Despite extensive bombing of Lübeck and especially Kiel, a relatively large area of Schleswig-Holstein escaped the destruction of the war. In the first few years after the war, only one-fifth of the refugees in the state resided in Flensburg, Kiel, Lübeck and Neumünster. By contrast, the population of the rural Eckernförde and Stormarn districts doubled in the same period; in Rendsburg and Eiderstedt, the increase was 65%. In some areas, the influx was overwhelming; the town of Großhansdorf was home to 1,500 locals alongside 3,500 refugees.