Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality.

History

The first mention of Tønder might have been in the mid-12th century, when the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi mentioned the landmark ''Tu(r)ndira'', which might have been a reference to either Tønder, or the nearby town of Møgeltønder. Tønder was granted port privileges by the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

in 1243, making it Denmark's oldest privileged market town. In 1532 it was hit by severe floods, with water levels reaching 1.8 m in St Laurent's church, 5.3 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. In the 1550s, Tønder's port lost direct access to the sea due to

dyke Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

s being built to the west of town at the direction of Duke Hans the Elder of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev, the son of Frederick I of Denmark. The town centre is dominated by houses from the late 17th and early 18th century, when the town experienced rapid growth as a result of its lace industry. Prior to 1864, Tønder was situated in the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

, so its history is intertwined with the contentious

history of Schleswig-Holstein The history of Schleswig-Holstein consists of the corpus of facts since the pre-history times until the modern establishing of the Schleswig-Holstein state. Early history The Jutland Peninsula is a peninsula in Northern Europe with modern-day ...

. In the 1920s, when the

Schleswig Plebiscite The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 100 to 115 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former Duchy of S ...

incorporated Northern Schleswig into Denmark, 76.5% of Tønder's inhabitants voted to remain part of Germany and 23.5% voted to join Denmark. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

base was operated in Tønder by the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

. The base was attacked by the British on 19 July 1918, in what is known as the

Tondern raid The Tondern raid or Operation F.7, was a British bombing raid mounted by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force against the Imperial German Navy airship base at Tønder, Denmark, then a part of Germany. The airships were used for the strategic bombin ...

. Seven Sopwith Camels from the aircraft carrier bombed the base, hitting two of the three airship hangars. The Zeppelins ''L.54'' and ''L.60'' inside one hangar were destroyed and a balloon inside the other was damaged. After this, Tønder was abandoned as an active airship base, and was used only as an emergency landing site. A wartime aircraft hangar survives, as do some of the ancillary buildings, but only the foundations remain of the large airship hangars. The site now houses a museum, named the Zeppelin and Garrison Museum Tønder. After the First World War, Tønder was detached from Germany, in spite of the majority of its population casting a pro-German vote in the

Schleswig Plebiscites The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 100 to 115 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former Duchy of S ...

- as Tønder was included in Zone I, which as a whole had a strong pro-Danish majority. In the years that followed, German political parties enjoyed a majority in the city council, and until 1945, the city was officially bilingual. After the end of the German occupation of Denmark, the political influence of the German population dwindled considerably. In spite of the improvement in cross-border traffic, the location of the town continued to hamper industrial growth through the late 20th century, although some companies did set up businesses. Tourism has grown in importance. In 1989, Tønder Seminarium, the oldest teacher training college in Scandinavia, established in 1788, was closed.

Attractions

Every August, the Tønder Festival offers visitors a wide variety of traditional and modern folk music. The Scouts of Tønder are twinned with Hemyock, in Devon, England, and make exchange trips between the countries every few years.

Marriage

As Tønder is the first town over the border in Denmark from Germany, the town has been a particularly popular place to

elope Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

since the 1960s. This is especially true for couples of mixed-nationalities, particularly between Europeans citizens and non-European citizens. This is due in part to Denmark's liberal marriage laws, compared to those in nearby

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

which requires a minimum of three months' administration and the ceremony has to be in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. However, in Denmark it can be done in just around a week, with fewer documents required and the vows can be done in languages other than the national language. In 2007, over 2,500 marriages were done at Tønder town hall by non-resident couples compared to just 150 local couples.

Notable people from Tønder

Public Service, Science & Business

Oluf Gerhard Tychsen Oluf (Olaus) Gerhard Tychsen (14 December 1734, Tønder, then Schleswig, now Denmark – 30 December 1815, Rostock, then Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now Germany) was a German Orientalist and Hebrew scholar. He is known today as one of the founding fath ...

(1734–1815) a German Orientalist and Hebrew scholar, a founding father of

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...

