SøNDERBORG

'Sønderborg' (German: ''Sonderburg''), is a municipality (Danish, ''kommune'') in Region Syddanmark partially on the Jutland peninsula and partially on the island of Als in south Denmark, at the border with Germany. The municipality covers an area of 499 km² (193 sq. miles), and has a total population of 76,825 (2007). Its mayor is Jan Prokopek Jensen, a member of the Socialdemokraterne political party.
The site of its municipal council is the town of Sønderborg, which covers most of the area of the municipality.
The municipality is split into two sections separated by Als Fjord, the waterway which separates the island of Als from the Jutland mainland.
The town of Sønderborg lies on both sides of Als Fjord; the narrow strait between these two sides is called Als Strait (''Alssund''). Two bridges connect the city across the strait: the 682 meter long Als Strait Bridge (''Alssundbro''), built in 1978-1981, carries automobile traffic; and the 331 meter long King Christian X's Bridge (''Kong Christian Xs Bro''), built in 1925-1930, carries also automobile traffic.

Contents

2007 administrative reform

The town of Sønderborg

History

External links

References

2007 administrative reform

On January 1, 2007, due to ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), the former Sønderborg municipality was combined with Augustenborg, Broager, Gråsten, Nordborg, Sydals, and Sundeved municipalities to form a new Sønderborg municipality. The former Sønderborg municipality covered an area of 54 km², and had a total population of 30,555 (2005). Its last mayor was Arne Peder Hansen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

The town of Sønderborg

The town of Sønderborg (German name ''Sonderburg'') is home to Sønderborg Castle (''Sønderborg Slot'') and Sandbjerg Estate (''Sandbjerg Gods'', Sundeved) near Sønderborg. Sønderborg castle is located in the centre of the town, and houses a museum focusing on the history and culture of the area. The museum is open year round. Sandbjerg Estate, which had belonged for many years to the Dukes of Sønderborg, and then to the Reventlow family, was donated to Aarhus University in 1954.
The old part of Sønderborg is on the island of Als, but some of its western suburbs have spread onto the mainland of Jutland into what had been the interior of the fort of Dybbøl.

History

Beginning in 1864, Sønderborg had been part of Prussia, and as such, was part of the North German Confederation, and from 1871 onwards, part of the German Empire. In the 1920 Schleswig Plebiscite that brought Northern Schleswig to Denmark, 56.2% of Sønderborg's inhabitants voted for remaining part of Germany, and 43.8% voted for the cession to Denmark. [1]

External links

★ Municipality's official website

★ Tourist attractions in Sønderborg

References

★ Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)

★ Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map