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Sønderborg (German: Sonderburg), is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in South Jutland County partially on the Jutland peninsula and partially on the island of Als in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 54 km², and has a total population of 30,555 (2005). Its mayor is Arne Peder Hansen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.
The site of its municipal council is the town of Sonderborg.
Neighboring municipalities are Sydals to the east, Augustenborg to the northeast, Sundeved to the west, and Broager to the southwest. The municipality is split into two sections separated by Als Fjord, the waterway which separates the island of Als from the Jutland mainland. Defining its border to the north is Als Fjord; defining its border to the south is Flensborg Fjord leading into the Baltic Sea.
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.
By January 1, 2007 Sønderborg municipality will cease to exist due to Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It will be combined with existing Augustenborg, Broager, Gråsten, Nordborg, Sydals, and Sundeved municipalities to form the new Sønderborg municipality. This will create a municipality with an area of 499 km² and a total population of 76.459 (January 1st 2005). The new municipality will belong to the new Region Syddanmark ("South Denmark Region").
The town of Sønderborg
The town of Sønderborg 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.
History
From 1864 it was part of Prussia, and as such 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. *
External links
References
- Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
- Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map
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"Sønderborg"