Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wasserloos translates to waterless place. The story of Wasserloos is deeply intertwined with its name. This small place now part of Flensburg once struggled with a basic necessity water.
Wasserloos. It is a name that echoes through time. The name of a small place with a big story. We are standing at Wasserloos. It is a district with a history stretching back centuries.
The first mention of Wasserloos was in 1632. It appeared then under its Danish name Vandløs. Vandløs means waterless place. At that time Wasserloos was a small village. It belonged to the Husbyharde. Flensburg’s development had not yet reached this far.
In 1634 the name Wainloß appeared. This was an Anglicized version of the name. By 1691 the German name Wasserloß was in use. The Low German names Waterlos and Waterloos were also common. There was also a variant Waterlock. It meant waterhole. The name Wasserloos became standard around 1847.
The heart of Wasserloos was where the street Wasserloos is today. Wasserloos got its name because there was no pond or well here. The people of Wasserloos had no water. They had to get water from a well over 60 meters away. It was near a pasture by Kauslund. In 1840 Wasserloos had only five small houses. Very few people lived here.
The waterless times finally ended in the 1870s. A well was dug. A water pump was installed in Wasserloos. In the 1880s the Flensburg District Railway was built. It stopped near Kauslund. This new water supply also helped a local gardening business.
Wasserloos became part of Twedt in 1910. The name of the street Wasserloos was officially set on March 20 1924. The Flensburg tram ran on the district railway line from 1925 to 1934. After that the district railway ran again. During World War II the gardening business at Wasserloos number 5 was vital. It produced food. The district railway continued to run until the 1950s.
The Bundesstraße 199 replaced the railway. Since then it has separated Wasserloos street from the Wasserloos district. After World War II many refugees came from the eastern territories. The Flensburg districts of Fruerlund and Mürwik grew quickly. On December 5 1963 the main street of the Wasserloos district was named Wasserlooser Weg.
The Schottweg into which it flows probably dates back to the 18th century. The Schottweg-Zentrum was built at this junction in the early 1970s. The supermarket P & Q was located here until the 1980s. Later it was named Eurospar. The center is in Wasserloos. It provides local services for Engelsby too.
Many single-family homes were built in eastern Engelsby from the 1980s. These homes were also built west south and east of Wasserloos street. The buildings on Wasserloos street today are from the German Empire. Only the core of house number 3 is older.
In 2004 the SB-Warenhaus chain famila took over the supermarket. The center was expanded in 2011. It now has an area of 7000 square meters. Today the Schottweg-Zentrum includes famila a bakery a hairdresser and a post office. There is also a travel agency a Greek specialty store a dm drugstore a Takko store and a Danish bed warehouse. There is also a gas station at the Schottweg-Zentrum. The Osttangente has greatly improved access to Wasserloos and its center. The Twedter Plack the center of Mürwik is also easily accessible via the Schottweg-Friedheim road link.
Even today Wasserloos retains its unique charm. It stands as a testament to the resilience. It shows the resourcefulness of its inhabitants. From its humble beginnings as a waterless place to its current status as a thriving district. Wasserloos continues to evolve. It embraces its history. It looks forward to a vibrant future.