Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, or have been virtually independent of both nations. Schleswig was never part of Germany until after the Second Schleswig War in 1864. But for many centuries, the king of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein. Essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief and once, long before that, a sovereign state. Both were ruled for several centuries by the kings of Denmark. In 1721, all of Schleswig was united into a single duchy under the king of Denmark, and the great powers of Europe confirmed in an international treaty that all future kings of Denmark should automatically become dukes of Schleswig: consequently, Schleswig would always follow the order of succession that applied in the Kingdom of Denmark. Government business in both duchies was conducted in the German language, even though for a long time they were governed from Copenhagen. (Beginning in 1523, however, they were governed by the German Chancellery, which in 1806 was renamed the Schleswig-Holstein Chancellery). After the Protestant Reformation, church services were conducted in German in the southern part of Schleswig, and in Danish in the northern part. This difference would later contribute strongly to shaping the inhabitants' national sentiments, as would the different languages spoken in different schools after 1814, when mandatory schooling was instituted.

The German national awakening that followed the Napoleonic Wars gave rise to a strong popular movement in Holstein and Southern Schleswig for unification with a new Prussian-dominated Germany. This development was paralleled by an equally strong Danish national awakening in Denmark and Northern Schleswig. This movement called for the complete reintegration of Schleswig into the Kingdom of Denmark and demanded an end to discrimination against Danes in Schleswig. The ensuing conflict is sometimes called the Schleswig-Holstein Question. In 1848, King Frederick VII of Denmark declared that he would grant Denmark a liberal constitution and the immediate goal of the Danish national movement was to ensure that this constitution would give rights to all Danes, i.e. not only to those in the Kingdom of Denmark, but also to Danes (and Germans) living in Schleswig. Furthermore, they demanded protection for the Danish language in Schleswig (the dominant language in almost a quarter of Schleswig had changed from Danish to German since the beginning of the 19th century).

A liberal constitution for Holstein was not seriously considered in Copenhagen, since it was well known that the political élite of Holstein were more conservative than Copenhagen's. Representatives of German-minded Schleswig-Holsteiners demanded that Schleswig and Holstein be unified and allowed its own constitution and that Schleswig join Holstein as a member of the German Confederation. These demands were rejected by the Danish government in 1848, and the Germans of Holstein and Southern Schleswig rebelled. This began the First Schleswig War (1848–51), which ended in a Danish victory at Idstedt.

In 1863, conflict broke out again when Frederick VII died without legitimate issue. According to the order of succession of Denmark and Schleswig, the crowns of both Denmark and Schleswig would pass to Duke Christian of Duchy of Glücksburg, who became Christian IX. The transmission of the duchy of Holstein to the head of the (German-oriented) branch of the Danish royal family, the House of Augustenborg, was more controversial. The separation of the two duchies was challenged by the Augustenborg heir, who claimed, as in 1848, to be rightful heir of both Schleswig and Holstein. The promulgation of a common constitution for Denmark and Schleswig in November 1863 prompted Otto von Bismarck to intervene and Prussia and Austria declared war on Denmark. This was the Second War of Schleswig, which ended in Danish defeat. British attempts to mediate in the London Conference of 1864 failed, and Denmark lost Schleswig (Northern and Southern Schleswig), Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria.

Contrary to the hopes of German Schleswig-Holsteiners, the area did not gain its independence, but was annexed as a province of Prussia in 1867. Also following the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, section five of the Peace of Prague stipulated that the people of Northern Schleswig would be consulted in a referendum on whether to remain under Prussian rule or return to Danish rule. This condition, however, was never fulfilled by Prussia. During the decades of Prussian rule within the German Empire, authorities attempted a Germanisation policy in the northern part of Schleswig, which remained predominantly Danish. The period also meant increased industrialisation of Schleswig-Holstein and the use of Kiel and Flensburg as important Imperial German Navy locations. The northernmost part and west coast of the province saw a wave of emigration to America, while some Danes of North Schleswig emigrated to Denmark.

Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the Allied powers arranged a plebiscite in northern and central Schleswig. The plebiscite was conducted under the auspices of an international commission which designated two voting zones to cover the northern and south-central parts of Schleswig. Steps were taken to also create a third zone covering a southern area, but zone III was cancelled again and never voted, as the Danish government asked the commission not to expand the plebiscite to this area.

