Langeland Municipality

Langeland Municipality is a municipality (Danish: "kommune") in Region of Southern Denmark, located entirely on the island of Langeland and a number of smaller surrounding islands. The municipality covers an area of 290.30 km2, and has a total population of 12,491 (2020). Being an island, it doesn't have any land borders with any other municipality, though it connects to Svendborg Municipality through the Siøsund Bridge. There are connections by ferry to Ærø Municipality and Lolland Municipality. Its mayor is Tonni Hansen, a member of the Socialist People's Party. The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Rudkøbing.
Besides the island of Langeland, the municipality also consists of the inhabited islands of Strynø, Siø, Langø and Lindø as well as the uninhabited islands of Lille Græsholm, Bredholm, Grensholm, Strynø Kalv, Vogterholm, Bondeholm, Store Holm, Bukø, Kværnen, Eskilsø, Kuholm and Asholm.
History.
The town of Rudkøbing was granted market town rights in the 1200s, though struggled to compete with the numerous illegal trade ports around the island. During the Northern Wars in the middle of the 1600s, Rudkøbing was occupied by the Swedes. The occupation hurt the already struggling town, and the population dwindled. In the later parts of the 1700s the town began to recover, and during the industrialization the town and the island grew in population and activity. A new harbour was constructed in Rudkøbing in 1847, and the roads of the island were improved. Steamboat routes to Copenhagen, Svendborg and Ærø were established, and the population of Rudkøbing was tripled during the 1800s.
In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into hundreds, Langeland was divided into two hundreds. These were Langeland's Northern Hundred (Danish: "Langelands Nørre Herred") and Langeland's Southern Hundred (Danish: "Langelands Sønder Herred"), the latter also including the island of Siø. The island of Strynø was part of Sunds Hundred, which encompassed Svendborg and the town's surrounding area, as well as numerous islands in the South Funen Archipelago. The two hundreds on Langeland were part of the fief (Danish: "len") of Tranekær Fief, which became Tranekær County in 1662. Sunds Hundred, with Strynø, meanwhile became a part of Nyborg County. In 1793 the two counties of Tranekær and Nyborg were merged to form Svendborg County, which was merged with Odense County in 1970 to form Funen County (Danish: "Fyns Amt"). This county was dissolved in 2007, and the entirety of Funen County became a part of the Region of Southern Denmark.
Mayors.
Since the 2007 municipal reform, the mayors of Langeland Municipality have been:
Towns.
Below are all settlements in the municipality with populations of at least 200 people (populations as of 2020).
Rudkøbing.
Rudkøbing is located centrally on the island, and thus also the municipality. It is connected to Siø through the Langeland Bridge. South of the bridge, along the island's coast, is Rudkøbing Harbour. Along the harbour are numerous facilities. The southern and central parts of the town consist mainly of residential areas, while the eastern part of the town is home to a sizable industrial area.
South of Rudkøbing is Rudkøbing Forest, which covers approximately 3 acres.
Villages.
There is only one settlement on the islands of Strynø: Strynø By. This village is located centrally on the island, and houses the island's attractions and facilities. It connects to the ferry harbour through a short road. In Strynø By is Strynø Church.
East of the settlement of Søndenbro is the Langeland Fort (Danish: "Langelandsfortet"), a cold war museum and bunker.
In Tranekær is a botanical garden known as the Medicinal Gardens in Tranekær (Danish: "Medicinhaverne i Tranekær"). These gardens include herbs and plants, historically used for medicinal purposes. Also located in Tranekær is Tranekær Castle, a castle from the 1200s. The castle is fortified with moats and fortifications. The castle provide guided tours and 
most services provided by manor houses.
From Spodsbjerg is a ferry connection to Tårs on Lolland.
In addition to these villages, there are a number of smaller settlements in the municipality. These are all the settlements with populations of less than 200 people:
Nature.