Johan Christian Fabricius Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is cons ...

(1745–1808) a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta",

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

: insects, arachnids and crustaceans. *

Georg Zoëga Jørgen Zoëga (20 December 1755 – 10 February 1809) was a Danish scientist. He was noted for his work as an archaeologist, numismatist and anthropologist. Biography Jørgen (Georg) Zoëga was born at Daler parish in Tønder Municipal ...

(1755 in Daler–1809) a scientist, archaeologist, numismatist and anthropologist *

Nicolai Andresen Nicolai Andresen (24 September 1781 – 18 November 1861) was a Norwegian merchant, banker and member of Stortinget. He laid the foundation for Andresens Bank A/S, which after several mergers became Nordea Bank Norge. Andresen was born at Tø ...

(1781–1861) a Norwegian merchant, banker and member of

Stortinget The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...

* Peter Andreas Hansen (1795 in Tønder–1874) a Danish-born German astronomer *

Julius Bahnsen Julius Friedrich August Bahnsen (30 March 1830 – 7 December 1881) was a German philosopher. Bahnsen is usually considered the originator of characterology and a real- dialectical method of philosophical reflection which he laid down in his ...

(1830–1881) a German philosopher, originator of

characterology Characterology () is the academic study of character which was prominent in German-speaking countries during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is considered an historic branch of personality psychology, which extended into psychoanaly ...

* Gustav Adolf Neuber (1850–1932) a German surgeon * Bernhard M. Jacobsen (1862–1936) emigrated 1876, became a U.S. Representative from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

* Captain Max Valentiner (1883–1949) a German U-boat commander during World War I *

Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first ...

(1929–2021) a Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark 1982–1993 *

Jan Beyer Schmidt-Sørensen Jan Beyer Schmidt-Sørensen (January 17, 1958) is a Danish economist and former Director of Business Development at Aarhus Municipality.

(born 1958) a Danish economist and former Director of Business Development at Aarhus Municipality

The Arts

Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg Heinrich Wilhelm von Gerstenberg (3 January 1737 – 1 November 1823) was a German poet and critic. Gerstenberg was born in Tønder, Denmark. After attending school in Husum and at the Christianeum Hamburg, and studying law at the University o ...

(1737–1823) a German poet and critic. *

Conrad Christian Bøhndel Conrad Christian August Bøhndel (7 March 1779 – 18 December 1847) was a Danish painter and lithographer. He lithographed the Hans Brüggemann's altarpiece between 1824 and 1832. Biography Conrad Christian Bøhndel was born in the parish of ...

(1779 in Hostrup–1847) a Danish painter and lithographer * Siegfried Saloman (1816 in Tønder–1899) a Danish violinist and composer *

Geskel Saloman Geskel Saloman (1 April 1821 in Tønder – July 5, 1902 in Båstad) was a Danish–Swedish portrait and genre painter. Soloman was one of the Bedřich Smetana's closest friends and painter of one of the three existing portraits of the fou ...

(1821–1902) a Danish–Swedish portrait and genre painter *

Hans Wegner Hans Jørgensen Wegner (April 2, 1914 - January 26, 2007) was a Danish furniture designer. His work, along with a concerted effort from several of his manufacturers, contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His sty ...

(1914–2017) Danish furniture designer

Sport

Henning Munk Jensen Henning Munk Jensen (born 12 January 1947) is a Danish former footballer who played as a defender. He most prominently played professionally for Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, as well as 392 games for AaB in Denmark during the 1960s. He was named 19 ...

(born 1947) a Danish former association football player, played 392 games for AaB and 62 matches for

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

1966-1978, 24 of these as team captain *

Jakob Michelsen Jakob Saldern Stein Michelsen (born 30 September 1980) is a Danish football manager. He is currently the manager of Norwegian Eliteserien club HamKam. Jakob Michelsen was selected coach of the year in Denmark in 2015. He was the coach behind the ...

(born 1980) a Danish unattached football manager.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonder Municipal seats of the Region of Southern Denmark Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Tønder Municipality