[shles-wig; Ger. shleys-vik] 
| 1. | a seaport in N Germany, on the Baltic. 30,700. |
| 2. | a historic region in S Jutland: a former duchy of Denmark; annexed by Prussia 1864; the N part was returned to Denmark as the result of a plebiscite 1920. |
| Schles·wig (shlěs'wĭg, -wĭk, shlās'vĭk) A historical region and former duchy of northern Germany and southern Denmark in southern Jutland. The duchy was created in 1115 and passed, along with the duchy of Holstein, to Christian I of Denmark in 1460. After subdivisions caused by complex hereditary holdings, the duchies were once more reunited under the Danish crown in 1773. Denmark, Prussia, and Austria contended for the region until 1866, when it was annexed by Prussia. In 1920 the northern part of Schleswig was returned to Denmark by plebiscite. The southern portion became (1946) part of the West German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which became a state after German unification (1990). |
Schleswig
historic and cultural region occupying the southern Jutland Peninsula north of the Eider River and now encompassing the northern half of Schleswig-Holstein Land (state) in northern Germany and Sonderjylland amtskommune (county commune) in southern Denmark. Schleswig became a Danish duchy in the 12th century and remained a fief associated with Denmark until it was forcibly annexed by Prussia and incorporated with Holstein as a single Prussian province in 1866. Following World War I the Danish majority living in North Schleswig (north of Flensburg) voted for incorporation with Denmark in a plebiscite (1920) held in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles
Learn more about Schleswig with a free trial on Britannica.com.
wɪg