In zone I covering Northern Schleswig (10 February 1920), 75% voted for reunification with Denmark and 25% voted for Germany. In zone II covering central Schleswig (14 March 1920), the results were reversed; 80% voted for Germany and just 20% for Denmark. Only minor areas on the island of Föhr showed a Danish majority, and the rest of the Danish vote was primarily in the town of Flensburg.[5]

Results of the 1920 plebiscites in North and Central Schleswig

On 15 June 1920, Northern Schleswig officially returned to Danish rule. The Danish/German border was the only one of the borders imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles after World War I which was never challenged by Adolf Hitler.

In 1937, the Nazis passed the so-called Greater Hamburg Act (Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz), where the nearby Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg was expanded, to encompass towns that had formerly belonged to the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. To compensate Prussia for these losses (and partly because Hitler had a personal dislike for Lübeck[6]), the 711-year-long independence of the Hansestadt Lübeck came to an end, and almost all its territory was incorporated into Schleswig-Holstein.

A German postage stamp conmemorating the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations

After World War II, the Prussian province Schleswig-Holstein came under British occupation. On 23 August 1946, the military government abolished the province and reconstituted it as a separate Land.[7]

Due to the forced migrations of Germans between 1944 and 1950, Schleswig-Holstein took in almost a million refugees after the war, increasing its population by 33%.[8] A pro-Danish political movement arose in Schleswig, with transfer of the area to Denmark as an ultimate goal. This was supported neither by the British occupation administration nor the Danish government. In 1955, the German and Danish governments issued the Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations confirming the rights of the ethnic minorities on both sides of the border.[9] Conditions between the nationalities have since been stable and generally respectful.

Schleswig-Holstein is divided into 11 Kreise (Districts) and four Kreisfreie Städte (Urban Districts).

	Kreise	License Plate	Area
1	Coat of Arms of Dithmarschen Dithmarschen	HEI[12]	1.428,17 km2[13]
2	Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Lauenburg Herzogtum Lauenburg	RZ[12]	1.263,07 km2[13]
3	Coat of Arms of Northern Frisia Nordfriesland	NF[12]	2.083,56 km2[13]
4	Coat of Arms of Ostholstein Ostholstein	OH[12]	1.393,02 km2[13]
5	Coat of Arms of Pinneberg Pinneberg	PI[12]	664,25 km2[13]
6	Coat of Arms of Plön Plön	PLÖ[12]	1.083,56 km2[13]
7	Coat of Arms of Rendsburg-Eckernförde Rendsburg-Eckernförde	RD, ECK[12]	2.189,79 km2[13]
8	Coat of Arms of Schleswig-Flensburg Schleswig-Flensburg	SL[12]	2.071,28 km2[13]
9	Coat of Arms of Segeberg Segeberg	SE[12]	1.344,47 km2[13]
10	Coat of Arms of Steinburg Steinburg	IZ[12]	1.055,70 km2[13]
11	Coat of Arms of Stormarn Stormarn	OD[12]	766,22 km2[13]
Urban District	Coat of Arms of Kiel Kiel	KI[12]	118,65 km2[13]
Urban District	Coat of Arms of Lübeck Lübeck	HL[12]	214,19 km2[13]
Urban District	Coat of Arms of Neumünster Neumünster	NMS[12]	71,66 km2[13]
Urban District	Coat of Arms of Flensburg Flensburg	FL[12]	56,73 km2[13]

Schleswig-Holstein has its own parliament and government which are located in the state capital Kiel.[14]

The Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein is elected by the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein.[14]

