Flensburg (Danish: Flensborg) is a city in Schleswig-Holstein located on the east coast. The 85000 inhabitants live around the Flensburger Förde (Flensborg fjord).
Get in
Most people arrive here by car. Flensburg is situated at the border of Germany and Denmark, beside the motorway ( in Denmark) leading to Hamburg in the south and to Kolding and further north in Denmark.
There are bus and train connections both from Denmark and Hamburg. Search deutschebahn.com for public connections in Germany, and DSB for Denmark.
The nearest airports are Hamburg (big international airport 150 km away) and Sønderborg (in Denmark 50 km away; flights from Copenhagen only). Deutschebahn.com recommends the bus heading for Kiel but with a change to train in Neumünster heading for Flensburg. From Sonderborg airport take a taxi to the rail station and then DSB train.
Get around
Walking is the best way to get around in the city centre.
See
Flensburg offers a nice shopping district with old houses and gardens as well as a variety of museums and churches. The harbour is the hosting place for sailing regatta and events.
Museums:
- Museumsberg Flensburg-a museum on a hill in the center of Flensburg exhibiting local history artefacts and art by not only local artists. On Fridays entry is for free, otherwise varying between 4€ and 0.5€. On Mondays it is closed, otherwise open from 10-4(November to March) or 10-5(May to October).
- Naturwissenschaftliches Museum und Eiszeit-Haus (Science Museum and Ice-Age House)- located on the museum hill next to the other museum, same opening times, entry is free.
- Phänomenta- an interactive science museum, where you can try experiments on you own, especially interesting for families and children and anybody interested in science. Prices vary from 9,50€ for adults to 7€ for youth and 2€ for children. Opening times on weekdays are 9-5 (October to May) and 10-6 (July to September) and 11-6 on weekends.
- Museumswerft (Shipyard museum)-this museum shows and builds old ships and boats and offers courses for children, teenagers and adults. Free entry, open from 8-5 (weekdays) and 10-5 (weekends), tours can be given when informed in advance. It is located directly on the harbour.
Churches: The following churches have an interesting architecture and are located in the centre of Flensburg. Click http://www.flensburg-online.de/kirchen/index.html for an (almost) complete list of churches in Flensburg.
- St. Nikolai (Lutheran)
- St. Marien (Lutheran)
- St. Johannis (Lutheran)
- St. Marien, schmerzhafte Mutter (Roman Catholic)
- Helligåndskirken (Church of the Holy Spirit, Danish church, Lutheran)
Architecture
One of the oldest buildings in the city is the building of the "Doc Morris Farmacy" at the "Südermarkt". The architecture inside as well as outside is very much worth visiting.
Do
Tours around the city can be booked at the tourist information center near the main bus train, they are available in German, English, French, Swedish and Low German.
- Tourism Center, Rathausstr. 1 (near the main bus station in the city center), ☏ +49 461 9090920, fax: +49 461 9090936, info@flensburg-tourismus.de.
A nice way to enjoy the maritime atmosphere of Flensburg is to take a tour on one of the 5 different ferries.
- Alexandra, ☏ +49 461 212-32. The Alexandra just celebrated her 100th birthday and is so the oldest passenger stream boat which is still in use in whole Germany.
- MS Viking, ☏ +49 174 15 85 555.
- MS Möwe, ☏ +49 461 62-945.
- MS Flora II, ☏ +49 177 55 11 114.
- MS Feodora, ☏ +49 172 45 16 791.
Buy
Lots of people arrive in Flensburg from Denmark and the other Nordic countries for shopping. In addition to the numerous small shops along the pedestrian street Holm (Danish: Holmen) and Große Straße and the new shopping mall Flensburg Galerie with 80 shops in the city there's a shopping centre some 2 km south of the city, Förde Park as well as Poetzsch at Kupfermühle near the Danish border. Other shopping centres are Scandinavien Park and Citti Park. The Scandinavian Park is conveniently located right off the northernmost exit of A7 motorway in Germany. Due to its location and tourists visiting it is allowed to open all week long and attracts locals from both sides of the border, who go there for a Sunday grocery run. Price differences between Denmark and Germany may make a certain item a bargain for Danish people but it might be expensive for Germans.
Certainly a nice place to visit is the famous "Rote Straße" (Red Street). As part of the traditional "Ochsenweg" the Rote Straße represents a big part of Flensburg's history. Many little shops can be found there.
Eat
- Dionysos, Glücksburger Straße 174, ☏ +49 461 140-800. A Greek restaurant in the first floor of Hotel Fruerlund.
- Marien-Café, Norderstrasse 13, ☏ +49 461 500-9711.
- Goldene Lilie, Angelburger Straße 10-16 (opposite of the side entrance of the Fensburg Galerie), ☏ +49 461 26294, fax: +49 461 1505443. 11:30am-3pm and 5:30pm-11pm. A Chinese restaurant offering a tasty buffet and a good menu.
- Pazific, Ochsenweg 39 (located in Weiche, a district in Flensburg). Another Chinese restaurant offering a menu and a 'normal' buffet as well as a Mongolian buffet where you can compose your own meal out of different kinds of rare meat, fish, clams, vegetables and sauces. Your choice is then fried before your eyes by a cook. Very friendly service.
- Galerie, Holm 66 (located in a garden, opposite the Holm). A restaurant offering a variety of pizza and pasta, non-vegetarian and vegetarian food.
Drink
Sleep
- Landhaus Eric, Glücksburger Stasse 177 (The hotel is situated about 2 km northeast of the city centre. There are signs showing the way to the hotel.), ☏ +49 461 64895, fax: +49 461 63000, hotel-eric@foni.net.
- Jugendherberge Flensburg.
- Hostel Flensburg, Zur Exe 23, ☏ +49 461 90 90 833, fax: +49 4619090834. Check-in: 4pm-9pm, check-out: till 12pm.
- Gästehaus Seewarte, Mürwikerstrasse 164, 24944 Flensburg, ☏ +49 461 35 0 25. Check-in: 14-21, check-out: 7-12. Inexpensive hotel outside the city center. Not without reason sometimes compared to British comedy "Fawlty Towers", but the staff is very kind and helpful. No credit cards accepted €35-50.
Go next
- Glücksburg Castle (just outside Flensburg). Beautiful old white castle. 5 €.
Routes through Flensburg |
Åbenrå ← (Danish border) ← | N S | → Schleswig → Hamburg |