Queen Elizabeth’s contribution to environment and her eco friendly life

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. Her family was reunited at her Scottish estate after concerns about her health increased on Thursday. The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change. Queen Elizabeth’s contribution to environment According to official information […]

Queen Elizabeth’s contribution to environment and her eco friendly life

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Photo Flick Nr. 77: The Shoe Mile

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There’s an old Flensburg saying: “You don’t know Flensburg unless you know the Shoe Mile.” The Shoe Mile is a phenomenon that has many riddles that we cannot solve. Located along Norderstrasse between Nordertor and Toosbüystrasse, the Shoe Mile features rows upon rows of shoes that are hung on the lines connected by the buildings on each side of the street.

We don’t know what the exact story behind the creation of the Shoe Mile, but legend has it that the creation was the idea of a shoemaker who had a business along Norderstrasse. When he sold a new pair of shoes to a customer, he asked that person what to do with the old pair. When the customer left the old pairs at the shop, the shoemaker came up with the idea of hanging the pair on the line that connects the building on both sides of the street.

This is what most of the people have mentioned while talking about the Shoe Mile, even while touring the Old Town. We do know as a well-known fact that there are dozens of lines that are laden with shoes and these lines were indeed former suspenders of the street car lines that passed through Flensburg. The city used to have street cars, where four lines provided services to places in and around Flensburg as well as neighboring Glücksburg. This included the Line 1 which ran along the Shopping Mile (Holm/Roter Strasse/ Norderstrasse) enroute to the train station. After 66 years, the street car lines were shut down permanently in 1973 with the Line 1 being the longest serving line of the four that existed. Afterwards, the tracks were dismantled but the suspender lines that used to support the street car lines were left in place, hence the beginning of a rather peculiar but interesting tradition along Norderstrasse. 😉 The lines have increased in numbers over the past 15 years because of its popularity but also for safety reasons for too many shoes have caused some of the lines to snap. Despite plans to remove the lines and the shoes, popular support plus help from an insurance company to cover for liability have led to the lines and the shoes to populate rapidly.

The Shoe Mile has become a popular tourist attraction and was also the inspiration for the annual Flensburg Fjord Run, which takes place in May/June of each year. The Mile also has a lot of businesses that are up and coming, plus those owned by the Danish, who make up Flensburg’s 30% of the minority population, so one can pay attention to a little bit of Danish and English while walking the Shoe Mile.

The Shoe Mile has recently gained another street where one can find shoes hanging in the lines- on Angelberger Strasse. Between the Bike Store Bridge at Süderhofenden and Petersen’s Bike Shop at Hafermarkt, you will find rows of shoes hanging along the street but unlike the one at Norderstrasse, most of the businesses along Angelberger Strasse are new businesses with more to come as the city tries to revitalize the street to attract more people. Given its successes in the City Center and the increase in tourists visiting Flensburg, that should not be a problem, despite all that is affecting us now.

⛵ THE FLENSBURG FILES

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: Know about operation unicorn and London bridge down

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has died at the age of 96. The Royal Palace announced the Queen’s death on Thursday. She was placed under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, after doctors were “concerned” for her health. The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The […]

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: Know about operation unicorn and London bridge down

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