Oresund

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Oresund

Oresund (Danish: Øresund, Swedish: Öresund, also known as The Sound) is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand (Sjælland) from the south Swedish province Scania (Skåne).

Oresund is one of the three Danish Straits that connect the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean (via Kattegat, Skagerrak, and the North Sea), and is one of the busiest waterways in the world.

The Oresund Bridge was inaugurated on July 1, 2000 by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Between Helsingborg and Helsingør (Elsinore) in the North of Oresund there are still ferries departing around the clock.

History

Political control of Oresund has been an important issue in Danish (and Swedish) history. Denmark maintained military control with the coastal fortress of Kronborg at Elsinore (Danish: Helsingør) on the west side and (until 1658) Kärnan at Helsingborg on the east. Both fortresses are located where the strait is just 4 kilometers wide.

Sound Dues

In 1429 King Eric of Pomerania introduced the Sound Dues (Danish: Øresundstolden, Swedish: Öresundstullen.) All foreign ships passing through the strait had to make a stop in Elsinore and pay a toll to the Danish Crown (regardless if the cargo was en route to or from Denmark or not). Refusing to pay was not an option; if a ship refused to stop, cannons in both Elsinore and Helsingborg would open fire and sink it. In 1567, the toll was changed into a tax on the cargo of the ship, thus providing three times more revenue. In order to avoid ships simply taking a different route, tolls were also collected at the two other Danish straits, the Great Belt and the Little Belt. The Sound Dues remained the most important source of income for the Danish Crown for several centuries, thus making Danish kings relatively independent of Denmark's Privy Council and aristocracy. Since 1645 Swedish ships were relieved from the toll. After 1658, when the Danish possessions on the Scandinavian peninsula were ceded to Sweden, the toll could not be enforced as well as before.

The Copenhagen Convention of 1857 abolished the dues and made all the Danish Straits an International waterway free to all military and commercial shipping.

Notable islands

Amager
Saltholm
Hven
Peberholm - an artificial island
Middelgrundsfortet - an artificial island
Flakfortet - an artificial island

External links

Oresundskonsortiet - Official web site of the bridge builders
Oresunddirekt - Official public information site for the inhabitants of the Oresundregion

Geography of Denmark | Straits of Europe | Geography of Copenhagen | Skåne | Scandinavia

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History

Sound Dues

Notable islands

See also

External links