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23-656: The Alssund is the narrow strait between Als island and the mainland of Jutland , in Denmark . This article about a location in the Region of Southern Denmark is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Als Island Als lies to the east of the Jutland peninsula, across from the Danish town of Sønderborg , and north of the coast of Southern Schleswig , Germany . Covering an area of 321 km (124 sq mi),

46-530: A cadet of the royal house of Denmark. He was the third son of Alexander , 2nd Duke of Sonderborg (1573–1627), and thus a grandson of John the Younger (1545–1622), the first duke, who was a son of King Christian III of Denmark . Ernest Günther had a castle built in the years after 1651, which received the name of Augustenburg in honor of his wife, Auguste . She was also from a branch of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein as

69-472: A daughter of Philip (1584–1663), Duke of Glücksburg. As that castle became the chief seat of their line, the family eventually used the name of Augustenborg as its branch name. As they were agnates of the ducal house, the title of duke belonged to every one of them (as is the Germanic custom). The Dukes of Augustenburg were not sovereign rulers—they held their lands in fief to their dynastically-senior kinsmen,

92-551: A part of the castle in 1920. The next year the Danish state bought the castle from the Duke. In 1810, a younger scion of the family, Prince Christian August , was chosen as the Crown Prince of Sweden, and adopted by king Charles XIII of Sweden . An Augustenburg dynasty on a royal throne was however not to be, as Prince Christian August died a couple of months after his arrival in Sweden. In

115-470: Is now purely for road traffic. Ferry services are run from the town of Hardeshøj on the island to Ballebro on the Jutland mainland, and from the town of Fynshav to Søby on the island of Ærø and to Bøjden on the island of Funen . Als is a fertile island with a thriving pig breeding industry. The island was formerly known for its fruit orchards , some of which are still in operation. The west coast of

138-405: The northern voting zone returned to Danish rule. After 1920 Als has been marked by growing industry, especially after 1945 when Danfoss grew into an international corporation. The Augustenburg line died out in the 20th century. The town of Sønderborg is home to Sønderborg Castle ( Sønderborg Slot ) and Sandbjerg Estate ( Sandbjerg Gods ). Sønderborg castle is located in the centre of

161-461: The building's entryway. The castle church is open to the public in the summertime, and tours are given. The writer Herman Bang was born in 1857 Asserballe on Als and was a child during the Second Schleswig War when the island came under Prussian (later German) rule. That traumatic war forms the background of Bang's novel Tine (1889), which tells the tragic love story of a young girl on

184-687: The dominating person on the island. The Duchy was taken over by the Danish Crown after the last Duke of Augustenborg to live at the palace, Christian August II , had sided with the Schleswig-Holstein pro-German nationalist movement against Denmark. He left on March 18, 1848. That same year during the First Schleswig War (1848–1851), the Danes directed their main attack against Field Marshal Friedrich Graf von Wrangel 's Austro - Prussian army from

207-575: The early 19th century, the Danish royal line started to go extinct. The Duke of Augustenburg was the next male-line heir to the royal house, though not descended in male line from Frederick III of Denmark and Norway . This made the duke a player in the convoluted Schleswig-Holstein Question , as well as a candidate in the Danish succession . Frederik August of Augustenburg attempted to proclaim himself reigning Duke Frederick VIII of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864, upon

230-488: The final extinction of the senior branch of the Danish kings. His daughter, Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein , became German Empress as consort of Wilhelm II . The ducal line died out in 1931. In November 1920, its penultimate head had adopted Prince Johann Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his sister Princess Marie Luise, children of Prince Albrecht of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. After Augustenborg's extinction in 1931, seniority fell to

253-541: The island has a total population of 51,322 as of 1 January 2010. It is administered as part of the Sønderborg Municipality as of 1 January 2007. To the north and east of the island are the waters of the Little Belt , to the south is Flensborg Fjord , and to the west is Als Fjord and Als Strait ( Alssund ). The town of Sønderborg is the capital, and was originally entirely on the island, but has spread onto

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276-571: The island has been inhabited from the late Stone Age . From the Bronze Age comes the Hjortspring boat . During the Middle Ages the island came under the influence of a number of noblemen, each of which ruled over their portion of the island, and its citizens. King Christian III 's son, Duke John , came in possession of the island as a titular Duchy , and he bought the other noblemen out. The island

