Jutland
District seat	Schleswig
Largest towns	Flensburg Flensborg Schleswig Slesvig Kappeln Kappel Glücksburg Lyksborg Mittelangeln Midtangel
Area
• Total	1,050 km2 (410 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	201,000
Demonym	Anglian
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Angeln (German and Low German: Angeln; Danish and South Jutlandic: Angel) is a small peninsula in northern Germany, on the Baltic coast of Jutland. Jutland consists of the mainland of Denmark and the northernmost German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Angeln belongs to the region of Southern Schleswig, which constitutes the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein. The region is often referred to in German as Landschaft Angeln (Landscape Anglia)^[1] or Halbinsel Angeln (Anglia Peninsula).^[2]

To the south, Angeln is separated from the neighbouring peninsula of Schwansen by the Schlei Firth, and to the north from the Danish peninsula of Sundeved and the Danish island of Als by the Flensburg Firth. The landscape is hilly, dotted with numerous lakes. Whether ancient Angeln conformed to the borders of the Angeln Peninsula is uncertain. It may have been somewhat larger; however, the ancient sources mainly concur that it did include the peninsula's territory.

Angeln has a significance far beyond its small area and country terrain. According to Bede in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the Continental homeland of the West Germanic tribe of the Angles, that settled East Anglia, Central and Northern England as well as the Eastern Scottish Lowlands, was centred in Angulus, which is traditionally identified as the Angeln Peninsula.^[3] Their migration led to their new homeland being named after them, from which the name "England" derives. England, East, Mid and West Anglia as well as the English language, thus, ultimately derive at least their names from Angeln.

On the Angeln Peninsula are two historically significant castles, which represent the ancestral seat of several European royal houses: Glücksburg Castle in Glücksburg is the seat of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, which is the royal house of Norway and Denmark, and earlier also of Greece and Iceland. King Charles III of the United Kingdom is also a patrilineal member of the House of Glücksburg.^[4] Gottorf Castle in the city of Schleswig is the ancestral seat of the House of Holstein-Gottorp, from which four Swedish kings emerged, as well as of the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, to which the last eight Russian emperors belonged.

The place-name Angeln (Proto-Germanic probably Angulaz, Old English: Ongel, Danish: Angel) is first attested in Widsith, an Old English poem dating to the 6th or 7th century. The most likely explanation is that the Schlei originally bore a name derived from the Proto-Germanic root angwa (narrow). The Schlei is a fjord-like inlet that cuts deep into the landscape and narrows considerably in several places. It separates Angeln and Schwansen from each other. The name would later have transferred from the inlet to the region of Angeln. In modern German, the word eng still carries the meaning of "narrow". A second explanation would be that the name Angeln comes from the Proto-Germanic root angol, and referred to something hook-shaped. According to this theory, the landscape name Angeln would have originated from the same root as the word angling. In German, the old Germanic word root angol has been preserved much more in most words relating to angling than in English: Angelschnur (fishing line), Angelhaken (fish hook; formerly also called an "angle"), Angelrute or Angel (fishing rod), Angelrolle (fishing reel), Angler (angler).^[5][6] It is unclear whether the ancient Angeln corresponded to the region now denoted by the name or whether it was of greater extent.

Angeln is one of four peninsulas lining the Baltic coast of Schleswig-Holstein, along with Schwansen, Danish Wahld and Wagria. These peninsulas are all part of the Schleswig-Holstein Morainic Uplands (Ger. Schleswig-Holsteinisches Moränenhügelland), that were formed during the Weichselian glaciation, and are therefore hilly and dotted with several glacial lakes.

The Anglian lakes are subdivided into the North Anglian Lake Group (Ger. Nordangeliter Seengruppe) and the South Anglian Lake Group (Südangeliter Seengruppe). The River Treene (Dan. Trenen) with its main headstreams Bondenau (Bondeåen) and Kielstau (Kilså) rises in Angeln. Although rising on the Anglian Peninsula in the Baltic Sea, the Treene flows towards the North Sea, being the main tributary of the River Eider (Dan. Ejderen). The Eider is considered the historical southern border of the Danish Realm, as well as the historical border line between Danish and Low German.