The southernmost tip of Langeland has been protected since 1961. 25 acres are protected. Exmoor ponies have been released in the area, left on their own as wild horses and only fed in emergencies. Plants in the area include the common toothwort and stemless thistle. Breeding birds in the area include water rail, waterhen, little grebe and red-backed shrike.
65 acres of bog west of Fredmose has been protected since 1981. The bog is known as Sædballe Fredmose, named after the two settlements surrounding it, with Sædballe to the west and Fredmose to the east. It is rich in bird activity, and the nightingale can be found breeding in the bog.
South of Nyby and Hesselbjerg is an area of bogs, lakes and coast known as Tryggelev Nor. 122 acres of it has been protected since 1987, in order to protect the birds of the area. Also protected is 10.5 acres of forest, known as Næs Skov, directly adjacent to Tryggelev Nor. Around 70 species are known to breed in the area, including reed warbler, marsh warbler, bearded reedling and nightingale. Birds of prey in the area include the marsh harrier.
Cliffs and beaches around Ristinge are home to a number of rare beetles and butterflies. Found here are a vulnerable oil beetle, and it is also the only place in Scandinavia to have a registered sighting of the tawny mining bee.
Longelse Farmer's Forest (Danish: "Longelse Bondegårdsskov") is a forest located southwest of Nørre Longelse. 8.5 acres of the forest is protected and the forest is left untouched with little human interference. Despite the forest's small size of around 85,000 m2 it is the most diverse in species on Langeland. It is home to several types of windflowers and other plants, as well as a series of different types of trees. Being left untouched, the forest is also home to breeding birds that enjoy the rotting wood from dead trees. These include the stock dove and brown owl. The forest is also home to both the roe deer and fallow deer.
Also protected are a large number of dykes around the island. These have been protected since 1959. Also protected in the municipality is 4.6 acres of coast north of Bagenkop, protected since 1966, as well as 385 acres of the manor of Skovsgaard, protected since 1973. Another manor with protected area is Tranekær Castle (Danish: "Tranekær Slot"). 65 acres of Tranekær Castle's area is protected. 6 acres around a passage grave west of Tullebølle is also protected, having been protected in 1959.
Lindelse Nor.
Lindelse Nor is a narrow bay located approximately 5 km south of Rudkøbing. The bay contains flooded sites from the stone Stone and Iron Ages. Information signs has been placed along an underwater trail, allowing divers to experience these sites and the underwater landscape.
There are a number of islands in Lindelse Nor. Of these, Lindø and Langø are inhabited. Both are connected to Langeland through a dam. The remaining islands are part of the South Funen Archipelago Nature Reserve (Danish: "Sydfynske Øhav Vildtreservat"). This means that the islands in Lindelse Nor, with the exception of the two inhabited islands, may not be visited from March to July. Birds known to breed in Lindelse Nor and on the islands include red-breasted merganser, northern lapwing, Eurasian oystercatcher and Mute swan.
Strynø.
The area on Strynø is mostly used for agriculture, with only a small number of untouched nature areas. Approximately 190 people live on the island.
Breeding birds on Strynø include starling, Eurasian skylark, European goldfinch, eider and blackbird.
Strynø Kalv.
Strynø Kalv is located west of Strynø, and is privately owned. It was previously inhabited, but is today uninhabited. Nature on the island is mostly left untouched since the 1960s, where the island was used to ship out agricultural products. Today only some animal grazing disrupts the nature. Plants on the island include caspia, pepperwort and sea aster.
3 acres around a small lake on the island is protected. This was done to protect the European fire-bellied toad, which used to be common in the South Funen Archipelago, but is today rare. It was protected in 1951.
Politics.
Langeland's municipal council consists of 15 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has six political committees.
Municipal council.
Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.
Economy.
The largest industries in Langeland Municipality are social institutions, retail and agriculture.
Large companies in the municipality include Ø Pølser, whose sausages are named after the island of Langeland. GEVEKO, who manufacture road markers, have their headquarters in Sønder Longelse.
Demographics.
