The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative

region of Denmark The five Regions of Denmark ( da, regioner) were created as administrative entities at a level above the municipalities and below the central government in the public sector as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, when the 13 Counties of Den ...

established on 1 January 2007 as part of the

2007 Danish municipal reform Denmark is divided into five regions, which contain 98 municipalities ( da, kommuner , sing.: ). The Capital Region has 29 municipalities, Southern Denmark 22, Central Denmark 19, Zealand 17 and North Denmark 11. This structure was establishe ...

. The reform abolished the traditional

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

(''amter'') and replaced them with five new administrative regions. At the same time, smaller

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

were merged into larger units, cutting the total number of municipalities from 271 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favour of the local level and the national government in Copenhagen. The Central Denmark Region comprises 19 municipalities.

Toponymy

The Danish name of the region means "Region of Mid Jutland" and describes the location in the central part of the

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

peninsula, in contrast to

Northern Jutland Northern Jutland ( da, Nørrejylland) is a historical region in Denmark, defined as Jutland north of the Kongeå (with the region south of the Kongeå called Southern Jutland (''Sønderjylland'')). As with other historical regions of Denmark, Nort ...

and

Southern Jutland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nørr ...

(which, together with

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

and some smaller islands, forms the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark ( da, Region Syddanmark, ; german: Region Süddänemark, ; frr, Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative Regions of Denmark, region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Munici ...

). For communication in English, the regional administration decided to use another term which is not a direct translation of the Danish name, supposing that the name ''Jutland'' might be too unknown to the English speaking public. A similar policy is followed by the

North Denmark Region The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tra ...

(whose Danish name, ''Region Nordjylland'', can be translated to "Region of North Jutland"). However, the name of the region is usually untranslated when used in English-language publications that aren't by the regional council itself, but by governmental authorities such as

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating st ...

. From 2007 to 2013, five so-called State Administrations or governorates existed in Denmark, covering the five regions as separate entities from the regional councils. One of these was named the "State Administration of Central Jutland" in English and covered the same area as the regional council, but had its administration in Ringkøbing as opposed to the regional council in Viborg. In English-language media and literature by various authors, the names Central Jutland (or Mid Jutland) are also commonly used.

Geography

The Central Denmark Region comprises most of the traditional geographical regions of ''Østjylland'' (

East Jutland East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

), ''Midtjylland'' (

Central Jutland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish mu ...

), and ''Vestjylland'' (

West Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, identical with

Hardsyssel Hardsyssel or Harsyssel is a traditional district and an ancient syssel in Denmark, forming the western part of central Jutland. Hardsyssel is roughly identical with the former Ringkjøbing County. Today it forms the western half of Region Midtjyl ...

). Smaller areas within these larger designations include the peninsula of

Djursland Djursland () is a 44 km × 33 km hilly lowland peninsula in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, between Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe. Djursland protrudes into the Kattegat sea, as part of the larger peninsula of Jutland, ...

, the hilly lake district of

Søhøjlandet Søhøjlandet (English: ''The Lake-highland'') is the highest lying region in Denmark and at the same time, it has the highest density of lakes.Kronjylland (or Ommersyssel), Fjends, Bjerreherred, and the peninsulas of

Salling Salling is a peninsula located in the north-west of the larger Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The largest city in Salling is Skive, and smaller towns and villages includes Jebjerg, Roslev and Glyngøre. The Sallingsund Bridge connects the penins ...

and Thyholm. The region borders the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

in the west, the

Limfjord The Limfjord (Danish language, common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking Age, Viking times. However, i ...

in the northwest, and

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...

in the east. It includes the islands of

Samsø Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Denmark, Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is ...

, Anholt, and the smaller Endelave,

Tunø Tunø is a Danish island in the Kattegat, approximately 4 km west of the neighbouring island of Samsø. The island covers an area of , has a circumference of and has total of 66 inhabitants as of November 2022. It comes under the administrat ...

Hjarnø Hjarnø is a small Denmark, Danish island at the mouth of Horsens Fjord on the east coast of Jutland in Hedensted Municipality. Geography The island is about long with an area of , and a population of 104 (as of 10 July 2013). Its coastline exten ...

and

Alrø Alrø is a small Danish island in Horsens Fjord on the east coast of Jutland within Odder Municipality.The island is 7.52 km long with a coastline of 14 km, and stretches a little over 5 km wide from east to west. With a population ...

in Kattegat, as well as

Venø Venø is a small Danish island located in Limfjorden in the north of Jutland, north of Struer. It is long and has a maximum width of . With an area of , it has a population of 204 as of 1 January 2015.

, Jegindø and

Fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

in the Limfjord. The western parts of the region are characterised by coastal dunes and inland heaths, while the slightly elevated central parts and the relatively hilly eastern parts are characterised by forests, lakes and streams, with plenty of fertile soils. The eastern parts (''Østjylland'') are the most densely populated area within the region and form a large part of the proposed

East Jutland metropolitan area East Jutland metropolitan area ( da, Byregion Østjylland) is a potential metropolitan area in Jutland and Funen, Denmark. Aarhus is the most populated city in the region. The National Planning Report of 2006, published by the Danish Environme ...

with a population of about 1.4 million.

