Sign of the little hotel "Zum Seepferdchen" (in English: "Seahorse") in the old harbour town of Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Some background information:
Eckernförde is a harbour town located in the administrative district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, approximately 30 km north-west of the city of Kiel, it has a population of about 23,000. Because of its beautiful old town, its harbour and particularly its four-kilometres-long sandy beach at the Eckernförde Bay, Eckernförde is a very popular tourist destination.
In 1197, Eckernförde was first mentioned in a document. At around the same time, the Danes built a castle at the end of Eckernförde Bay, which was mentioned in Danish King Valdemar II's land register of 1231 as "Ykernæburgh" (in English: "Squirrel Castle"). But at the end of the 12th century, the church of Borby, which is now a district of the town, was already standing on the opposite shore. Hence, the exact founding date of the settlement of Eckernförde is unknown. The reason is, that when the Danish Union King Eric of Pomerania burned down the town in 1416 during the war against the Counts of Holstein, almost all written documents got lost.
In 1302, Eckernförde was indisputably mentioned as a town for the first time. During the Reformation, Eckernförde, like the rest of Schleswig, became Lutheran. But by 1574, a radical reformist Anabaptist community had also formed in the town, publicly opposing the Lutheran clergy. However, this community was ultimately driven out of the town by force and later settled in Prussia. During the Thirty Years War, the town was occupied by the troops of the Holy Roman Empire until it was conquered by soldiers of the Danish King Christian IV in 1628.
In the 18th century, the town experienced its first economic boom as a fishing port and industrial center. A prime example for the economic success was the Eckernförde faience manufactory. With the founding of the seaside resort in 1831, tourism tradition began, although fishing remained an important economic factor due to the well-situated harbor well into the 20th century. Especially smokehouses made the town widely known, although sprats are still mainly associated with the city of Kiel.
In 1848, civil war broke out in the Duchy of Schleswig and Eckernförde quickly fell under the control of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1849, Eckernförde became the target of a Danish landing attempt in the Schleswig-Holstein War. This battle at Eckernförde also marked the beginning of the second phase of the Three Years' War. During the conflict, the Danish ship of the line "Christian VIII" and the frigate "Gefion" were fired upon by the insurgents' shore batteries. The ship of the line exploded, and the frigate had to surrender and was taken over by Schleswig-Holstein. But after the defeat of the Schleswig-Holstein insurgents in 1850, the overall state under the Danish crown was restored.
With the separation from the Danish monarchy and the annexation to Prussia in 1864, Eckernförde lost the majority of its trade. Increasingly it fell into the shadow of the rapidly developing naval base in Kiel. In 1872, a great storm surge hit the coast of the Baltic Sea from Denmark to Pomerania. Of all the German coastal settlements, Eckernförde was most heavily damaged due to its location on Eckernförde Bay which is wide open to the north-east. The entire town was flooded, 78 houses were destroyed, 138 damaged and 112 families became homeless.
Since 1912, Eckernförde has been a garrison town and naval base, as well as the site of a torpedo testing facility. The Kapp Putsch in March 1920 led to bloody street battles in Eckernförde between the invading putschists and a "workers' militia" made up of around 1,600 people from Eckernförde and the neighbouring Borby. In 1934, Borby was incorporated into the town of Eckernförde.
After World War II, when the town belonged to the British occupation zone, a United Nations displaced persons camp for Estonians was located near Eckernförde. Furthermore, the influx of more than 10,000 refugees from the eastern territories of the German Reich into Eckernförde, which had largely escaped bombing, led to a severe housing shortage that persisted until the 1970s.
Nevertheless, the city became a "war winner" in some areas in the first post-war years. Examples include the relocation and settlement of businesses, the founding of Schleswig-Holstein‘s first symphony orchestra after the war, the establishment of the riot police in 1951, and the sporting successes of Eckernförder SV. In the last decades, Eckernförde has developed from a tranquil harbor town into a tourist center on the Baltic Sea coast.
