The district of Niehuus, which today belongs to the municipality of Harrislee, was particularly affected by the demarcation of the border in 1920, where it even lost its church. Until 1920, the church path led through the Tunnel Valley to Bov Church, which towers above the treetops on the northern horizon. With the demarcation of the border, there were no fewer than seven new border crossings on what is now Harrislee's municipal territory.
Harrislee, however, knew how to profit from this border location just as much as neighbouring Padborg. Even before Denmark joined the EU in 1973, Scandinavian companies were attracted to the municipality, thus laying the foundation for rapid growth in industry, trade, and population.
German Harrislee maintained good neighbourly relations with the Danish municipality of Bov, and there is still growing cooperation in many areas. Harrislee has always had a large Danish minority - and it has grown steadily. Many Danes have moved here. Perhaps because there are Danish institutions here, such as schools and kindergartens. Or because of the more favourable tax rates in Germany. In any case, Harrislee has a lot of other attractions, eg. the beach on its doorstep and being surrounded by beautiful forest.
