The street Smedegade just off Kristkirke (in English: "Christ Church") in the historic little town of Tønder (In German: "Tondern"), Syddanmark, Denmark
Some background information:
Tønder is a little, but historic town in the Danish region of Syddanmark. It is located at the Vidå river just about five kilometres to the north of the Danish-German border. With a population of almost 7,600, it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder municipality. Until mid-16th century Tønder was a port town directly situated at the North Sea, but due to reclamation of land by dyke building the town lost its direct access to the sea.
Tønder is one of the oldest towns on the land bridge between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. As early as 1017, it was known as a port town. In 1227, the Dominican Order and, in 1238, the Franciscan Order came to Tønder, both founding monasteries. In 1243, the town received city rights. During the Middle Ages, it was one of of just a few harbor towns on the Duchy of Schleswig's west coast. The ship on the town's coat of arms is a reminder of this time.
Due to its low-lying location, the town was repeatedly hit by storm surges, even after having lost its direct access to the sea, notably in 1532 and 1593. In 1615, the water reached the windows of Tønder’s castle, and in 1634, it stood three feet high in the church. But Tønder also experienced numerous devastating fires, and in the 16th and 17th centuries, the plague ravaged the town five times.
Without having a port at the sea any longer, Tønder’s economic importance decreased. Other branches of economy had to be found. One of them was cattle trade, as the town was located on the western Ochsenweg (in English: "Ox Way"), a trade route between Holstein and North Jutland. In the 17th century, lace-making flourished as an important economic activity. And in 1788, the town became the site of the country's first teacher training college.
In the 19th century, the town was caught up in the German-Danish conflict. The majority of the citizens were pro-German and sided with Schleswig-Holstein in the Schleswig-Holstein War (1848 to 1851), while the surrounding area remained predominantly Danish. After the restoration of the entire state under the Danish crown, Tønder retained its administrative functions. However, the language decrees introduced in 1851 met with resistance.
These decrees aimed to stop the language shift to German by introducing Danish as the general language of instruction, with four weekly German lessons in the bilingual areas of Schleswig (from Tondern to the area around Husum and Kappeln). The church language was to alternate between German and Danish. Tønder, however, was exempt from the restriction to four weekly German lessons, as was the southern Leck (Nordfriesland).
After the Second Schleswig War in 1864, the town came under Prussian control and, from 1871, became part of the German Empire. From 1868, it was connected to the main railway line Hamburg-Fredericia. In 1888, German became the sole language of instruction in the Schleswig area, except for four weekly hours of religious instruction. From 1914 to 1918, Tønder was a base for military airships and Zeppelins. The attack on the Tønder airship hangars in July 1918 was the first aerial attack from an aircraft carrier on a land target in military history.
After World War I, due to the En-Bloc Rule for Zone I during the plebiscite, Tønder was assigned to Denmark, even though 77 percent of eligible voters had voted to remain in the German Empire. In the following years, German parties held the majority in the city council and until 1945, the town was bilingual. From 1940 until the end of Word War II, Tønder, just like all of Denmark, was occupied by the German Wehrmacht.
After Germany had lost the war, the political significance of the German population diminished significantly. Although the border location hindered the town's development, some businesses managed to establish themselves and tourism became increasingly important. Today, Tønder is a vibrant commune with many tourists strolling through the beautiful old town. And the coexistence of the Danish majority and the German minority is considered a sound and healthy symbiosis.
