--- title: "Flensburg Between Two Nations | Christian V" description: "How Flensburg switched between Denmark and Germany, why the border region stays bilingual, and what the lion and eagle in the Christian V crest mean." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "Christian V Rum", "url": "https://christianvrum.com", "logo": "https://christianvrum.com/android-chrome-512x512.png", "description": "Christian V Rum – deutscher Rum aus Flensburg mit dänischem Erbe. Flensburger Rum, dreifach destilliert und im Sherryfass gereift.", "foundingLocation": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Flensburg, Deutschland" }, "sameAs": [ "https://christianvrum.de", "https://christian-v.com", "https://christian5.de", "https://flensburger-rum.de", "https://deutscher-rum.com", "https://deutscherrum.de", "https://rumkontor.com" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Product", "name": "Christian V Original Rum", "image": "https://christianvrum.com/android-chrome-512x512.png", "description": "Deutscher Rum aus Flensburg mit dänischem Erbe – dreifach destillierter Flensburger Rum, 3 Jahre in Sherry-Eichenfässern gereift. 500 ml, 40% Vol.", "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Christian V" }, "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "url": "https://christianvrum.com/#shop", "priceCurrency": "EUR", "price": "49.90", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "seller": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Christian V Rum" } }, "category": "Rum", "countryOfOrigin": { "@type": "Country", "name": "Germany" }, "material": "Karibisches Zuckerrohr, Gletscherwasser der baltischen Endmoräne", "additionalProperty": [ { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Volumen", "value": "500 ml" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Alkoholgehalt", "value": "40% Vol." }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Reifung", "value": "3 Jahre in Sherry-Eichenfässern" }, { "@type": "PropertyValue", "name": "Destillation", "value": "Dreifach destilliert" } ], "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.9", "bestRating": "5", "worstRating": "1", "ratingCount": "27", "reviewCount": "12" }, "review": [ { "@type": "Review", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jens H." }, "datePublished": "2025-09-14", "reviewBody": "Sehr weicher, eleganter Rum mit feiner Sherry-Note. Schmeckt nach Flensburger Hafen und langer Reife – mein neuer Lieblingsrum am Abend.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": "5", "bestRating": "5", "worstRating": "1" } }, { "@type": "Review", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margarethe K." }, "datePublished": "2025-10-02", "reviewBody": "Königlich im wahrsten Sinne. Vanille, getrocknete Frucht und ein Hauch Eiche – die 500-ml-Flasche ist außerdem ein echtes Schmuckstück.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": "5", "bestRating": "5", "worstRating": "1" } }, { "@type": "Review", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lars P." }, "datePublished": "2025-11-21", "reviewBody": "En virkelig fin flensborgsk rom. Blød, rund og med tydelig sherrykarakter. Long live the King!", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": "5", "bestRating": "5", "worstRating": "1" } }, { "@type": "Review", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sophie M." }, "datePublished": "2026-01-08", "reviewBody": "Beautifully balanced rum from Flensburg. Smooth on the palate with a long, warm finish — the sherry cask really shines.", "reviewRating": { "@type": "Rating", "ratingValue": "5", "bestRating": "5", "worstRating": "1" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "name": "Christian V Rum", "url": "https://christianvrum.com", "inLanguage": [ "de", "en", "da" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Flensburg Between Two Nations", "description": "How Flensburg switched between Denmark and Germany, why the border region stays bilingual, and what the lion and eagle in the Christian V crest mean.", "image": [ "https://christianvrum.com/assets/journal-flensburg-grenzregion-DAd6txx5.png" ], "datePublished": "2026-04-16", "dateModified": "2026-04-16", "inLanguage": "en-US", "url": "https://christianvrum.com/en/journal/flensburg-german-danish-border-region", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://christianvrum.com/en/journal/flensburg-german-danish-border-region" }, "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Christian V Rum", "url": "https://christianvrum.com" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Christian V Rum", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://christianvrum.com/android-chrome-512x512.png" } } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://christianvrum.com/en" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Journal", "item": "https://christianvrum.com/en/journal" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Flensburg Between Two Nations", "item": "https://christianvrum.com/en/journal/flensburg-german-danish-border-region" } ] } ] --- [![Christian V Rum monogram – logo](/assets/cv-monogram-BfOv3A2f.webp)Christian V ](/en) [About the Rum](/en#rum)[Christian V](/en/journal/flensburg-history-german-danish-rum)[History](/en#geschichte)[Journal](/en/journal)[FAQ](/en/faq)[Shop](/en#shop) [DE](/de/journal/flensburg-deutsch-daenische-grenzregion)[EN](/en/journal/flensburg-german-danish-border-region)[DK](/da/journal/flensborg-dansk-tysk-graenseregion) ![Flensburg harbour with Danish and German flags – German-Danish border region](/assets/journal-flensburg-grenzregion-DAd6txx5.png) 1. [Home](/en) 2. [Journal](/en/journal) 3. Flensburg Between Two Nations – One City, Two Identities [Journal](/en/journal) History · 9 MIN # Flensburg Between Two Nations – One City, Two Identities Contents 1. [01 A city that switched nations](#a-city-that-switched-nations) 