The eastern part of the peninsula is called the Anglian Uplands, while the western part is called Luusangeln (de) (Dan. Lusangel). This designation comes from the Anglian Danish word for "bright", lus (Standard Danish lys), and indicates the predominantly light colour of the widespread sand-rich podzols there. Luusangeln constitutes a transition zone from the Anglian Uplands in the east, to the Schleswig Geest west of Angeln, and its appearance resembles a landscape park. The Schleswig Geest in turn merges into the tidal marshes of North Frisia. The northernmost part of Angeln is formed by the Holnis Peninsula (Dan. Holnæs) (de), that projects into the Flensburg Firth and separates the inner firth (Innenförde) from the outer firth (Außenförde).

Apart from Flensburg, which is an independent town, the Angeln Peninsula belongs to the district of Schleswig-Flensburg (Dan. Slesvig-Flensborg), Germany's northeasternmost district (seat: Schleswig (Dan. Slesvig)). This comparatively rural district has approximately 204,761 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2023).

• 
  Südensee (Søndersø), a glacial lake in Angeln
• 
  Valley of the Munkbrarupau (Brarup Å) near Munkbrarup
• 
  Beach of Nieby (Nyby)
• 
  Avenue in Schaalby (Skålby)

The largest North Angeln lakes are:

• Sankelmarker See (Sankelmark Sø)
• Südensee (Søndersø)
• Winderatter See (Venerød Sø)
• Treßsee (Træsø)
• Havetofter See (Havetoft Sø)
• Munkbrarupau (Brarup Å)

The largest South Angeln lakes are:

• Langsee (Schleswig) (Langsøen)
• Arenholzer See (Arnholt Sø)
• Idstedter See (Isted Sø)
• Reethsee (Rørsø)
• Bocksee (Buksø)

• 
  Winderatter See
• 
  Sankelmarker See
• 
  Winderatter See
• 
  Fishing spot at Südensee

The chain of hills running across Angeln between Husby and Kappeln constitutes the drainage divide between the Baltic and North Seas. East of it, small streams mostly called Auen flow towards the Baltic. West of it, most streams flow towards the Treene and later the Eider and hence into the North Sea.

The Treene is the longest tributary of the Eider, and its two headstreams, Bondenau and Kielstau, rise in and flow through Angeln. The sources of the Bondenau are in Mohrkirch and in Sörup-Sörupholz. At Mittelangeln-Bondebrück the Südensee Au joins the Bondenau. The Kielstau rises in Sörup-Schwensby, passes through the Winderatter See and flows into the Bondenau at Großsolt, just before the Bondenau enters the Treßsee. Upon leaving the lake the river takes on the name Treene and leaves Angeln to the west. It enters the Eider at Friedrichstadt, which in turn enters its extensive estuary, the Purrenstrom, at Tönning.

The largest river system that flows entirely in Angeln from its sources to its mouth is the system of the Füsinger Au. This river is called Loiter Au in its upper course and is formed by the confluence of the Boholzer Au (which is called Wellspanger Au in its upper course) and the Oxbek (which is also called Mühlenau, and whose longest tributary is the Flaruper Au). The Füsinger Au flows into the Schlei at Winningmay (municipality of Schaalby), east of Schleswig.

• 
  Map of the longest rivers in northern Schleswig-Holstein
• 
  The Kielstau entering the Winderatter See
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  The Treene valley just west of the Treßsee
• 
  The Lippingau flowing towards the Baltic

There are 10 officially designated nature reserves (Naturschutzgebiete) in Angeln:

• Geltinger Birk (Gelting Birk)
• Holnis (Holnæs)
• Hechtmoor (Hegemose)
• Höftland Bockholmwik und angrenzende Steilküsten (Höftland Bockholmwick and adjacent steep coasts)
• Obere Treenelandschaft (Upper Treene Landscape)
• Os bei Süderbrarup (Sønderbrarup Ås) (Esker near Süderbrarup)
• Pugumer See und Umgebungp (Pugum Sø) (Pugumer See and surroundings)
• Reesholm/Schlei (Rejsholm, Palør))
• Tal der Langballigau (valley of the Langballigau)
• Schleimünde (Sliminde) (mouth of the Schlei)

There is also one nature park, Naturpark Schlei. The Haithabu-Dannewerk nature reserve lies just southwest of Angeln. It stretches along the Danevirke and around the Viking settlement of Hedeby, which constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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  Coast of the Geltinger Birk
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  Landscape of the Geltinger Birk
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  Coast of the Holnis peninsula
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  Schleimünde lighthouse

There are five cities in Anglia. All other settlements are just municipalities, all belonging to an Amt, which is a collection of municipalities administratively classified as between the local and the county government. The only exception is the city of Arnis, which belongs to the Amt of Kappeln-Land.