Portfolio	Minister		Party		Took office	Left office	State secretaries
Minister-President		Daniel Günther born (1973-07-24) 24 July 1973		CDU	29 June 2022	Incumbent
Deputy Minister-President Minister for Finance		Monika Heinold born (1958-12-30) 30 December 1958		GRÜNE	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Silke Torp Oliver Rabe
Minister for Justice and Health		Kerstin von der Decken born (1968-11-22) 22 November 1968		CDU	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Otto Carstens Oliver Grundei
Minister for Education, Training, Science, Research and Culture		Karin Prien born (1965-06-26) 26 June 1965		CDU	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Dorit Stenke Guido Wendt
Minister for Interior, Communities, Housing and Sport		Sabine Sütterlin-Waack born (1958-02-15) 15 February 1958		CDU	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Jörg Sibbel Magdalena Finke
Minister for Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature		Tobias Goldschmidt born (1981-09-16) 16 September 1981		GRÜNE	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Katja Günther Joschka Knuth
Minister for Economics, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism		Claus Ruhe Madsen born (1972-08-27) 27 August 1972		Ind. (CDU nomination)	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Tobias von der Heide Julia Carstens
Minister for Social Affairs, Youth, Family, Seniors, Integration and Equality		Aminata Touré born (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992		GRÜNE	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Johannes Albig
Minister for Agriculture, Rural Areas, Europe and Consumer Protection		Werner Schwarz born (1960-04-10) 10 April 1960		CDU	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Anne Benett-Sturies
Chief of the State Chancellery		Dirk Schrödter born (1978-10-17) 17 October 1978		CDU	29 June 2022	Incumbent	Johannes Callsen Sandra Gerken

State elections were held on 8 May 2022. The current government is a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and The Greens, led by Minister-President Daniel Günther.

• Births from January–September 2016 = 19,138[16]
• Births from January–September 2017 = 19,086
• Deaths from January–September 2016 = 25,153
• Deaths from January–September 2017 = 25,832
• Natural growth from January–September 2016 = -6,015
• Natural growth from January–September 2017 = -6,746

The region has been strongly Protestant since the time of the Protestant Reformation. It is proportionally the most Protestant of the sixteen modern states. In 2018, members of the Protestant Church in Germany make up 44.6% of the population, while members of the Catholic Church comprise 6.1%.

49.3% either adhere to other religions or disclaim any practising religious identity.[17]

Largest groups of foreign residents by 31 December 2022

Ukraine	38,785
Syria	32,470
Poland	29,785
Turkey	28,395
Romania	20,255
Afghanistan	18,285
Iraq	12,395
Bulgaria	10,470
Russia	8,240
Denmark	7,365
Italy	5,875

The coat of arms shows the symbols of the two duchies united in Schleswig-Holstein, i.e., the two lions for Schleswig and the leaf of nettle for Holstein. Supposedly, Otto von Bismarck decreed that the two lions were to face the nettle because of the discomfort to their bottoms which would have resulted if the lions faced away from it.

Government agencies of Schleswig-Holsteins are using a logo showing a stylized version of the Schleswig Lions and the Holstein nettle combined with the abbreviation of Schleswig-Holstein "SH". Written either below or to the right of the lion and the nettle is "Schleswig-Holstein" below which either the Name of the agency using the logo is shown or the motto "Der echte Norden" (Germany's true North).[19]

Schleswig-Holstein logo

The motto of Schleswig-Holstein is "Up ewich ungedeelt" (Middle Low German: "Forever undivided", modern High German: "Auf ewig ungeteilt"). It goes back to the Treaty of Ribe (Danish: Ribe Håndfæstning German: Handfeste von Ripen) in 1460. Ripen (Ribe) is a historical small town in Northern Schleswig, nowadays Denmark.[9]

The anthem from 1844 is called "Wanke nicht, mein Vaterland" ("Don't falter, my fatherland"), but it is usually referred to with its first line "Schleswig-Holstein meerumschlungen" (i.e., "Schleswig-Holstein embraced by the seas") or "Schleswig-Holstein-Lied" (Schleswig-Holstein song).

The old city of Lübeck is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Distinctive point of the cuisine is combination of sweetness with a taste contrast like sour or salty. These combinations are also described as "broken sweetness" is especially present in dishes which are sweet-sour.

Typical dishes are:

• Birnen, Bohnen und Speck consist of pears, beans, savory, parsley, bacon and potatoes
• Holsteiner Sauerfleisch is sour aspic
• Holsteiner Katenschinken is ham with traditional cold-smoking method
• Different using of Nordseekraben in soup, porrenpann, with toast or scrambled eggs
• Famous is smoked Kieler Sprotten
• Other fish also is popular: Flatfish or Herring
• Grünkohl. In the Schleswig-Holstein there is a real cult around this vegetable. In the autumn and winter months groups of friends or colleagues go on a cabbage ride and choose their cabbage king, often combined with the typical regional sports of Boßeln and Klootschießen. The most popular dish is Grünkohl with Mettenden, but also possible other combination like Grünkohl with Kassler and 'Schweinebacke'. The Dithmarsch marshland is particularly suitable for growing cabbage. The soils are fertile, so that a good yield can still be achieved even in bad years. Due to the constant sea wind, there are far fewer pests in the area
• Lübecker Marzipan is a sweet made from ground almonds, sugar and added flavorings
• Lakritz confection flavored with extract of the roots of the liquorice plant (sweet, salt, salmiak and choco)
• Lübecker Rotspon, Bordeaux wine, which is delivered in oak barrels to Lübeck and there it maturated.
• Flensburger Rum-Verschnitt, braun mix of oversea rum, water and neutral alcohol (typical 40–42%)

