Schleswig-Holstein’s three more famous cities are situated in the east of the state: Flensburg, Kiel and Lübeck, whereby Lübeck has a very particular relationship to Schleswig-Holstein, as it has only been part of the state since 1937. Before that, Lübeck had a history of its own, as a member of the Hanseatic League. It was a free imperial city ruled by its citizens; it was not subject to any prince but directly to the emperor.

At the highpoint of the Hanseatic League, in the 12th century, Lübeck was a European power centre and the second largest city in Germany, after Cologne. Lübeck’s merchants were engaged in maritime trade with the whole Baltic region. They maintained links with England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Baltic states, Poland and Russia. It is no exaggeration to say that the Hanse was essentially very European and anticipated much of what is being aimed at today.

Later, the ports of Hamburg and Bremen became dominant and Lübeck was edged out. The difficult relationship between this past greatness and the tribulations of the present is described by Thomas Mann in his most famous novel, Buddenbrooks. Published in 1901, the book is set in Lübeck and portrays the decline of a merchant family over four generations.

However, it also shows how, as senator for trade and industry in late 19th century Lübeck, Thomas Buddenbrook succeeds in catching up with the economic prosperity of the German Empire. Lübeck, which due to its architecture and its many museums and cultural institutions is justifiably regarded as the cultural capital of the state, is still living out this tension between tradition and modernism today.

Things are different with Kiel, which may not have a great history, but certainly is of great importance today. As the state capital, Kiel constitutes the political and economic centre of Schleswig-Holstein. The foundation stone for this swift growth was laid with the expansion of Kiel as the base of the imperial German fleet in the late 19th century. Kiel made world history in 1918, when an uprising among the sailors on the war ships at anchor in its port gave the signal for the German November Revolution which, after the defeat in the First World War, heralded the end of Imperial Germany and the inauguration of the Weimar Republic in 1919.

Today, the port on both sides of the Kiel Firth dominates the city. The state parliament building is located directly at the water’s edge and daily, huge ferries from Norway and Sweden sail right into the heart of the city. Kiel is the home of the state’s only full university, which excels in maritime research.