2. [02 One region, two languages](#one-region-two-languages) 3. [03 The SSW – political voice of the minority](#the-ssw-political-voice-of-the-minority) 4. [04 Lion and eagle – a crest tells the story](#lion-and-eagle-a-crest-tells-the-story) 5. [05 Continue reading in the Journal](#continue-reading-in-the-journal) Contents ✦ Christian V Rum · Journal ✦ One fjord, two languages — lion and eagle on the same crest. How Flensburg switched between Denmark and Germany, why the border region remains bilingual today — and what the Christian V crest reveals about it. Few cities in Europe wear their history as visibly as Flensburg. Here on the fjord, where the water cuts deep into the land, two worlds have met for centuries – the German and the Danish. It is a border that exists not only on maps, but in languages, schools, clubs, coats of arms – and in the glass. ## A city that switched nations For centuries Flensburg belonged to the Danish realm. It was here, in the north of the kingdom, that merchants sent their ships to the Danish West Indies; here that rum, sugar and prosperity rolled across the fjord. Only with the Second Schleswig War of 1864 did the city pass to Prussia – a rupture that still echoes today. After the First World War, a referendum in 1920 redrew the border: Flensburg remained German, Northern Schleswig became Danish. A border drawn with ballots rather than bayonets. ## One region, two languages What remained was a region that does not know either-or, but both-and. Around 50,000 people on the German side today identify as part of the Danish minority. They send their children to one of the many Danish schools, read the Danish-language newspaper "Flensborg Avis", and meet in Danish parishes and sports clubs. Across the border, in Sønderjylland, a German minority lives with its own schools and cultural houses. ## The SSW – political voice of the minority Politically, this character finds its voice in the South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), founded in Flensburg in 1948. As the party of the Danish and Frisian minority, the SSW is exempt from the five-percent threshold – a singular status in German politics. In 2021, the SSW returned to the Bundestag for the first time in decades. And in Flensburg itself, Simon Faber served as a Danish lord mayor from 2011 to 2017 – in a German city. A quiet but remarkable moment. ## Lion and eagle – a crest tells the story This double identity is carried in the Christian V crest as well. The lion stands for Denmark – the kingdom Christian V ruled and which shaped Flensburg like no other power. The eagle stands for the German and Austrian heritage – for the era in which the city became part of the German Reich, and for the neighbourhood that endures today. Two heraldic animals, two histories, one glass. Just like Flensburg itself. Christian V is neither a German nor a Danish rum. It is a Flensburg rum – which means: it is both. ## Continue reading in the Journal Dive deeper with these related stories from our journal: - [The History of Rum – Origin, Production and Styles From the Caribbean sugarcane fields of the 17th century to Cachaça and Rhum Agricole: origin, pot still vs. column and the world's great rum styles. ](/en/journal/history-of-rum) - [The History of Flensburg Rum – From the Caribbean to the Baltic Sea How a small Danish port city became Germany's rum capital: the Neptunus, the Danish West Indies, over 20 rum houses, and 250 years of rum tradition. ](/en/journal/history-of-flensburg-rum) Share article [](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Flensburg%20Between%20Two%20Nations%20%E2%80%93%20One%20City%2C%20Two%20Identities&url=https%3A%2F%2Fchristian-v-rum-legacy.lovable.app%2Fen%2Fjournal%2Fflensburg-german-danish-border-region "X")[](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fchristian-v-rum-legacy.lovable.app%2Fen%2Fjournal%2Fflensburg-german-danish-border-region "Facebook")[](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchristian-v-rum-legacy.lovable.app%2Fen%2Fjournal%2Fflensburg-german-danish-border-region "LinkedIn")[](https://wa.me/?text=Flensburg%20Between%20Two%20Nations%20%E2%80%93%20One%20City%2C%20Two%20Identities%20https%3A%2F%2Fchristian-v-rum-legacy.lovable.app%2Fen%2Fjournal%2Fflensburg-german-danish-border-region "WhatsApp")[](mailto:?subject=Flensburg%20Between%20Two%20Nations%20%E2%80%93%20One%20City%2C%20Two%20Identities&body=Flensburg%20Between%20Two%20Nations%20%E2%80%93%20One%20City%2C%20Two%20Identities%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fchristian-v-rum-legacy.lovable.app%2Fen%2Fjournal%2Fflensburg-german-danish-border-region "E-Mail") [ ![Christian V Rum](/assets/label-illustration-Cyp6PahL.webp) In the glass ### Christian V – Flensburg Rum Triple distilled in Angeln, three years in sherry oak at the Flensburg harbour. 0.5 l · 42 % vol · 49.90 € View in the shop ](/en#shop) More Stories [ ![Historic Caribbean sugarcane plantation with copper pot still distillery and rum barrels](/assets/journal-rum-geschichte-welt-mxhL92So.webp) History ### The History of Rum – Origin, Production and Styles ](/en/journal/history-of-rum)[ ![Historic Flensburg harbour at sunset with sailing ships and rum barrels](/assets/journal-flensburg-geschichte-rum-iaRj0pFP.webp) History ### A City Between Two Worlds — CHRISTIAN V & the History of Flensburg ](/en/journal/flensburg-history-german-danish-rum) [Christian V](/en) Long Live the King [About the Rum](/en)[Journal](/en/journal)[FAQ](/en/faq)[Shop](/en#shop) Distilled & bottled in Flensburg, Germany © 2026 Christian V Rum. All rights reserved. Drink responsibly. No sales to persons under 18. [Baltic Sea accommodation](https://villa-boreal.de)[Cape accommodation](https://villa-austral.com)[Space for ideas](https://high.space)[Lifestyle inspiration](https://gwyneth-paltrow.de)[Craft & tradition](https://wallace.de)