• 
  Crab toast with dill
• 
  Holsteiner Sauerfleisch
• 
  Holsteiner Katenschinken
• 
  Kieler Sprotten
• 
  Birnen, Bohnen und Speck
• 
  Grünkohl mit Mettenden

The official language of Schleswig-Holstein is German.[20] In addition, Low German, Danish and North Frisian are recognized minority languages.[21]

Historically, Low German (in Holstein and Southern Schleswig), Danish (in Schleswig), and North Frisian (in Western Schleswig) were widely spoken in Schleswig-Holstein. During the language change in the 19th century some Danish and North Frisian dialects in Southern Schleswig were replaced by Standard German.[22][23][24]

Low German is still used in many parts of the state. Missingsch, a Low German dialect with heavy High German (Standard German) influence, is commonly spoken informally throughout the state, while a mixed language Petuh (mixture of High German and Danish) is used in and around Flensburg. Danish is used by the Danish minority in Southern Schleswig, and North Frisian is spoken by the North Frisians of the North Sea Coast and the Northern Frisian Islands in Southern Schleswig. The North Frisian dialect called Heligolandic (Halunder) is spoken on the island of Heligoland.

As is the case throughout Germany, High German, introduced in the 16th century, has come to steadily replace local dialects for official purposes, and is today the predominant language of media, law and legislature. It is spoken by virtually all inhabitants in formal situations. Since the end of World War II and widespread adoption of TV, radio and other mass media, it has gradually come to supplant local dialects in urban areas as well.

Schleswig-Holstein is a leader in the country's growing renewable energy industry.[26] In 2014, Schleswig-Holstein became the first German state to cover 100% of its electric power demand with renewable energy sources (chiefly wind 70%, solar 3.8%, and biomass 8.3%).[27]

The largest German oil field Mittelplate is located in the North Sea off the Dithmarsch coast and connected with refinery in Hemmingstedt and chemical plants in Brunsbüttel via pipeline. It produce ca. 1.4 million tonnes of oil annually.

There were three nuclear power plants in Schleswig-Holstein: Krümmel, Brunsbüttel, and Brockdorf. The last operating plant in Schleswig-Holstein, the Brokdorf-plant was shut down on new-years eve 2021.[28]

There is also a nuclear research center known "Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht" (rebranded as Hereon) with 2 research reactors, located right next to the Krümmel plant.[29]

During the 1990s, ten more cases of leukemia among children than was expected were identified in Elbmarsch, near the Krümmel plant. Anti-nuclear activists believed it was due to the nuclear plant, which led to several investigations. The reported discovery of small spherical beads of nuclear material in the area led to further concern, as well as the presence of minute amounts of plutonium in the Elbe. The origins of the nuclear material were disputed, with one report determining them to not be that of the Krümmel plant. Another report claimed that they may have come from an undisclosed fire in 1986, however this theory has been questioned as it would have required a substantial government coverup. The Chernobyl disaster has also been suggested as a source, though is considered unlikely. The probable source of the material, especially in the Elbe, is nuclear reprocessing plants in France. A 2010 report exonerated the nuclear power plants on the Elbe as the cause of contamination. Further doubt was cast on the nature of the supposed beads of nuclear material, with a Federal commission chastising the original commission that claimed to have discovered the beads. The exact cause of the increased leukemia cases remains unknown, and could be due to other environmental factors, or even by chance.[30][31][32][33][34]