Flensburg: The largest city touching Anglian territory is Flensburg (pop. 92,550). The city is called Flensborg in Low German and Danish, Flensborre in South Jutlandic, and Flansborj or Flensborag in North Frisian. Only about half of the city is considered part of Anglia, namely the eastern boroughs of Engelsby, Fruerlund, Jürgensby, Mürwik, Sandberg and Tarup, not in Anglia are the boroughs of Altstadt (Innenstadt), Friesischer Berg, Neustadt, Nordstadt, Südstadt, Weiche and Westliche Höhe.^[7] The Anglian districts alone have a population of around 46,000 inhabitants, which is enough to make Flensburg the by far most populous city in the region.

Schleswig: The second-largest city is Schleswig (pop. 25,832), which belongs almost entirely to Anglia, including the city centre. It is called Sleswig in Low German, Slesvig in Danish, and used to be called Slasvjig in Anglian Danish. There are just two boroughs that do not belong to Anglia because they are located on the adjacent Swania Peninsula: St. Jürgen and Klosterhof. To compensate for the loss of political and administrative functions as former capital of the Duchy of Schleswig and later the Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig became the seat of the Schleswig-Holsatian Higher Regional Court, the State Archives, the State Museum of Art and Cultural History and the Archaeological State Museum (the latter two being located in Gottorf Castle) between 1947 and 1948. Schleswig is therefore a cultural and the justicial centre for the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Kappeln (Danish: Kappel) (pop. 8,607) is the third-largest city on Anglian territory. Although most of the city's area has been on the Swania Peninsula since the incorporation of Olpenitz in 1970, most of the districts and the city centre belong to Anglia. The Anglian boroughs are: Dothmark, Ellenberg, Kappeln (core city), Mehlby, Sandbek and Stutebüll. The boroughs in Swania are: Kopperby and Olpenitz. In Kappeln, the region's largest urban development project is being carried out, in the course of which the former Olpenitz naval base is being converted into the "Olpenitz Baltic Sea Resort" (de:Ostseeresort Olpenitz).

Glücksburg (Ostsee): The fourth-largest city of Glücksburg (Ostsee) (pop. 6,377) is the largest city lying entirely in Anglia. It is called Glücksborg in Low German and Lyksborg in Danish. It is the northernmost city in Germany, as List on Sylt, that is known as northernmost settlement of the country, is just a village and municipality. The core area of the city consists of the boroughs of Bremsberg (Bremsbjerg), Sandwig (Sandvig) with Quellental (Kildedal), and Ulstrupfeld (Ulstrupmark). The entire area of ​​the Holnis Peninsula was incorporated into Glücksburg.

Arnis: With less than 300 inhabitants, Arnis (Danish: Arnæs) (pop. 273) is the least populous city in Germany and, at 0.45 square kilometres (0.17 sq mi), also the smallest city in terms of area.^[8] The city extends on a densely built-up small peninsula in the middle of the Schlei.

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  Flensburg is the largest town in Anglia. View of the borough of Jürgensby (Jørgensby) on the Anglian side of the Flensburg Firth.
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  Another view of Jürgensby and the harbour of Flensburg.
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  View from Schleswig Cathedral
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  View of the Schlei Bridge in Kappeln
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  View of the Baltic Sea Resort in Kappeln-Olpenitz

The Neumünster–Flensburg railway runs along the western edge of Anglia, and connects the two largest Anglian cities of Flensburg and Schleswig via the stations of Tarp and Jübek. In the south, it merges into the route to Hamburg, and in the north into the route to Fredericia.

