Holstein

Holstein, formerly a duchy belonging to Denmark, and at the same time a member of the Germanic Confederation, was annexed in 1866 to Prussia, which incorporated it in the province of Sleswick-Holstein. It is separated from Sleswick on the N. by the river Eider and the North Baltic Canal; is bounded on the E. by the Baltic Sea, the territory of Lübeck, and the duchy of Lanenburg; on the S. by the Hamburg territory and the Elbe; and on the W. by the North Sea. One-eighth of the surface consists of marshes. The central districts are occupied by an undulating plain traversed from north to south by a low heathy and sandy ridge. The soil, with the exception of several tracts of sand and heath, is very fruitful, especially in the marshes. The climate and natural productions closely resemble those of similar districts in the north of Germany. Salt and gypsum are the only minerals found. Peat is plentiful. Agriculture and the rearing of cattle are the chief employments, though market-gardening flourishes in the neighbourhood of Altona and Hamburg, and shipping in the seaport towns, and fishing along the coasts, especially for oysters in the North Sea. Area, 3237 sq. m.; pop. about 560,000—mostly Germans of the Low German stock. The history of Holstein will be noticed under SLESWICK.