Schönkirchen
Encyclopedia
Schönkirchen is a municipality in the district of Plön
, in Schleswig-Holstein
, Germany
.
at the Bundesstraße
502 connecting Kiel and Schönberg (Holstein)
and at the Kiel-Schönberg-Railroad. The closest main line
train station is Kiel Central. Although Schönkirchen has access to the Schwentine
river, passenger traffic (to Gothenburg
and Oslo
) and freight transport have to use the port of Kiel.
the German colonisation arrived in the Schönkirchen area in the early 13th century. The village was first mentioned in a 1294 deed, the Codex Cismariensis.
Count John II. had been the patron of the local church and the surrounding village, but was forced to assign the village in a deed of separation of 7 February 1316 to his Grand-nephew John III. After this Schönkirchen was allodial title
property of the counts of Kiel and the villagers had to pay their duties to the Kiel castle. Later on the village became a leasehold estate
leased out to a succession of noble lessees. In 1356 Schönkirchen was sold to the Kiel Heiligengeist monastery (monastery of the Holy Spirit) and remained in its possession for the next 200 years.
The administration including the patrimonial jurisdiction of the monastery's villages was held by the city council of Kiel, which was obliged to use the income for the almshouses and infirmaries associated with the monastery and for other godly purposes. Since the city council failed to fulfil these obligations properly complaints to the city and the duke got frequent over the years.
Following the death of king Frederick I. of Denmark several partitions of Schleswig-Holstein occurred - in the one of 9 August 1544 Kiel and its surrounding villages were ceded to the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, but duke Adolf I. could make the Kiel city council comply with the distribution rules for the income derived from Schönkirchen only after an intervention of emperor Maximilian II.
. After this the village had to pay its duties to the city of Kiel until the 18th century - at last the annual contribution amounted to 10 Reichsthaler
and 45 Schillings payable to the Kiel St. Niclas' Church as well as wood for the schools and the organists in Kiel.
Schönkirchen was a poor village with poor soil conditions, so that the local trade remained as small as the local peasants. Better to cope with the damages of frequent fires the Fire- and Church Guild of 1560 for mutual assistance and support amongst the villagers was founded.
Together with the rest of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf the village fell under frequent change of rule. After being resigned by empress Catherine II of Russia
to Denmark
at the end of the 18th century Holstein came under joint austro
-prussian
administration after the Second Schleswig War in 1864 until both powers abandoned this condominium in the Gastein Convention
and the Austrian Empire
got sole control of Holstein in 1865. But in 1866 Austria lost the Austro-Prussian War
and had to surrender its Holstein possessions to the Kingdom of Prussia
that merged its duchies of Schleswig and Holstein to the prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein
.
The neighboring Kiel in 1867 was declared Baltic Naval Station of the North German Confederation
and later of the German Empire
in 1871. This resulted in the set up of businesses like the Imperial Shipyard Kiel
and its ancillary and supply industries, e.g. foundries, dockyards and other defence industries. The factories' demand for workers led to a rapid increase in population in the city of Kiel but also in the villages in its vicinity such as Schönkirchen.
During World War I
the workers had to perform extra shifts at the shipyards without receiving extra food rations. The women, children and the aged at the homesteads had a lot of trouble to till the fields and reap the harvests. 64 men from Schönkirchen died in the hostilities at the front.
In the years of the Weimar Republic
the villagers had to endure the 1920s German inflation
and the Great Depression
at the end of the decade. Just as in other parts of Schleswig-Holstein
the promises of the NSDAP could attract voters at an early stage of its rise to power. Shortly after Adolf Hitler
seized power on 31 January 1933 the factories in Kiel started to produce arms again quickly and were in need of workers. The defence companies also put up industrial residential centres for its workforce in Schönkirchen such as the Anschützwerke
(Anschützsiedlung) or Deutsche Werke
shipyards (Kalkstein, Kemmecken).
