Until January 1, 2007 Slagelse Municipality was a municipality (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: '' kommune'') in the former

West Zealand County West Zealand County ( da, Vestsjællands Amt) is a former counties of Denmark, county (Danish language, Danish: ''Amt (subnational entity), amt'') in the west-central part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern De ...

, on the southwestern coast of the island of

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 ...

, in eastern

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The municipality covered an area of 192.00 km², and had a total population of 37,141 (2006). Its last mayor was Lis Tribler, a member of the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

. Slagelse Municipality bordered

Korsør Municipality Until January 1, 2007 Korsør Municipality was a municipality (Danish: '' kommune'') in the former West Zealand County, on the southwestern coast of the island of Zealand, in eastern Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 74.25 km2, and h ...

and Hashøj Municipality to the south and

Sorø Municipality Sorø Municipality is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 29,331 (2015). The main town and the site ...

to the east. To the north, the municipality bordered Dianalund Municipality, Høng Municipality and Gørlev Municipality. To the west it bordered the

Great Belt The Great Belt ( da, Storebælt, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Be ...

. The municipality ceased to exist as the result of ''Kommunalreformen 2007'' (the Municipality Reform of 2007). It was merged with Hashøj, Korsør and

Skælskør Skælskør () is a town in Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Skælskør was the seat of Skælskør Municipality. The town is located 17 km southwest of Slagelse and 12 km southeast of Korsør. Skæls ...

municipalities to form a new

Slagelse municipality Slagelse Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in Region Zealand on the west coast of the island of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 571 km². The municipality borders Kalundborg ...

. The new municipality belongs to

Region Zealand Region Zealand ( da, Region Sjælland) is the southernmost administrative region of Denmark, established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regi ...

History

Slagelse has existed since the 1000s, and coins have been minted there since

Cnut the Great Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...

's time. It was granted the status of

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

by Eric V in 1288. Slagelse was an important location even before becoming a market town, with the ring castle of Trelleborg located next to the town. Slagelse's economy was mainly based on artisanry and tobacco. In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into hundreds, the area of Slagelse Municipality was under Slagelse Hundred. Slagelse Hundred came under Korsør County when it was established in 1662. It merged with Sorø County and Antvorskov County in 1798 to form a new Sorø County. This county lasted until the

1970 Danish Municipal Reform The 1970 Danish Municipal Reform was an extensive administrative reform in Denmark which on 1 April 1970 reduced the number of Danish municipalities from 1,098 to 277 and the number of counties from 25 to 14. The reform also abolished the last le ...

where it merged with Holbæk County to create

(Danish: ''Vestsjællands Amt''). After the 2007 municipal reform this changed to

. From 1842, where parish municipalities were created, and until 1966 the area of Slagelse Municipality consisted of nine parish municipalities. Four of them were merged in 1966 to form Vestermose Parish Municipality. From 1875 and until 1970 the market town of Slagelse was a market town municipality. The parish municipalities and the market town municipality were merged in the

to form Slagelse Municipality. In the Municipality Reform of 2007 Slagelse Municipality was merged with Skælskør, Hashøj and Korsør Municipality to form a new Slagelse Municipality.

Historical divisions

Mayors

Since the creation of the municipality in 1970 and until it was dissolved in 2007, the mayors of Slagelse Municipality were:

Towns

The largest town in the municipality was by far Slagelse. Approximately 85% of the municipality's population lived in Slagelse. Of the remaining population, approximately 10% lived in rural areas. The last 5% lived in the towns of Havrebjerg and Kirke Stillinge. Notable smaller villages in the municipality included Stillinge Strand and Kongsmark Strand. Slagelse was located in the southern part of the municipality. The local museum, Slagelse Museum, was established in 1978. The museum has a focus on trade, artisanry and local history. Slagelse Station was built in 1892. Below are the populations from 2006 of the three larger settlements of the municipality.Statistikbanken.dk
"BEF44: Folketal 1. januar efter byområder, landdistrikter (AFSLUTTET)" Retrieved 11 October 2020

Politics

Municipal council

Below are the municipal council elected from the municipality's creation in 1970 and until 2001, which was the last election before the municipality was dissolved.

Parishes

The municipality consisted of thirteen parishes and fourteen churches. * Antvorskov Parish ( Antvorskov Church) * Gudum Parish ( Gudum Church) * Havrebjerg Parish ( Havrebjerg Church) * Hejninge Parish ( Hejninge Church) * Kindertofte Parish ( Kindertofte Church) * Nordrupvester Parish ( Nordrupvester Church) * Nørrevang Parish ( Nørrevang Church) * Ottestrup Parish ( Ottestrup Church) * Saint Michael's Parish ( Saint Peter's Church) * Saint Peter's Parish ( Saint Peter's Church, Holy Spirit Church) * Sorterup Parish ( Sorterup Church) * Kirke Stillinge Parish ( Stillinge Church) * Sønderup Parish ( Sønderup Church)

Symbols

The coat of arms of Slagelse Municipality was the same as that of the town of Slagelse. It features the town's patron

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

with the dragon, which is coloured green. He holds a white shield with a red cross. He is wearing a blue robe and white spear. His wings are white, as are the two towers on either side of him. The two towers represent the two churches in the town. The background is red.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slagelse Municipality Former municipalities of Denmark Slagelse Municipality