The nuclear plants have further been questioned as a source of the cases due to comparison to the Savannah River Site in the United States. Despite release of radiation at the Savannah River Site, there is no increase in cases of leukemia around it. Alternative hypotheses for the cause of the cases have included electromagnetic fields, parental radiation exposure prior to conception, other carcinogens, and benzene exposure; however, none have been supported by the existing evidence. Intriguingly, a larger case-control study in Lower Saxony found a correlation between the "untrained immune system" (as judged as contact with other children, vaccinations, etc.) and leukemia risk, suggested that an immature immune system that has not been challenged is at greater risk for developing malignancy, possibly secondary to an undetermined environment factor.[35][36]

• 
  NPP Krümmel
• 
  View form Elbe: left is NPP Krümmel, right is the Research Center.
• 
  KKK – NPP Krümmel, GKSS – Research Center
• 
  Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant

Located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Schleswig-Holstein is also a popular tourist destination in Germany. Its islands, beaches and cities attract millions of tourists every year. It has the second highest tourism intensity per local among the German states, after Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but in absolute value it is rank 6th and only 1/3 of top destination Bavaria.[37] According to a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court, everyone has the right to free access to the beach. Nevertheless, most of the seaside resorts kept cashing in (2-€3 /day/person).[38]

• 
  Haithabu Museum
• 
  North Sea Coast at Amrum
• 
  Red Cliff (Sylt)
• 
  Lübeck City Hall
• 
  Historic City Center of Lübeck
• 
  Baltic Sea Coast at Timmendorfer Strand
• 
  Island of Heligoland
• 
  Kappeln Herring Day

63% of land in Schleswig-Holstein (990 403 ha) is used for agriculture (national average 47%).[39]

Cultivated crops:[40]

• Wheat, 208 000 ha
• Maize for silage, 176 000 ha
• Winter rapeseed, 112 000 ha
• Sugar beet, 7 500 ha
• Potatoes, 5 500 ha

There are some special cultivation regions:

• Elbmarschen, west of Hamburg for fruits cultivation
• Ditmarschen for cabbage
• Between Mölln and Lübeck for asparagus
• Pinneberg for tree nurseries and flower garden (especially, roses of Rosen Tantau and W. Kordes' Söhne), 2 931 ha. These 2 companies have over 50% of the world cut roses market. There is a German Nurseries Museum ("Deutsches Baumschulmuseum").[40]

• 
  Rosa Iceberg ("World-favorite Rose", 1983) from W. Kordes' Söhne
• 
  Tree nursery in Pinneberg
• 
  Rapeseed
• 
  Greenhouse of Rosen Tantau
• 
  Rosa Apricola ("Goldenen Rose", 2005) from W. Kordes' Söhne
• 
  Cabbage Field

A Holstein heifer

The dairy and cattle farming in connection with fodder cultivation is mainly concentrated on the marshland and the bordering Geest areas. In 2020, around 1 million cattle including 360,000 dairy cows were counted in Schleswig-Holstein, rank 4th of German states. Livestock is continuously declining.[41]

Schleswig-Holstein is home of the most productive dairy cattle: Holsteins, which produce an average of 8,125 L (2,146 US gal) per year of milk. It is now the main dairy cow around the world.

Pig breeding is mainly found in the Schleswig-Holstein Uplands. In principle, Schleswig-Holstein is one of the regions with relatively few pigs (a total of around 1.6 million; in comparison Lower Saxony: over 8 million). Poultry and sheep are also of little importance in animal husbandry.[40]

Schleswig-Holstein had Europe's largest snake farm in Uetersen with over 600 venomous reptiles, but it closed in 2019.[42]

Shrimp cutter near Südfall

Total production from fishing in North and Baltic Seas was 40 780 tonnes in 2019, ca. 1/3 German production.[43]

In the Baltic Sea total production amounted to 10377 tonnes (2019), of which 5432 tonnes of sprat, 2568 tonnes of flatfish and 1190 tonnes of cod.[43]

In the North Sea the numbers were 19,487 tonnes of mussels, 3560 tonnes of North Sea shrimp, 1166 tonnes of herring and 7062 other fishes.[43]

The one important aquaculture product is mussels, 16864 tonnes.[43]

Inland fishing and aquaculture is not significant with 221 and 250 tonnes in 2019 respectively.[43]

The largest company headquarters in Schleswig-Holstein with annual sales over 1 billion euros are:

