The Capital Region of Denmark ( da, Region Hovedstaden, ) is the easternmost

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

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 , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 August 2021 the chairperson is Lars Gaardhøj, who is a member of the Social Democrats party of Denmark. The Capital Region was 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 establish ...

. This 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 ...

(Danish plural: , singular: ) and created five regions. As part of this reform 271 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 ...

were merged into larger units reducing the number of municipalities to 98. The reform dramatically diminished the power of regional governments while enhancing that of local government and that of the central government in Copenhagen. It was implemented on 1 January 2007. Unlike the former counties (1970–2006) (Danish ', literally 'county municipality') the regions are not municipalities and are thus not allowed to have a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, only

logotype A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...

s. The regions do not collect taxes and are financed primarily through

block grant A block grant is a grant-in-aid of a specified amount from a larger government to a smaller regional government body. Block grants have less oversight from the larger government and provide flexibility to each subsidiary government body in term ...

s, they are unable to transfer money from one area of expenditure to another, and they must return any unused money to the central government. This makes the regions more like departments or agencies of the central government. The main industries in the region are hospitals and healthcare. The Capital Region is not to be confused with the

Copenhagen Metropolitan Area The Copenhagen metropolitan area or Metropolitan Copenhagen ( da, Hovedstadsområdet, , literally "The Capital Area") is a large commuter belt (the area in which it is practical to commute to work) surrounding Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark ...

or the Øresund Region.

Overview

The Capital Region of Denmark is one of five regions in

and consists of the municipalities of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

and

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

, the former counties of

and Frederiksborg, and the regional municipality of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. The Danish name for this region is . It borders

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Krono ...

via the

Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...

. Denmark's largest lake (Danish ), Arresø, lies 43 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of Copenhagen. There are several other lakes, the deepest in Denmark being Furesø, 14.5 km (9 miles) northwest of Copenhagen, which is the namesake of the Furesø Municipality. Among several forests, the region also has the

Gribskov Gribskov (Grib Forest) is Denmark's fourth largest forest, comprising c. 5,600 ha of woodland situated in northern Zealand, west and south of Lake Esrum. The forest is owned and administered by the State of Denmark, and a part of the Kongernes N ...

forest, which is the namesake of the

Gribskov Municipality Gribskov Kommune is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Hovedstaden ("Capital Region"). The municipality covers an area of 278 km², and has a total population of 40,850 (1 April 2014). The municipality was created on 1 January ...

. The Dyrehaven forest park is just north of Copenhagen (and east of Furesø) in the

Gentofte Municipality Gentofte Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the Capital Region of Denmark (''Region Hovedstaden'') on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. It covers an area of , and has a total population ...

and the Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality. Geologically, the region lies in the northern part of

, 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 ...

, making lakes out of former inlets and bays. Arresø is one example, having extended in a northwesterly direction as a part of Brødemose Sund into Kattegat. (The land is rising by 9 millimeters every year in , the northeastern part of Skellefteå Municipality, north of Kvarken.) Because of the mobility of the

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

, forests have been planted along the coast of Kattegat in the municipalities of Helsingør,

, and Halsnæs. For the purpose of a road and rail connection to

, land has been added to the island of

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

, which has a tunnel connecting it with the artificial island

Peberholm Peberholm ( , sv, Pepparholm, links=no ()), is a small artificial island in the Danish part of the Øresund strait, created as part of the Øresund Bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden. Peberholm lies approximately 1 km south of the small ...

just south of the island of Saltholm. The land area of east Denmark (east of the Great Belt

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean chan ...

) is approximately 9,622 km² (3,715 sq mi), which is set to increase due to housing projects in the north of

Copenhagen Municipality Copenhagen Municipality ( da, Københavns Kommune), also known in English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen (), the other ...

, and also due to new bridges and tunnels being added, including the

Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link The Fehmarn Belt fixed link ( da, Femern Bælt-forbindelsen, german: Fehmarnbelt-Querung) or Fehmarn Belt tunnel is an under-construction immersed tunnel, which will connect the Danish island of Lolland with the German island of Fehmarn, cross ...

and other traffic infrastructure projects. A new high-speed train line called the Copenhagen-Ringsted Line came into operation on 1 June 2019 to increase transport capacity and relieve congestion in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

and the narrow 9-9.5 mile

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

between Roskilde Fjord and the bay of Køge Bugt. It does this by moving international and national train traffic to the new train line and only keeping local and regional traffic. The primary function and largest expenditure, which takes up around 90% of the budget of the Capital Region, is owning and operating the hospitals and health services of the region. In the east of Denmark, there is one traffic region covered by the public transport agency Movia, which is owned by the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand, and operates in 45 of the 46 municipalities. Because of its remote location, Bornholm has its own traffic company, , also known as BAT. Likewise, in the east of Denmark, the two regions and 45 of the 46 municipalities make up one sole employment region, with Bornholm being its own employment region. Bornholm also performs other tasks that are normally performed by the regions in the rest of Denmark. The municipality of Bornholm is therefore called ''Bornholm Regional Municipality''. In some respects, the island forms a region of its own. As Denmark is a

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

, its "capital region" is not a

capital district A capital district, capital region or capital territory is normally a specially designated administrative division where a country's seat of government is located. As such, in a federal model of government, no state or territory has any poli ...

