Friedrichstadt

Friedrichstadt (Danish: Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum.

For other uses, see Friedrichstadt (disambiguation).
Friedrichstadt
Frederiksstad
Ensemble of all 9 houses with stepped gables ("Holländerhäuser") on the west side of the market place
Coat of arms
Location of Friedrichstadt
Frederiksstad within Nordfriesland district
Friedrichstadt
Frederiksstad
Friedrichstadt
Frederiksstad
Coordinates: 54°22′N 9°04′E
CountryGermany
StateSchleswig-Holstein
DistrictNordfriesland
Government
 • MayorPeter Hofmann
Area
 • Total4.03 km2 (1.56 sq mi)
Elevation
6 m (20 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31)[1]
 • Total2,578
 • Density640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes
25840
Dialling codes04881
Vehicle registrationNF

History

The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duke Friedrich III of Holstein-Gottorp persuaded them to invest capital and knowledge in this region in turn for freedom of their Mennonite and Remonstrant religion (see: Arminianism) and opportunities to reclaim fen and marsh land in the vicinity of the town. One of them was Johannes Narssius. Dutch became an official language. The town was named after Duke Frederick.

By 1630, many Arminians had already returned to the Netherlands. In 1633-1637 Frederick III sent an embassy to Tsar Michael I of Russia and to Shah Safi of Persia with a view to setting up Friedrichstadt as a European trade terminus. The delegation was led by the jurisconsult Philip Crusius, jurisconsult, and the merchant Otto Bruggemann or Brugman, of which their secretary - the scholar Adam Olearius - later wrote a book. However, the aim of creating a regular trading route that would not pass around Africa was not achieved, and the delegation proved fruitless. Altogether, the city of Friedrichstadt did not become as successful as anticipated.

Beside the Remonstrants and Mennonites there were also other faith communities as Unitarians, Quakers, Catholics and Jews.

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the city

Connected to Friedrichstadt
  • Jürgen Ovens (1623-1678), Rembrandt pupil and court painter of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, lived here and is buried in St. Christophorus Church
  • Louis Philippe I (1773-1850) lived a few months in the flight from the French Revolution Place and worked under a blanket as a home teacher
  • Hjalmar Schacht (1877-1970), German politician, banker, Reichsbank president and Reichswirtschaftsminister, his grandparents lived here

Images
  • Waterpump from 1879
  • Streetview with Dutch architecture
  • Protestant church
  • Detail Protestant church
  • Streetview Friedrichstadt
  • Mennonites church Friedrichstadt
  • Dutch gravestone 1725 in the Mennonite cemetery

References
  1. "Statistikamt Nord – Bevölkerung der Gemeinden in Schleswig-Holstein 4. Quartal 2018 (XLS-file)". Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein (in German).


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