Eckernförde (; , sometimes also ; , sometimes also ) is a city located in the of

Rendsburg-Eckernförde Rendsburg-Eckernförde (; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the city of Kiel, the district of Plön, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Segeberg, Steinburg, Dithmarschen and S ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, northern Germany. Situated on the coast of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, approximately 30 km north-west of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, it has a population of about 23,000. Eckernförde is a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

destination.

Name

The name of Eckernförde is of mixed origin, but derived from the name of a Danish castle formerly located near the current town, which is also reflected in the name of the town district of ''Borby.'' This fortification is listed in the 13th-century Liber Census Daniæ (Danish Census Book) as ''Ykærnæburgh.''Politikens Nudansk Ordbog, 1994 edition, entry "Eckernförde" In 1441, the town used an official

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

listing its name as ''Eherneborgh''.Poul Bredo Grandjean (1953), ''Slesvigske Købstæders og Herreders Segl indtil 1660'', J.H. Schultz Forlag, p. 13-14. The first syllable corresponds to the modern Danish word "egern" meaning ''squirrel'', while "-förde" is

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

meaning ''

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

.'' The ''-förde'' ending is documented in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ized form on two official seals used by the town in 1602 and 1624. The etymology of the town's name is reflected in the presence of a squirrel in the town's coat of arms, a feature first documented by the 1441 seal.

History

* In 1197, Eckernförde was mentioned in a written manner for the first time. * Eckernförde was mentioned in the year 1302 for the first time explicitly as a city, but in 1288 the inhabitants were already called ''oppidani'' (city citizen). * In 1628, it was taken by

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

from the troops of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. * During the

First War of Schleswig The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Duc ...

two Danish ships, the ''Christian VIII'' and the frigate tried to land in Eckernförde in April 1849. They were cannonaded from the shore. The ''Christian VIII'' exploded, while the ''Gefion'' surrendered and was captured. Theodor Preusser, the commander in chief of the southern troops, died while rescuing Danish troops from the ''Christian VIII''. * On November 13, the 1872 Baltic Sea flood hit the coast of the

from

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. 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. * The Count Saint-Germain was buried in Eckernförde near St. Nicolai Church. His grave was destroyed by the 1872

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

. * In 1934, the seaside resort Borby was incorporated. * After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

a United Nations displaced persons camp for

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

ns was located near Eckernförde, where a section of the Hohenstein mansion was converted into a maternity ward.

Mayors

* 1906–1914: Karl Heldmann (1872-1914) * 1920–1921: Willers Jessen (temporary) * 1921–1926: Curt Pönitzsch * July–September 1926: Wilhelm Kuhr (temporary) * 1926–1931: Walther Heinn (temporary) * 1931–1933: Wilhelm Sievers, (1896-1966), NSDAP * 1933–1938: Helmut Lemke, (1907-1990), NSDAP * 1938–1943: Friedrich Böhm, NSDAP (time of office till 1945) * 1943–1945: Heinz Loewer, NSDAP (temporary) * since June 1945: Hans Ohm (temporary) * since August 1945 Ewald Wendenburg (temporary) * since April 1946: Heinrich Schumacher KPD * since September 1946: Daniel Hinrichsen, CDU * April 1950–September 1952: Ewald Wendenburg, CDU * 1952–1966 Werner Schmidt, (1911-1990), independent, then FDP * 1966–1969: Hans Wiedemann, independent * 1969–1987: Kurt Schulz, SPD * 1987–1998: Klaus Buß, (born 1942), SPD * 1998–1999: Ingrid Ehlers, SPD (temporary) * 1999–2006: Susanne Jeske-Paasch, (born 1958), SPD * 2007-2023: Jörg Sibbel, (born 1965), independent, then CDU * since 2023: Iris Ploog, (born 1979), SPD

Economy

In the early 20th century, Eckernförde was known for its harbour, fishing, trade in agricultural products, and manufacture of salt and iron goods. All

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s form part of '' 1st Ubootgeschwader'' and are stationed in Eckernförde. It is the home of BEHN, an alcoholic beverage family company, founded in 1792. The headquarters of

SIG Sauer SIG Sauer is since the 1970s a combined brand name of several Firearms manufacturing companies, with SIG referring to ''Swiss Industry Group'' originally founded 1853, while the latter part comes from Sauer & Sohn, founded in 1751 in Germany a ...

are also located there.