299-491: The island has many bays and coves: Stegsvig, Sandvig, Ketting Nor, Lille Hav, Augstenborg Fjord, Kær Vig, Hørup Hav, and Dyvig. On the east coast along the Little Belt lies the 7 km Northern Forest ( Nørreskov ), and Lake Nordborg ( Nordborg Sø ). The former municipality of Nordborg is the home of Danfoss , Denmark's largest industrial company, and a number of its subsidiaries. There are many archeological finds that show

322-487: The island of Als. It was translated to various other languages, making people in other countries familiar with Als. Duke of Augustenborg The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg ( Danish : Slesvig-Holsten-Sønderborg-Augustenborg ) was a branch of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg of the House of Oldenburg . The line descended from Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg . Like all of

345-538: The lighthouse on the peninsula of Kegnæs at the southwest end of Als. In 1864 the Battle of Als took place there. After these two wars over which nation would rule the island (and the whole of Schleswig), the following period saw the island under Prussian and German rule, although the island's population was largely Danish . In 1870 Als was fortified by Prussia. Following the Schleswig plebiscites of 1920, Als as part of

368-760: The line of the Dukes of Glücksburg , heads of the second line of Holstein, known in German as Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and in Danish as Slesvig-Holsten-Sønderborg-Lyksborg . Like the kings of the earlier Oldenburg line, of which the House of Glücksburg is a cadet branch , monarchs of the Glücksburg dynasty in Denmark also bore the titles of Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein. Margrethe II of Denmark abandoned this tradition upon ascending

391-535: The mainland, being split by the waters of Als Strait: the strait that separates the island from Jutland, the Danish mainland and part of Als Fjord. It has a good harbour and considerable trade. The two halves of the city are connected over the fjord by two bridges: the 682-metre-long Als Strait Bridge ( Alssundbro ), built between 1978 and 1981, carries road traffic; and the 331-metre-long King Christian X 's Bridge ( Kong Christian Xs Bro ), built between 1925 and 1930, which originally carried both road and rail traffic but

414-530: The secondary lines from the Sonderburg branch, the heads of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg were first known as Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein and Dukes of Sonderburg. The family took its name from its ancestral home, Augustenborg Palace in Augustenborg , Denmark . The branch originated from Ernest Günther , a member of the ducal house of Schleswig-Holstein (its branch of Sønderborg ) and

437-564: The sovereign Dukes of Schleswig and Holstein —who were the Oldenburg Kings of Denmark. Later, a Danish king made the head of that line specifically Duke of Augustenburg. In the late 18th century, since 1764, the branch of Schleswig-Holsten-Sønderborg-Augustenburg was genealogically the next senior branch immediately after the main line of Danish kings. King Frederick VI of Denmark (or, rather, his chief adviser Andreas Peter Bernstorff ), made his only sister Louise Auguste of Denmark marry

460-456: The then Hereditary Prince Christian of Augustenburg . In 1764, Sønderborg castle , the seat of that elder Schleswig-Holstein branch, passed upon its owners' extinction into the hands of the Duke of Augustenburg, but against expectations it did not become a residence (they remained at Augustenborg). Instead it was rented out as a warehouse. The penultimate Duke of Augustenburg, also named Ernst Günther, allowed Sønderborg County Museum to move into

483-421: The town consequently, received the name in honour of Ernest's wife Auguste , who was from another branch of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein . The palace became the chief seat of their line which used the name Augustenborg as its branch name. Later a Danish king made the head of that line specifically Duke of Augustenborg . They grew in relative prominence in late 18th century, and the Duke of Augustenborg became

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506-465: The town, and houses a museum focusing on the history and culture of the area. The museum is open year-round. Sandbjerg Estate, which had belonged for many years to the Dukes of Sønderborg, and then to the Reventlow family, was donated to Aarhus University in 1954. The island's Augustenborg Palace has been converted into a hospital. There is an exhibit about the castle, the town and its ducal history in

529-400: Was again divided into several smaller Duchies later on, but this venture failed eventually. The town of Augustenborg grew up around Augustenborg Palace which was established in the years after 1651 by Ernest Günther , a member of the ducal House of Schleswig-Holstein (its branch of Sønderborg), great-grandson of King Christian III , and a cadet of the royal house of Denmark. The palace, and

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