– We should have been gathered here on July 10 last year. But by 2020, we all had to adjust to the fact that so much could not be done.
– The celebration of Reunification was one of the highlights of the year I had been looking forward to the most and was most sorry to have to do without. So great is the joy that today we can mark the 100th anniversary of the demarcation, the Queen said during a speech.
The day began with a carriage ride across the old border at Frederikshøj south of Kolding.
Here, the Queen, Crown Prince and Prince Christian drove over the same place as the Queen’s grandfather, King Christian X, did in 1920.
Then the king rode on a white horse across the old frontier, and a little girl of seven years was lifted up on the horse to the king.
Her daughter, 82-year-old Eli Fredskilde, attended the celebration on Sunday. She handed Queen Margrethe a bouquet of flowers.
– I am very excited, said Eli Fredskilde before the presentation.
The defeat in the war in 1864 meant that Denmark had to give up Southern Jutland.
It was two referendums in February and March 1920 in the wake of the First World War that decided where the border between Denmark and Germany should go.
On 15 June 1920, Denmark was handed over to Southern Jutland by the Allies. The day is determined later as the official reunion day.
Without the Reunification, cities like Haderslev, Aabenraa and Sønderborg would today be German.
Much has happened since the demarcation of relations in the border country.
The celebration of the 100th anniversary is absolutely central, because now it is the young generation that must continue the work, Queen Margrethe said in her speech on Sunday.
– We now leave the border to the young generations. Safe and confident that they can follow the development that their parents and grandparents began.
– Today we must celebrate Reunification. It is with a sincere joy that reaches further and deeper than one would have imagined 100 years ago. Back then, the boundary denoted the distance between then and now. Today it is a connection between neighbors and friends. We can see both the story and each other in the eyes, the queen said.
Precisely the young generation was also represented from the royal house in the form of Prince Christian. And he had also been prepared by his grandmother.
– We have talked about things, talked about what should happen and how to behave and how it should be done.
– It’s an insanely beautiful experience. I am very honored to be here, he said after the service in Haderslev.
It is also of great importance to many southern Jews that the queen visited the region on Sunday.
It has been a long wait, says 83-year-old Jens Nielsen, who showed up at Dybbøl Banke on Sunday.
He is from Nordals, and his parents were German for 56 years. Therefore, he has been told up close how important the Reunification has been for people in the region.
– It’s good, it’s marked by commemorating 1920 and the Reunification. My parents were even German for 56 years.
– They were very happy that they were going back to Denmark. They were actually on Funen around the referendum in 1920, but hurried back to Als, because they had to vote home to Denmark, he says.
57-year-old Henrik Dahl also showed up at Dybbøl Banke on Sunday.
– It is important to remember the story. Because it is an important part of Danish history that we must not forget, he says.
Sunday’s visit from the Queen also offered a festive service in Haderslev Cathedral, a visit to Aabenraa and a ceremony at Dybbøl Banke, a concert in Alsion and dinner on the Royal Ship Dannebrog in Sønderborg.
Among others, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) also participated with her husband and the German presidential couple.
Source: The Nordic Page