Flensburg Germany
Frequently Asked Questions
At the historic harbour, at the foot of the old centre, in the far north of Germany at the head of a Baltic inlet that all but touches Denmark. Everything here is within walking distance.
Because in the 18th century its ships brought back cane sugar and spirits from the Danish West Indies, and that trade made its fortune. Caribbean rum reached Europe through this town that few people could place on a map.
Yes, for more than 400 years, until 1864, and that history shows everywhere: in the merchants' houses with their stepped gables, in the paved inner courtyards, in the Danish minority that maintains schools and newspapers.
The merchants' courtyards running one behind another down toward the harbour, opening off both sides of the long shopping street, one of the oldest pedestrian streets in Germany. Craft shops, galleries and cafés occupy them now.
Housed in a former customs warehouse of 1840, it displays navigation instruments, captains' logs and reconstructed trading offices. In the basement, a rum museum tells the story of the crossings, the fortunes and the darker side of that trade, without varnish.
Yes, a marked trail of some twenty stations crosses the centre on the traces of the trade that linked Flensburg to the Danish West Indies, today the US Virgin Islands. Rote Strasse, with its flowered courtyards and distilleries carrying on the tradition, extends the theme, tastings included.
One of the finest collections of traditional sailing vessels in Germany, maintained by enthusiasts along the quays: schooners, cutters and brown-sailed coasters rock in front of the facades. The historic shipyard, open to visitors, restores old hulls using period techniques.
Germany's last coal-fired seagoing steamer, built in 1908, which runs trips on the fjord from May to October: funnel smoking and steam engine at work, a voyage within the voyage.
The fischbrötchen, the classic served by the fish stalls on the quays, with a Flensburger Pilsener, the local beer with a swing-top whose opening sound is part of regional folklore.
Glücksburg Renaissance castle, about ten kilometres away, setting its white silhouette in the middle of a pond. Closer at hand, the crossing to the eastern side of the harbour is worth it: the view turns back to the tiered old town and the spires of St Mary's and St Nicholas rising from the roofs.
