Gråsten (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

with a population of 4,298 (1 January 2025) on the east coast of the

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

peninsula in south

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

by the Nybøl Nor at an inlet of the

Flensburg Fjord Flensburg Firth or Flensborg Fjord (; ) is the westernmost inlet of the Baltic Sea. It forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north, on the eastern side of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig Holstein and Jutland, res ...

. It belongs to the

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

. The town is located almost exactly at the center of a triangle defined by the towns of

Aabenraa Aabenraa (; , ; South Jutlandic: ''Affenråe'', also known as Åbenrå) is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, north of the Denmark–Germany border and north of German town of Flensburg. It ...

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

and Sønderborg Castle (''Sønderborg Slot''). The Egernsund Bridge, which crosses the Egern Strait, connects Gråsten with the town of Egernsund. Gråsten is served by Gråsten railway station, located on the Sønderborg railway line. The Gravenstein apple originates from the town.

Gråsten municipality

Until 1 January 2007 Gråsten was the seat of the former Gråsten municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in

South Jutland County South Jutland County (Danish language, Danish: ''Sønderjyllands Amt'') is a former counties of Denmark, county (Danish language, Danish: ''Amt (subnational entity), amt'') on the south-central portion of the Jutland Peninsula in southern Denmark ...

, covering an area of 57 km², and with a total population of 7,256 (2005). Its last mayor was Bendt Olesen, a member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

(Socialdemokraterne)

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. The municipality was created in 1970 due to a ("Municipality Reform") that combined the following

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es: Gråsten, Kværs, Rinkenæs, and Adsbøl. Gråsten municipality ceased to exist due to ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was combined with Augustenborg, Broager,

Nordborg Nordborg (), is a town with a population of 5,680 (1 January 2025),Sundeved Sundeved ( German: ''Sundewitt'') is a peninsula on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. It lies between Åbenrå Fjord and Als Fjord to the north, Alssund to the east and Flensborg Fjord to the south. The westernmost par ...

Sydals Until 1 January 2007 Sydals () was a municipality (Danish language, Danish, ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'') in South Jutland County on the southern part of the island of Als Island, Als off the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south De ...

, and

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Danish royal family The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch of Denmark. While some members of the Danish royal family hold the title of ''Prince(ss) of Denmark'', descendants of Margrethe II additionally bear the title '' Count(ess) of Monpe ...

has their summer residence, Gråsten Palace, in the town

Other notable people

* Andreas Hohwü (1803–1885), a Danish clockmaker active in Amsterdam * Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen (1840–1897), Danish historian and archivist * Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen (1917–2012), German psychoanalyst * Anne Wolden-Ræthinge (1929–2016), Danish journalist, known by the pseudonym ''Ninka''

External links

The new Sønderborg municipality's official website

Gråsten Palace

References

* Municipal statistics
NetBorger Kommunefakta
delivered fro
KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
* Municipal mergers and neighbors
Eniro new municipalities map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grasten Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Former municipalities of Denmark Sønderborg Municipality