Gegenverstädterungsvergemeindigung

Gegenverstädterungsvergemeindigung is a geopolitical phenomenon observed mostly in the Duchy of Holstein in Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland that entails the fusion of multiple smaller, mostly rural municipalities to form a larger municipality both in terms of geography and population in order to stop the expansion of neighbouring cities.

Name
Gegenverstädterungsvergemeindigung is and translates to "counter-urbanisation municipalitisation". Other, mostly colloquial, terms to describe the phenomenon are Anti-Wichserbund ("Anti-wankers confederation") and Nein!-Faust ("No!-fist").

Historical situation
Municipalities in Holstein have historically been relatively sparsely populated, with most municipalities usually averaging between 500 and 1,000 inhabitants. Only the largest cities, like Kiel and Lübeck, would reach over 10,000 inhabitants.

This situation changed following the Industrial Revolution in these regions in the 19th century, with cities rapidly expanding and annexing surrounding municipalities, which would often be incorporated into the city proper and become quarters, frequently losing their village identity. Such municipalities were Suchsdorf, Elmschenhagen and Oppendorf which were annexed by Kiel, and Moisling-Genin, Bad Schwartau and Eichholz which were annexed by Lübeck. Others are Einfeld, annexed by Neumünster; Prisdorf, annexed by Pinneberg; Sonneck, annexed by Elmshorn; and Oelixdorf, annexed by Itzehoe. Many of these villages were incorporated into the urban metropolis of these cities, and lost their identity to some extent. These small municipalities were often powerless against the larger ones due to their small population sizes, which meant they did not have the financial means and manpower to lobby for their continuing existence, and were often the victim of so-called "forced annexations".

Wald, Meer und See
The first case of Gegenverstädterungsvergemeindigung is from 1956. After having annexed Sereetz in 1954, the municipality of Lübeck expressed the desire to annex the municipality of Dänischburg-Siems-Rangenberg-Wallberg, which expressed the exact opposite desire in response. Lübeck, in response, filed for annexation at the Ministry of the Interior of the Duchy of Holstein in 1955. Foreseeing their demise, the Dänischburg c.a. sent a letter with a call for help to its neighbouring municipalities of Kreuzkamp and Pöppendorf, proposing a merger in order to stop the annexation, and was met positively by these municipalities' councils. Plans for a merger were set up in September 1955, with the intention to merge the municipalities before June 1956, when the Ministry of the Interior would tend to the file for annexation. In December of 1955, amidst talks between the three original municipalities, a request was sent by the municipalities of Ivendorf, Ovendorf, Grammersdorf and Offendorf to be included in the merger. Only two weeks later, a week before New Year's Eve, another request was received, this time from the municipalities of Hemmelsdorf, Warnsdorf, Häven, Teutendorf and Gnevendorf. They were accepted into the talks as well.

Talks between the municipal councils continued in January 1956 and lasted two months. Halfway through the talks a request was received from the municipality of Brodten, which was approved. This meant that eleven municipalities were to voluntarily merge, something thenceto unseen in Holstein. A Gemeinderverordnung was drafted in March of 1956, and approved by the municipal councils in April in the same year, abolishing the eleven municipalities with immediate effect and forming one new municipality called Wald, See und Meer. A notice was sent to the Ministry of the Interior to inform them of the merger. A letter was also sent to the municipality of Lübeck, reading only: "Pech." ("bad luck").

Wald, See und Meer still exists as of 2016.

Effects of Wald, Meer und See
Following the success of Wald, See und Meer, other municipalities have tried the same tactic with varying levels of success. Smaller municipalities merged to form a geographically larger whole with just enough inhabitants to be able to counteract the annexation efforts of a neighbouring cities. In some cases, cities called off their efforts after being confronted with such opposition.

Examples


There are various examples of Gegenverstädterungsvergemeindiging to be found in Holstein. Below is a given a limited selection.

Itzehoe
The municipality of Itzehoe annexed the municipality of Oelixdorf in 1965, and openly expressed the desire to expand southwards across the. In response, municipalities to the south of the river decided to take the same approach as Wald, Meer und See and formed the municipality of Störfelden, containing the former municipalities of Breitenburg, Heiligenstedterkamp, Münsterdorf, Dägeling and Lägerdorf. Confronted with a larger, more powerful municipality, Itzehoe called off its intentions to expand southwards.

In 1971, the municipality of Itzehoe filed for annexation of parts of the municipalities of Ösau and Schlotfeld to the northeast of it. Despite objections from these municipalities, the annexation was approved, resulting in Schlotfeld losing about 1/8th of its territory, and Ösau losing over half of its territory. Fearing a possible complete annexation, many smaller municipalities bordering Itzehoe decided to merge, creating three large municipalities: Heiligenland, Hungriger Wolfenthal and Ufer und Moor, blocking any possible future annexation by Itzehoe.

Westprobstei
The municipality of Westprobstei was created in 1985 to counter an intended expansion by the municipality of Kiel of Schönkirchen and Mönkeberg. Together with the municipalities of Kitzeberg-Schrevenborn, Heikendorf and Laboe it formed Westprobstei, which, with roughly 20,000 inhabitants, managed to ward off the annexation.

Felden und Haagen in Holstein
The municipality of Felden und Haagen in Holstein was formed in 1989 following an attempt by the municipality of Rendsburg to annex Westerrönfeld, then still located in the Duchy of Schleswig. To ward off an annexation, Westerrönfeld found support from the municipalities of Osterrönfeld, Schülldorf and Schacht-Audorf, with which it merged to form Felden und Haagen.

This was however seemingly not enough to stop Rendsburg from attempting an annexation of Felden und Haagen in 1993. The annexation was supported by the Herzogtumstag of Schleswig, and was seemingly a matter of fact in 1994. In a final attempt to mitigate the end of its independence, Felden und Haagen declared itself independent from Schleswig and asked to be annexed by Schülp bei Rendsburg, located in the Duchy of Holstein. Schülp bei Rendsburg filed for annexation in a federal court, stopping the imminent annexation by Rendsburg. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court of Schleswig-Holstein-Jutland in the case Schülp bei Rendsburg in re, Herzogtum Schleswig verteidigend de facto, which ruled that the declaration of independence by Felden and Haagen was unlawful, but that the annexation by Schülp bei Rendsburg could continue due to the mutual agreement on its nature between the two municipalities. The new municipality was incorporated into the Duchy of Holstein in 1996.

Warder
A 2005 annexation attempt of Eckhorst by Lübeck created perhaps the most unusual municipality of all: Warder. Containing the former municipalities of Eckhorst, Mönkhagen, Strukdorf, Westerrade, Pronstorf, Wensin, Garbek, and Schlamersdorf (which itself contains three former municipalities as well), it stretches 30 kilometres away from Lübeck, but maintains an average width of just 2.5 kilometres. Faced with an area that it could not, or perhaps did not want to care for, Lübeck called off its attempt.