As the military industry changed into higher gear before World War II
several workers camps were set up in Schönkirchen for the various defence companies such as Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Feinmechanische Werke and other military suppliers. At the beginning these camps were inhabited by Reichsarbeitsdienst
members but after the start of World War II
increasingly foreign workers
(Fremdarbeiter) were placed in there. To defend nearby Kiel and its military industry some anti-aircraft units
were installed on the municipal territory. Nonetheless several airstrike
s caused heavy civilian collateral damage in Schönkirchen, too.
After the war lots of refugees, bombed out and displaced persons
sought accommodation. At first the former workers camps were used until residential buildings were completed in the village (Brammerkamp, Augustental/Schönberger Landstraße, Haferberg). To prevent Schönkirchen to become a sheer dormitory village
- in 1951 70 % of all the resident working inhabitants did so at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard - in 1967 the development of Söhren business park started.
Plön (district)
Plön is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ostholstein and Segeberg, the city of Neumünster, the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Kiel and the Baltic Sea.- History :...
, in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Location and Transport
Schönkirchen is located close to KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
at the Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
502 connecting Kiel and Schönberg (Holstein)
Schönberg (Holstein)
Schönberg is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, approx. 17 km northeast of the state capital Kiel, and 26 km north of Plön...
and at the Kiel-Schönberg-Railroad. The closest main line
Main line (railway)
The Mainline or Main line of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings and spurs are connected....
train station is Kiel Central. Although Schönkirchen has access to the Schwentine
Schwentine
The Schwentine is a river in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is approximately 62 kilometres long and rises on the hill of Bungsberg, the highest point in the state, near the village of Kasseedorf in Ostholstein. It then runs from its source to Kiel where it flows into the Kiel...
river, passenger traffic (to Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
) and freight transport have to use the port of Kiel.
History
After the Wendish CrusadeWendish Crusade
The Wendish Crusade was an 1147 campaign, one of the Northern Crusades and also a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany inside the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Slavs ....
the German colonisation arrived in the Schönkirchen area in the early 13th century. The village was first mentioned in a 1294 deed, the Codex Cismariensis.
Count John II. had been the patron of the local church and the surrounding village, but was forced to assign the village in a deed of separation of 7 February 1316 to his Grand-nephew John III. After this Schönkirchen was allodial title
Allodial title
Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property that is independent of any superior landlord, but it should not be confused with anarchy as the owner of allodial land is not independent of his sovereign...
property of the counts of Kiel and the villagers had to pay their duties to the Kiel castle. Later on the village became a leasehold estate
Leasehold estate
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord....
leased out to a succession of noble lessees. In 1356 Schönkirchen was sold to the Kiel Heiligengeist monastery (monastery of the Holy Spirit) and remained in its possession for the next 200 years.
The administration including the patrimonial jurisdiction of the monastery's villages was held by the city council of Kiel, which was obliged to use the income for the almshouses and infirmaries associated with the monastery and for other godly purposes. Since the city council failed to fulfil these obligations properly complaints to the city and the duke got frequent over the years.
Following the death of king Frederick I. of Denmark several partitions of Schleswig-Holstein occurred - in the one of 9 August 1544 Kiel and its surrounding villages were ceded to the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, but duke Adolf I. could make the Kiel city council comply with the distribution rules for the income derived from Schönkirchen only after an intervention of emperor Maximilian II.
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
. After this the village had to pay its duties to the city of Kiel until the 18th century - at last the annual contribution amounted to 10 Reichsthaler
Reichsthaler
The Reichsthaler was a standard Thaler of the Holy Roman Empire, established in 1566 by the Leipzig convention. It was also the name of a unit of account in northern Germany and of a silver coin issued by Prussia.-Reichsthaler coin:...
and 45 Schillings payable to the Kiel St. Niclas' Church as well as wood for the schools and the organists in Kiel.
Schönkirchen was a poor village with poor soil conditions, so that the local trade remained as small as the local peasants. Better to cope with the damages of frequent fires the Fire- and Church Guild of 1560 for mutual assistance and support amongst the villagers was founded.