Anglia is crossed by the Kiel–Flensburg railway, that runs from the Schleswig-Holsatian capital of Kiel to Flensburg and connects the Baltic Sea ports of Kiel, Eckernförde and Flensburg. After leaving Kiel, it crosses the Kiel Canal on the Levensau High Bridge, and then runs via Eckernförde and across the Swania Peninsula in the diretion of the Schlei. It crosses the Schlei on the Lindaunis Bridge - a bascule bridge that has been broken for many years and is to be replaced by a new structure by 2027^[9] - between the stations Rieseby in Swania, and Lindaunis, which is the first station in Anglia. It then runs across Anglia in the direction of Flensburg via the stations Süderbrarup, Sörup and Husby. An additional stop is to be set up in Flensburg-Tarup.

At Süderbrarup station, the "Anglian Steam Railway" (Angelner Dampfeisenbahn) (de) branches off from the Kiel–Flensburg line. It runs from Süderbrarup to Kappeln via Wagersrott, Scheggerott, Rabenkirchen, Faulück and Arnis-Grödersby. Some journeys carried out with railbuses do not end in Süderbrarup, but continue all the way to Flensburg.^[10]

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  The Neumünster–Flensburg railway
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  The Kiel–Flensburg railway
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  Bilingual German/Danish signage at Flensburg train station
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  The Anglian Steam Railway at Kappeln

The Bundesautobahn 7 (Federal Motorway 7, from Grenzübergang/Grænseovergang Ellund (D)/Frøslev (DK) to Grenzübergang Füssen (D)/Vils (AT)) runs along the western edge of Anglia, and connects Flensburg to Schleswig. Exits along the Anglian Peninsula are "Flensburg/Harrislee", "Flensburg", "Tarp" and "Schleswig/Schuby". It merges into the Danish Sønderjyske Motorvej (E45) in the direction of Kolding in the north.

The language most spoken in Angeln is German. However the peninsula is also part of the language area of Danish and Low German. The latter is more closely related to English than German is, since it was not affected by the High German consonant shift.

Before the 9th century Angeln was inhabited by the Angles, who spoke a West Germanic dialect that would later evolve into English. A language shift to North Germanic occurred following the departure of the Angles, when the peninsula was occupied by Danes. Danish became the main language of the region between the 9th and 19th centuries. In the 19th century another language shift occurred and the predominant language changed from the North Germanic Danish to the West Germanic Low German. Low German has since been gradually superseded by a variety of Standard German with Low German traits.

The variety of Danish indigenous to Angeln was Angel Danish, a dialect of South Jutlandic (the southernmost variety of Danish spoken on the Jutland peninsula, formerly spoken as far south as Eckernförde).

Danish continues to be spoken in Angeln by a minority but the dialects spoken nowadays are Southern Schleswig Danish, which are not dialects of the previously indigenous South Jutlandic but (Low) German-influenced dialects of Standard Danish. The cities with the largest Danish-speaking minorities are Flensburg, Schleswig and Glücksburg.

Many Angeln place-names are of Danish origin, including those ending in -by (town), such as Brodersby, Nieby and Husby, and -rup (hamlet), such as Sörup, Sterup and Tastrup.

The region was home to the Germanic Angles, some of whom, together with Saxons and Jutes, left their homeland to migrate to the island of Great Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries.

Thorsberg moor is a peat bog in the municipality of Süderbrarup. This inconspicuous body of water is an important archaeological site and was a Germanic sacrificial bog from the times of the Roman Empire. In the period from the 1st century to the early 5th century objects were sacrificed in several phases in Thorsberg Moor, presumably by members of the West Germanic tribe of the Angles. Numerous important and rich cultural and historical finds were made in the bog in the 19th century. The current name does not allow the assumption that the sanctuary was already consecrated to the god Thor at the time of the Angles. Rather, the naming is based on early medieval Danish influence, especially in the Viking Age. With the migration of most Angles to Britain came widespread discontinuity in settlement and cultural structure in Angeln. Whilst it is possible that the early-medieval Danish settlers did worship Thor, the name is more likely to be traced back to a hill with a Viking-Age burial ground and finds, the Thorsberg.

The settlement density in Angeln apparently decreased dramatically in the 5th and 6th centuries and many villages fell into disrepair. A sharp decline in grain pollen suggests that fields were deserted. Locations with heavy clay soils were abandoned first. Since more pollen was found at some locations of the Schleswig Geest (the region neighbouring Angeln), it is assumed that the climate had changed. Increased rainfall could explain this move to the sandy geest areas. Another reason for leaving settlements near the coast is believed to be attacks from the sea. This initially regional migration would also explain another phenomenon: it is now considered likely that between the end of the settlement period of the Angles in Angeln and their arrival in eastern and central England up to 100 years passed. The Angles would have initially moved west, to the Schleswig Geest, before leaving their home completely.