Education

Schools in the city include the Richard-Vosgerau-Schule. The Richard Vosgerau School is a public elementary school in Eckernförde. The address is 26 Bergstraße, 24340 Eckernförde. The current head of the school is Mrs. Koepke. The school building consists of a white main house and a small outbuilding as well as a football field and a sports hall. In the schoolyard, the school children enjoy various activities, ranging from slides to climbing. Other schools in Eckernförde include: * Fritz-Reuter-Schule (primary and regional school) * Waldorf School * Gudewerdt Schule (primary and community school) * Pestalozzi Schule (special school) * Schule am Noor (special school) * Jungmannschule (high school) * Peter-Ustinov-Schule (community school) * Sprottenschule (primary school) * Jes Kruse-Skolen (Danish private school)

Transport

The Kiel–Flensburg railway runs through the town with trains stopping at Eckernförde station, situated to the west of the town centre. The town's main bus station, central omnibus station (German: ''ZOB''), is directly connected to the train station. The operating company of the railway network is

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

. Eckernförde has 4 bus routes for urban connections operated by single-deck buses. Eckernförde has no trams or trolley-buses. For transportation, the statewide Schleswig-Holstein-fare applies. A taxi stand is located at the bus station. Eckernförde has two bike rental outlets, one is located near the beach and one is in the pedestrian area. The nearest international Airport is Hamburg Airport.

Twin towns – sister cities

Eckernförde is twinned with: * Bützow, Germany (1990) *

Hässleholm Hässleholm is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Hässleholm Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 18,500 inhabitants in 2011. Overview Hässleholm was gradually developed from 1860 in connection with the construction of the m ...

, Sweden (1958) * Tanga, Tanzania (1963)

Notable people

Count of St. Germain The Count of St. Germain (French language, French: ''Comte de Saint Germain''; ; – 27 February 1784) whose real name and origins remain unknown, was a European adventurer who had interests and achievements in science, alchemy, philosophy, ...

, aristocrat and adventurer, died here in 1784 * Georg Gerlach (1797–1865), a Danish officer. *

Lorenz von Stein Lorenz von Stein (18 November 1815 – 23 September 1890) was a German economist, sociologist, and public administration scholar from Eckernförde. As an advisor to Meiji period Japan, his liberal political views influenced the wording of the ...

(1815–1890), economist, sociologist, and public administration scholar. * Karl Wilhelm Valentiner (1845–1931), astronomer * Frederick G. Clausen (1856–1940), German-American architect * Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp (1894–1918), fighter pilot in WWI, winner of Pour le Mérite * Ruth Halbsguth (1916–2003), swimmer, team silver medallist at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

* Inge Viett (born 1944), former member of the ''"

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...

"'' (RAF) *

Christoph, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein Christoph of Schleswig-Holstein (22 August 1949 – 27 September 2023) ( German: ''Christoph Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein'') was the head of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (commonly known as the House of Glücksburg) and, ...

(born 1949), head of the

House of Glücksburg The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, also known by its short name as the House of Glücksburg, is the senior surviving branch of the German House of Oldenburg, one of Europe's oldest royal houses. Oldenburg house members hav ...

since 1980 * Horst-Dieter Kolletschke (born 1952), a retired rear admiral of the

. * Grietje Staffelt (born 1975), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens), former Bundestag member * Ingmar Zahorsky (born 1983), photojournalist and media artist * Michael Schulte (born 1990), singer and songwriter

References

External links

* *
City map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckernforde Populated coastal places in Germany (Baltic Sea) Towns in Schleswig-Holstein Rendsburg-Eckernförde Seaside resorts in Germany Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Port cities and towns in Germany