Kupfermühle (, both names meaning "copper mill") is a village located north of

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg'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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located near the

Flensburg Fjord Flensburg Firth or Flensborg Fjord (; ) is the westernmost inlet of the Baltic Sea. It forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north, on the eastern side of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig Holstein and Jutland, res ...

just south of the easternmost part of the Danish-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

border.

Overview

Kupfermühle belonged to Bov Parish until the establishment of the present border, when the rest of the parish became Danish following the

1920 Schleswig plebiscites The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 109 to 114 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 ...

. The village now belongs to the Gemeinde

Harrislee Harrislee () is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the border with Denmark and directly beside Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent ci ...

. Kupfermühle was the home of the first factory in

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

, which is the reason behind the settlement's name. The copper mill was founded by king

Christian IV of Denmark and Norway Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

in 1612 and produced finished

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

products and later also products in

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

. Among its products were pipes and sheet copper for copper roofs but also utensils such as buckets, pots, kettles and candlesticks. The copper production flourished in 1914, when the factory employed more than 200 workers. It went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

in 1962. Both the 17th century factory buildings and the workers' residences are preserved. The latter are known in Danish as ''nyboder'' and show great similarities with Christian's contemporary buildings in the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

district of ''

Nyboder Nyboder (English language, English: New mallHouses) is a historic row house district of former Royal Danish Navy, Naval barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was planned and first built by Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV to accommodate a ...

''. The village is now home to a museum which displays many copper and brass products produced by the mill. Many of the residents in Kupfermühle belong to the

Danish minority of Southern Schleswig The Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, Germany, has existed by this name since 1920, when the Schleswig Plebiscite split German-ruled Schleswig into two parts: Northern Schleswig with a Danish majority and a German minority was ...

. A Danish school, ''Kobbermølle Skole'', is located in the neighbouring village, Wassersleben.

Literature

*Jens-Peter Hansen (1994): Kobbermøllen ved Krusaa, Foreningen til Gamle Bygningers Bevaring *Kurt Andresen: Ortsentwicklung und Alltagsleben im Dorf Kupfermühle, Herausgeber: Gemeinde Harrislee

External links

A tour of Kupfermühle and Flensburg

Museen in Schleswig-Holstein - Museum Kupfermühle

About Kobbermølle
''This article is mostly based on a translation of the corresponding article on the Danish Wikipedia accessed on 18 March 2007.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kupfermuhle Villages in Schleswig-Holstein Former municipalities in Schleswig-Holstein Danish minority of Southern Schleswig