• Wholesaler Bartels-Langness, Kiel 5.3 billion €
• Conglomerate Possehl, Lübeck 3.8 billion €
• Medical equipment manufacturer Drägerwerke, Lübeck 3.4 billion €
• Telecommunication service provider Freenet, Büdelsdorf 2.9 billion €
• Oil refinery Heide, Hemmingstedt 2.4 billion €
• Submarine shipyards ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Kiel 1.8 billion €
• Drainage and water solutions ACO Group, Büdelsdorf 1 billion €

The unemployment rate stood at 5.0% in October 2021.[44]

• Shipbuilding. Ca. 20% of German shipbuilding. The biggest ship yard ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems situated in Kiel and build submarines of 212 and 214 types. In Flensburg FSG yard build ferries. Famous luxury megayachts are built by Lürssen-Kröger Werft, Schacht-Audorf, and Nobiskrug, Rendsburg.[46] Shipyards in Lübeck[47] and Caterpillar-MaK marine engine plant were closed.[48] Raytheon Anschütz deliveries navigation equipment, autopilots, and radars to shipyards.

• 
  Lürssen-Kröger Shipyard Rendsburg
• 
  Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems Shipyards Kiel
• 
  Flensburg FSG Shipyard

• Locomotive. Vossloh Locomotives (owned by Chinese CRRC) manufactures three models of diesel-hydraulic (G6, G12, G18) and two models of diesel-electric (DE12, DE18) locomotives. Other manufacturer was Voith Turbo Lokomotivtechnik, but closed in 2014 year.[49] Both firms are in Kiel.

• 
  Vossloh G 12
• 
  Vossloh DE 18
• 
  Vossloh G 2000 BB
• 
  Voith Gravita 15L BB
• 
  Voith Revita
• 
  Voith Maxima

Headquarters of Dräger in Lübeck

• Industrial equipment. Fish and poultry processing machinery from Baader, Lübeck, bottle washers and pasteurizers from Krones, Flensburg, grinding machine tools from Peter Wolters, Rendsburg, machinery to manufacture human-made fibers, and non-woven textile from Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven, Neumünster.
• Medical and labor equipment. Drägerwerk, Lübeck manufacture breathing equipment, medical ventilators and monitors, anesthetic machines, neonatal incubators, gas detectors, drug testing equipment, diving equipment, rebreathers, and breathalyzer. The company delivery breathing devices for reanimation COVID-19 patients. Euroimmun, Lübeck, produces test systems with which antibodies can be determined in the serum of patients and thus autoimmune and infectious diseases (including COVID-19) as well as allergies.
• Chemical. Almost all chemical industry concentrate around Brunsbüttel. Covestro, with 650 employee, produced annually 400,000 tonnes methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, which using in synthesis of polyurethane. Yara (214 empl.) produce nitrogen fertilizers, but, with special process, instead of using natural gas, it use heavy oil, which allow also manufacture as byproduct vanadium oxide and sulphur. Heavy oil is source material to produce bitumen by Total Bitumen (130 empl.). Other plant is Sasol (520 empl.), which produce fatty and Guerbet alcohols, paraffin and high-purity aluminium oxide, aluminium hydroxide and triethylaluminium. Other important location of chemical industry is Neumünster with EMS-Griltech, which manufacture technical fibers from polyamides and polyesters, adhesives, and powder coatings.

The most important transport way in Schleswig-Holstein is Kiel Canal, which connect Brunsbüttel on North Sea with Kiel on Baltic Sea. Total cargo of ships reach peaks in 2007 and 2012, after that it continuous decline with 73.8 million tonnes in 2020.[50]

• 
  Kiel-Canal as seen from the North-Sea
• 
  Kiel-Canal as seen from the Baltic Sea
• 
  A freighter in Transit through the Kiel Canal
• 
  Ferry Hochdonn
• 
  Pilot Station Rüsterbergen

The state has a total of 46 public ports and landing stages, four of which fulfill international transit functions: Kiel, Lübeck / Travemünde and Puttgarden on the Baltic Sea, Brunsbüttel on the North Sea. Kiel and Lübeck are also important for freight traffic to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Lübeck-Travemünde and Kiel are also important ferry and cruise ports. Puttgarden is the German port of the Vogelfluglinie to Denmark. Brunsbüttel is an important port for bulk goods and also serves as the basis for the offshore wind energy industry.

• 
  Port of Lübeck
• 
  Port of Puttgarden
• 
  Port of Brunsbüttel
• 
  Port of Kiel