, but merely one among several

regions 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 ('' a ...

that happens to contain the national capital. The region does not include the

Ertholmene Ertholmene (formerly spelled ''Ærtholmene)'' is a small archipelago in Denmark. The largest island is Christiansø, and its name often refers to the entire archipelago. Ertholmene is situated northeast of Gudhjem, Bornholm, and contains De ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

which is situated to the northeast of Bornholm.

Economy

The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary 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 subjective nature this measure is of ...

(GDP) of the region was €122.2 billion in 2018, accounting for 40.6% of Denmark's economic output. GDP per capita, adjusted for purchasing power, was €50,000 or 166% of the EU27 average in the same year. GDP per person employed was 130% of the EU27 average. The Capital Region is the wealthiest region in Denmark.

Hospitals

The Capital Region of Denmark also manages several hospitals: * Amager Hospital on the island of

Bispebjerg Hospital Bispebjerg Hospital is one of the hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Along with a number of other hospitals and the University of Copenhagen (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Bispebjerg Hospital forms part of the Copenhagen University Hos ...

in Copenhagen *

Bornholms Hospital Bornholms Hospital ( en, Hospital of Bornholm) is a hospital in the city of Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm. Administratively, it falls under the domain of the Capital Region of Denmark along with hospitals in the greater Copenhagen area ...

on the island of

Frederiksberg Hospital Frederiksberg Hospital is a medium-sized government-owned general hospital located in Frederiksberg, Denmark. It has 380 beds (2005) and an emergency department. The hospital is a teaching hospital for medical students from Copenhagen Univ ...

(closing in 2025, moving to Bispebjerg) in

* Gentofte Hospital in Gentofte *

Glostrup Hospital Rigshospitalet Glostrup is located in the township of Glostrup 8 km from the center of Copenhagen in Denmark. It is owned and managed by the regional health authority of the Greater Copenhagen region, Region Hovedstaden. The hospital was for ...

Glostrup Glostrup is a Danish town in Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the administrative seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated population of 22,357 . During the 20th century Glostrup developed fr ...

Herlev Hospital Herlev Hospital (former da, Amtssygehuset i Herlev) is a hospital in Herlev, Denmark, close to Copenhagen. The building is tall and has 25 floors. It is famous for being Denmark's tallest building. Its modern, functional architecture in bright ...

in Herlev *

Hvidovre Hospital Hvidovre Hospital is a hospital in Hvidovre near Copenhagen in Denmark. It is administered by the Capital Region of Denmark. The hospital was built from 1968 to 1979 and was officially opened on March 26, 1976. The hospital stands out for not ...

Hvidovre Hvidovre is the main town in Hvidovre Municipality, Denmark. The town, a suburb of Copenhagen, is about 10 km southwest of the capital's center. It is the 2nd biggest suburb of Copenhagen, only beaten by Frederiksberg. History Hvidovre has ...

* Nordsjællands Hospital in

Esbønderup Esbønderup is a parish and small town situated north of Lake Esrum in Gribskov Municipality, North Zealand. some north of Copenhagen, Denmark. As of 1 January 2022, it had a population of 1,190. History The name is known from 1178 as ''Esbiorn ...

, Frederikssund, Hillerød, Elsinore, and Hørsholm * Region Hovedstadens Psykiatri –

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

with many centers around the region * Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen * Sct. Hans Hospital in

Municipalities of the Capital Region

There are 29 municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark. *

* Albertslund * Allerød *

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...

* Brøndby *

Dragør Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space ...

* Egedal *

Fredensborg Fredensborg () is a railway town located in Fredensborg Municipality, North Zealand, some 30 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is most known for Fredensborg Palace, one of the official residences of the Danish Royal Family. As of 1 Jan ...

* Frederikssund * Furesø * Gentofte * Gladsaxe *

* Halsnæs * Helsingør * Herlev * Hillerød * Hørsholm * Høje-Taastrup *

* Ishøj * Lyngby-Taarbæk * Rudersdal *

Rødovre Rødovre is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a total of 40,052 in the munic ...

* Tårnby *

Vallensbæk Vallensbæk is a seaside western suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the Greater Copenhagen Area. It forms its own municipality, Vallensbæk Municipality, which is one of the smallest Danish municipalities. It borders Køge Bay, and th ...

Regional council

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

References

External links

* {{Coord, 55, 56.39, N, 12, 18, E, region:DK_type:adm1st, display=title States and territories established in 2007 Regions of Denmark 2007 establishments in Denmark