There are 12,491 people living in Langeland Municipality (2020). 49.44% are women and 50.56% are men.
Below is the age distribution of the municipality.
Education.
The municipality has 3 ground schools (Nordskolen, Humble Skole and Ørstedskolen), 3 efterskoler (Langeland Efterskole, Musik Efterskolen i Humble and Magleby Efterskole), and 1 independent school (Kassebølle Friskole).
There is also a municipal school that goes up to 4th grade on the island of Strynø and a full-day school that goes up to 7th grade in Skrøbelev, both of which belong to Ørstedskolen.
There is 1 library in the municipality, in Rudkøbing. Associated with the library is a car (the "Book Car" - Danish: "Bogbilen") that brings books to eight different towns across the municipality, including Strynø.
Transport.
Langeland and the municipality is connected to mainland Funen through a series of bridges. From Svendborg the Svendborgsund Bridge connects Funen to Tåsinge. From Tåsinge the Siøsund Bridge connects to Siø. The Siøsund Bridge is 558 meters long. It was built between 1957-1960 and opened on 22 October 1960. From Siø the Langeland Bridge connects to Langeland. The Langeland Bridge is 774 meters long. It was built between 1960-1962 and opened on 10 November 1962. The bridge was created by Anker Engelund.
There are three ferry routes in the municipality. Within the municipality the island of Strynø connects to Langeland through the Strynø Ferry, which docks at Rudkøbing. The trip takes approximately 30 minutes. Another ferry connects Spodsbjerg with Tårs in Lolland Municipality. The trip, called the Langeland Line (Danish: "Langelandslinjen") takes 45 minutes. From Rudkøbing a ferry connects to Marstal in Ærø Municipality. The ferry, ÆrøXpressen, was built in 2020. The trip from Rudkøbing to Marstal takes 50 minutes.
Sights.
The islands of Langeland and Strynø are popular tourist destinations, and as a result there are numerous museums and attractions on the islands.
Museums.
Langeland Fort.
The Langeland Fort (Danish: "Langelandsfortet") is a Cold War bunker. It was built by the Royal Danish Navy in 1952-54 and consisted of 14 different underground bunkers. It was built on the east coast on southern Langeland, and equipped with cannons and batteries to defend the Great Belt, as well as protect the minefields that the Royal Danish Navy would place. The bunker also included anti-air weapons, meant to protect the local radar stations of the Navy and Air Force. The bunker's crew consisted of up to 400 marines, who lived at a nearby barrack. The Langeland Fort was from 1961 to 1986 the seat for the Langeland Marine District (Danish: "Langelands Marinedistrikt").
In 1973 the bunker's anti-air weapons and main battery were preserved and in April 1993 the bunker was shut down. It opened as a museum in June 1997, named the Cold War Museum Langeland Fort (Danish: "Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort"). The museum displays a submarine, minesweeper, Saab 35 Draken fighter aircraft and MiG-23 fighter aircraft. The museum also has exhibits on the Frogman Corps and Cold War espionage.
Churches.
See List of churches in Langeland Municipality
Events.
The Archipelago Day (Danish: "Øhavets Dag") takes place in Ristinge on the last Sunday in August. It takes place on the harbour, and includes several activities related to agricultural shows.
In Lohals is a yearly festival dedicated to the frikadelle. Besides activities related to the frikadelle, there is also live music.
Langeland Festival.
The Langeland Festival (Danish: "Langelandsfestival") is a yearly music festival, set south of Rudkøbing. It takes place on Week 30 and gets around 25,000-30,000 visitors. The festival first began in 1991.
Parishes.
There are 18 parishes in Langeland Municipality. Shown in the table below are the populations of each parish, as well as the percentage of that population that are members of the Church of Denmark. All numbers are from 1 January 2020.
Symbols.
The coat of arms of Langeland Municipality is a white rose branch in the blue ocean, which is how the island of Langeland was described by Adam Oehlenschläger. The coat of arms was created by Ronny Andersen in 2006.