For the years 449–455 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written around 890, describes how Vortigern, a British king, invited the Angles to come and receive land in return for helping him defend his realm against marauding Picts. Those successful Angles sent word back that good land was available and that the British were "worthless". A wholesale emigration of Angles and kindred Germanic peoples followed.

The Chronicle, commissioned by Alfred the Great, drew on earlier oral traditions and on the few written fragments available. The best of these, written around 730, was by the monk Bede, whose history of English Christianity contains the following brief account of the origin and distribution of the Angles:^[11]

From the Angles, that is, the country which is called Angulus, and which is said, from that time, to remain desert to this day, between the provinces of the Jutes and the Saxons, are descended the East Angles, the Midland Angles, Mercians, all the race of the Northumbrians, that is, of those nations that dwell on the north side of the River Humber, and the other nations of the English.

The phrase "north of the Humber" refers to the northern kingdom of Northumbria, which included most of northern England and part of southern Scotland. Mercia was located in central England and broadly corresponds to the English Midlands.

This account can be related to the evidence of archaeology, notably the distribution of types of fibulae, or brooches, worn by both men and women in antiquity. Eastern and northern Britain were settled by groups wearing cruciform brooches, of the style in fashion at the time in coastal Scandinavia, Denmark, and Schleswig-Holstein south to the lower Elbe and east to the Oder, as well as a pocket in coastal Friesland.

After the Angles departed from Angeln, by the 8th century the region was occupied by Danes. This is reflected in the large number of place names ending in -by (town) in the region today. In the 10th century the chronicler Æthelweard reported that the most important town in Angeln was Hedeby.

The unofficial coat of arms of Angeln was designed by Hans Nicolai Andreas Jensen and appeared for the first time in 1847. It consists of nine fields, all but one of which represent the historic Danish hundreds (Danish: herreder, German: Harden) of Angeln:

• Husbyharde (Husby Herred): stylized house
• Munkbrarupharde (Munkbrarup Herred): Saint Lawrence griddle
• Nieharde (Ny Herred): star and crescent
• Schliesharde (Slis Herred): herring and waves
• Eastern Angeln was not part of a hundred, but was directly subordinate to the sovereign. It was only converted into the Kappelner Harde (Kappel Herred) in 1853, and is therefore symbolized by two Schleswig lions.
• Struxdorfharde (Strukstrup Herred): stylized oak
• Satrupharde (Satrup Herred): scythe
• Mohrkirchharde (Mårkær Herred): tau cross
• Füsingharde (Fysing Herred): crossed keys

In the original draft of the coat of arms, the hundred of Husby was symbolically represented by two crossed arrows with a heart in front of them. From 1906 at the latest, the stylized house corresponding to the old hundred seal appeared instead. The original version of the coat of arms can therefore still be found occasionally. The Uggelharde, which only partially lay in Angeln, is not represented in the arms.

Two unofficial flags are in use, one showing the colours of Schleswig-Holstein and the other showing the Nordic cross from the flag of Denmark.

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  Angeln coat of arms
• 
  Angeln flag
• 
  Danish-style flag
• 
  Former subdivision of Angeln into herreder
• 
  Angeln coat of arms as it appeared 1847-1906

• Angles (tribe)
• Anglo-Saxons
• Angel Danish
• List of Germanic peoples
• Thorsberg moor

• Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Book I, Bede, c. 731
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Translated and collated by Anne Savage, Dorset Press, 1983, ISBN 0-88029-061-7
• Malcolm Falkus and John Gillingham, Historical Atlas of Britain, Crescent Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-63382-5

• Bede, ca 731 A.D., Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation
• Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ca 890 A.D.
• Angeln cattle
• Tourism in Angeln
• Cinarchea (Archaeological films of Schleswig-Holstein)
• County and Municipal Flags (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
• Genealogy in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

54°40′N 9°40′E / 54.667°N 9.667°E / 54.667; 9.667