Kolding Municipality

Kolding municipality is a municipality (Danish, "kommune") in Region Syddanmark on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southeast Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 640 km², and has a total population of 87,781 (2008). Its mayor is Jørn Pedersen, a member of the Liberal Party ("Venstre") political party. The main city and the site of its municipal council is the seaport city of Kolding, the sixth largest city in Denmark.
Several major Danish motorways intersect in Kolding municipality. Middelfart municipality and Kolding municipality are connected by two bridges: the Old Little Belt Bridge and the New Little Belt Bridge.
On 1 January 2007 Kolding municipality was, as the result of "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with Christiansfeld, Lunderskov, and Vamdrup municipalities to form a new Kolding municipality.
The municipality is part of Triangle Region and of the East Jutland metropolitan area, which had a total population of 1.378 million in 2016.
Geography.
To the east is a strait, first called "Snævringen" ("The Narrowing") and then further south "Bredningen" ("The Broadening"), that separates the Jutland mainland from the island of Funen in this area, where the two lie very close to each other, often less than 1.5 km apart. "Snævringen" is an extension of the Kattegat, and begins near the cities of Fredericia and Middelfart, north and east of Kolding municipality. As "Snævringen" broadens it becomes "Bredningen", which opens out into the Little Belt ("Lillebælt"), the main strait between Jutland and Funen. The municipality of Middelfart on the other side of "Snævringen" is thus Kolding's municipal neighbor to the east. The island of Fænø lies in "Snævringen" between Kolding and Middelfart.
Leading directly into the city of Kolding from "Snævringen" are the waters of Kolding Fjord.
Population.
There are 18 cities and towns (as defined by Statistics Denmark as an urban area with a population of at least 200) in the municipality. Of the 89,556 people living in the municipality, 78,695 reside permanently in an urban area, 10,759 reside in rural areas (including localities with less than 200 inhabitants).
Economy.
Danish Air Transport has its head office in Vamdrup.
Attractions.
The former royal castle of Koldinghus is located in Kolding city. It was built in the 13th century by King Eric Glipping and is now a museum with certain parts of the castle, including its chapel and hall, being used for governmental ceremonial events. It was the last royal residence in Jutland.
Another notable site is the 13th century stone Church of Saint Nicholas, which is one of the oldest in Denmark.
Other popular tourist attractions include the Trapholt Art Museum and the Geographic Garden ("Geografisk Have"). Trapholt has a collection of Danish arts from 1900 onwards, as well as a smaller number of non-Danish exhibits.
Politics.
Kolding's municipal council consists of 25 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has eleven political committees.
Municipal council.
Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.