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 2020. Funen's main city is Odense, which is connected to the sea by a seldom-used

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

. The city's shipyard,

Odense Steel Shipyard Odense Steel Shipyard ( da, Odense Staalskibsværft) was a Danish shipyard company located in Odense. It was best known for building container ships for its parent group, A.P. Moller – Maersk Group, including the Mærsk E class in 2006 whic ...

, has been relocated outside Odense proper. Funen belongs administratively to the Region of Southern Denmark. From 1970 to 2006 the island formed the biggest part of Funen County, which also included the islands of Langeland,

Ærø Ærø () is one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of the Southern Denmark Region. Since 1 January 2006 the whole of Ærø has constituted a single municipality, known as Ærø Kommune. Before that date, there were two municipalities o ...

, Tåsinge, and a number of smaller islands. Funen is linked to Zealand, Denmark's largest island, by the Great Belt Bridge, which carries both trains and cars. The bridge is in reality three bridges; low road and rail bridges connect Funen to the small island of Sprogø in the middle of the Great Belt, and a long road

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

(the second longest in the world at the time of opening) connects Funen the rest of the way to Zealand, paralleled by a rail tunnel. Two bridges connect Funen to the Danish mainland,

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 ...

. The Old Little Belt Bridge was constructed in the 1930s shortly before World War II for both cars and trains. The

New Little Belt Bridge The New Little Belt Bridge ( da, Nye Lillebæltsbro) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Little Belt strait between Jutland (Jylland) and the island of Funen (Fyn) in Denmark. The bridge is 1,700 metres long, the main span is 600 metres, th ...

, a suspension bridge, was constructed in the 1970s and is used for cars only. Apart from the main city, Odense, all major towns are located in coastal areas. Beginning in the north-east of the island and moving clockwise, they are Kerteminde (NE), Nyborg (E), Svendborg (S),

Fåborg Faaborg or Fåborg () is an old port town located on Faaborg Fjord in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen in Denmark. By road, Faaborg is located southwest of Odense, west-northwest of Svendborg, and roughly southeast of Mid ...

(SW), Assens (W), Middelfart (NW) and Bogense (N). The populations of the major cities and towns are, as of 1 January 2018: * Odense: 178,210 * Svendborg: 27,324 * Nyborg: 17,164 * Middelfart: 15,246 *

: 7,065 * Assens: 6,209 * Kerteminde: 5,914 * Ringe: 5,912 *

Otterup Otterup is a town in central Denmark, located in Nordfyn municipality on the island of Funen with a population of 5,269 (1 January 2022). Between 1889 and 1994 the Schultz & Larsen rifle factory was working from this small town. Notable peop ...

: 5,227 * Bogense: 3,891 Funen was the birthplace of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

, the composer Carl Nielsen,

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

combatant

Christian Febiger Hans Christian Febiger (or Fibiger) (October 19, 1749, in Fåborg, Denmark-Norway – September 20, 1796, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American Revolutionary War commander, confidant of General George Washington, and original membe ...

, pop singer

MØ Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen (; born 13 August 1988), known professionally as MØ (), is a Danish singer and songwriter. She signed a recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment in 2012, releasing her debut extended play, ''Bikini ...

and international footballer Christian Eriksen. The highest natural point on Funen is

Frøbjerg Bavnehøj Frøbjerg Bavnehøj is above sealevel and is the highest natural point on the island of 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 t ...

Politics

Funen (Folketing constituency)

Viking Age

In 2018, at the highest point in Funen, known as Munkebo Bakke, the archaeologists have found a giant Viking hall that dates back more than 1.000 years, to around 825 – 1.000 CE. According to the Funen museum experts, this Viking hall is bigger than anything found on Funen before. Galgedil is a Viking Age cemetery located in the northern part of Funen. Excavations at the local site revealed 54 graves containing 59 inhumations and 2 cremation burials.

References

External links

Official tourist information site for Funen
{{Authority control Islands of Denmark Region of Southern Denmark

Politics

Viking Age

See also

References

External links