Together with the rest of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf the village fell under frequent change of rule. After being resigned by empress Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
at the end of the 18th century Holstein came under joint austro
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
-prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
administration after the Second Schleswig War in 1864 until both powers abandoned this condominium in the Gastein Convention
Gastein Convention
In diplomacy, the Gastein Convention, also called the Convention of Badgastein, a treaty signed at Bad Gastein in Austria on August 20, 1865, embodied agreements between the two principal powers of the German Confederation, Prussia and Austria, over the governing of the provinces of Schleswig and...
and the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
got sole control of Holstein in 1865. But in 1866 Austria lost the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
and had to surrender its Holstein possessions to the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
that merged its duchies of Schleswig and Holstein to the prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
.
The neighboring Kiel in 1867 was declared Baltic Naval Station of the North German Confederation
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...
and later of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1871. This resulted in the set up of businesses like the Imperial Shipyard Kiel
Kaiserliche Werft Kiel
Kaiserliche Werft Kiel was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1867, first as Königliche Werft Kiel but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire...
and its ancillary and supply industries, e.g. foundries, dockyards and other defence industries. The factories' demand for workers led to a rapid increase in population in the city of Kiel but also in the villages in its vicinity such as Schönkirchen.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the workers had to perform extra shifts at the shipyards without receiving extra food rations. The women, children and the aged at the homesteads had a lot of trouble to till the fields and reap the harvests. 64 men from Schönkirchen died in the hostilities at the front.
In the years of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
the villagers had to endure the 1920s German inflation
Inflation in the Weimar Republic
The hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was a three year period of hyperinflation in Germany between June 1921 and July 1924.- Analysis :...
and the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
at the end of the decade. Just as in other parts of Schleswig-Holstein
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
the promises of the NSDAP could attract voters at an early stage of its rise to power. Shortly after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
seized power on 31 January 1933 the factories in Kiel started to produce arms again quickly and were in need of workers. The defence companies also put up industrial residential centres for its workforce in Schönkirchen such as the Anschützwerke
Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe
Hermann Franz Joseph Hubertus Maria Anschütz-Kaempfe was a German scientist and inventor. In his quest to navigate to the North Pole by submarine, he became interested in the concept of the gyrocompass. In 1905 he founded, with Friedrich Treitschke the first firm to manufacture gyroscopic...
(Anschützsiedlung) or Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke
Deutsche Werke was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1925 when Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and other shipyards were merged. It came as a result of the Treaty of Versailles after World War I that forced the German defence industry to shrink...
shipyards (Kalkstein, Kemmecken).
As the military industry changed into higher gear before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
several workers camps were set up in Schönkirchen for the various defence companies such as Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Feinmechanische Werke and other military suppliers. At the beginning these camps were inhabited by Reichsarbeitsdienst
Reichsarbeitsdienst
The Reichsarbeitsdienst was an institution established by Nazi Germany as an agency to reduce unemployment, similar to the relief programs in other countries. During the Second World War it was an auxiliary formation which provided support for the Wehrmacht.The RAD was formed during July 1934 as...
members but after the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
increasingly foreign workers
Forced labor in Germany during World War II
The use of forced labour in Nazi Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to the mass extermination of populations in German-occupied...
(Fremdarbeiter) were placed in there. To defend nearby Kiel and its military industry some anti-aircraft units
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
were installed on the municipal territory. Nonetheless several airstrike
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
s caused heavy civilian collateral damage in Schönkirchen, too.
After the war lots of refugees, bombed out and displaced persons
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
sought accommodation. At first the former workers camps were used until residential buildings were completed in the village (Brammerkamp, Augustental/Schönberger Landstraße, Haferberg). To prevent Schönkirchen to become a sheer dormitory village
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
- in 1951 70 % of all the resident working inhabitants did so at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard - in 1967 the development of Söhren business park started.