Picture this a humble sheep farm on the edge of Flensburg. This is Sophienhof. It wasn’t always the residential and industrial area you see today. In the 18th century this land was part of the Nicolay field. It was undeveloped. Farmers and colonists cultivated the uncultivated land. They provided food for Flensburg’s growing population.
Sophienhof itself began as a simple sheep farm. Christian Schulz a South German established it in 1841. He used donkeys not horses. His sheep grazed the heath. A Flensburg merchant Peter Petersen Schmidt helped sell the wool and leather. Flensburg exported leather goods particularly gloves.
In 1845 a wealthy distillery owner bought the farm. He built a new house and named it Sophienhof after his wife Sophie. He even started a brewery. Soon after he gave Sophienhof to his son Nicolai Jacob Ohlsen. After Nicolai’s early death his brother Peter Christian inherited it. Peter wasn’t a successful farmer. He sold the sheep and the distillery equipment. He mysteriously disappeared to America or perhaps joined the German-British Legion in South Africa.
By 1863 Sophienhof was a four-sided farmstead. G C Hoppe managed it for eight years. He bought more land built a garden. He used artificial fertilizer a new innovation. Many owners followed.
By the early 20th century Sophienhof was run-down. Flensburg bought it in 1903. It became the city’s main agricultural operation. The city also used the land as a rubbish dump. They even processed sewage producing fertilizer. The excess was auctioned to farmers in the Geest region. After the city built a sewage system this was no longer necessary.
In 1934 the Reichsnährstand (Reich Food Estate) leased Sophienhof. They opened a livestock school. Dr Rudolf Vahlbruch led it. It expanded greatly. In 1942 it covered 143 hectares. The Reichsnährstand bought the property from the city. The street Am Sophienhof was officially named on November 11 1942.
After World War II the British occupation allowed the Landesbauernschaft (State Farmers’ Association) to continue. Sophienhof became a livestock training and research institute. In 1953 it became an institution of the Landwirtschaftskammer SH (Chamber of Agriculture SH).
Construction of the western bypass (today B 200) led to its closure. The institute moved to Futterkamp in Ostholstein. Today it’s LVZ Futterkamp.
Sophienhof transformed into a residential industrial and commercial area. The oldest residential area Mühlental became part of Sophienhof. The city negotiated the purchase of the 45-hectare site with the Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein from 1964/65. A canal was completed in 1969. A residential area developed. An industrial and commercial area emerged on Husumer Straße. Holtex a Lübeck textile company started this in 1971. The building still stands today a testament to Sophienhof’s transformation.