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, with a population of 280,000, is the largest city of Jutland and the second-largest city of Denmark, as well as the hub of Eastern Jutland. Other cities with a population above 30,000 include Randers, Silkeborg, Horsens, Herning, Viborg and Holstebro. Most of these are situated in the eastern part. The administration and regional council is situated in the sixth-largest city, Viborg, which has a population of 40,000 and was the medieval capital of Jutland. Administratively, Central Denmark Region consists of the former counties of Ringkjøbing and

(except the western half of

Mariager municipality Until 1 January 2007 Mariager municipality was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Aarhus County on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 201 km², and had a total population of 8,300 ...

which joined

Region Nordjylland The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tra ...

), most of the former county of Viborg, and the northern half of

Vejle County Vejle Amt (English ''Vejle County'') is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it was divided between Region Midtjylland (i.e. ''Re ...

. The areas in question from the two latter counties were the former municipalities of

Bjerringbro Bjerringbro is a railway town located at the railway line between Viborg and Randers and lying on both sides of the Gudenå (''River Guden''). Until 1 January 2007 it was the municipal seat of the former Bjerringbro Municipality and today, with ...

, Fjends, Hvorslev,

Karup Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , su ...

Kjellerup Kjellerup is a Danish town with a population of 5,223 (1 January 2023).Møldrup,

Sallingsund Until 1 January 2007 Sallingsund municipality was a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the former Viborg County in the northwest of the Salling Peninsula, a part of the larger Jutland peninsula in northwest Denmark. The municipality covered an ...

, Skive, Spøttrup, Sundsøre, Tjele and Viborg from

Viborg County Viborg Amt () is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') in the north-central part of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The county was abolished on 1 January 2007, when most of it merged into Region Midtjylland (i.e. ''Region Central Jutland' ...

and

Brædstrup Brædstrup is a former railway town in Jutland, Denmark at the railway between Horsens and Silkeborg which was closed in 1968. Until 1 January 2007 it was the municipal seat of the former Brædstrup Municipality and today, with a population of 3 ...

Gedved Gedved is a small town with a population of 2,430 (1 January 2023),Hedensted Hedensted is a Danish town in Region Midtjylland and the seat of Hedensted Municipality. Its population, including its northern neighbouring town Løsning, is 12,220.

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

Juelsminde Juelsminde is a town in Hedensted Municipality, Denmark. Notable people * Gunnar Berg (1909–1989) a Swiss-born Danish composer and leading exponent of serialism. Between 1965 and 1976 he lived at the old school at Lindved between Horsens an ...

, Nørre-Snede and Tørring-Uldum from

. The neighbouring administrative region to the south is the

( da, Region Syddanmark), as it includes not only the southern parts of Jutland, but also the island of

and smaller neighbouring islands. Furthermore, ''

Sønderjylland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nør ...

'' (Southern-Jutland) is the traditional name for North Slesvig, which is the Danish part of the former Duchy of Schleswig/Slesvig.

Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

, the region lies in the northern part of Denmark, which is rising because of

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

. For statistical purposes, the region has two divisions or

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

: East Jutland and West Jutland. These are almost, but not entirely, identical with the parliamentary constituencies of East Jutland and West Jutland. The western constituency is much larger in area, but has a smaller population than the eastern one. Significant local antagonism arose before the region came into effect in 2007 and in the first years of its existence. Citizens in the northwestern areas protested against the closure of the hospital of

Holstebro Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 36,489 (1 January 2022).2009 regional election, a local protest party called ''Fælleslisten'' ("The Common List"), surged to 40% of the votes in the northwestern municipalities, but failed to get any seats in the 2013 election.

Municipalities

The region is subdivided into 19 municipalities: *

* Favrskov *

Hedensted Hedensted is a Danish town in Region Midtjylland and the seat of Hedensted Municipality. Its population, including its northern neighbouring town Løsning, is 12,220.

Herning Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)Holstebro Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 36,489 (1 January 2022).Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

* Ikast-Brande *

Lemvig Lemvig, with a population of 6,816 (2022),BY3: Po ...

* Norddjurs *

Odder Odder is a town in Jutland, Denmark. The town is the seat of Odder municipality, and is the biggest town in the municipality. It is located 20 km south of Aarhus and 16 km south-east of Skanderborg. Odder is part of Business Region Aarhus, and t ...

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Ringkøbing-Skjern *

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S� ...

* Skive * Struer * Syddjurs * Viborg

Economy

The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) of the region was €62.2 billion in 2018, accounting for 20.7% of the country's economic output. The GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €35,400 or 117% of the EU27 average that same year. The GDP per capita employed was 107% of the EU27 average.

Regional Council

The five regions of Denmark each have a regional council of 41 members. These are elected every four years, during the local elections.

References

External links

*
Central Denmark Office to the EU
{{Authority control States and territories established in 2007 Regions of Denmark 2007 establishments in Denmark