Helsingør Municipality (a variant

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

name: Elsinore Municipality; Danish: ''Helsingør Kommune''), is a

municipality 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 ...

in the Capital Region on the northeast 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 ...

(''Sjælland'') 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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The municipality covers an area of 122 km², and has a total population of 61,538 (1 April 2014). Its mayor as of 1 January 2014 is

Benedikte Kiær Benedikte Kiær (born 10 December 1969) is a Danish politician. From 2010 to 2011 she was Minister of Social Affairs in Lars Løkke Rasmussen's cabinet. She belongs to the Conservative People's Party. Kiær has degrees in chemistry and politi ...

, a member of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

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

Locations

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Helsingør. Other towns and villages include *

Ålsgårde Ålsgårde is a former fishing village on the north coast of Zealand, Denmark, located six kilometer northwest of Helsingør. Formerly Ålsgårde was a separate town, but today it has merged with the neighbouring town of Hellebæk into an urban ...

Espergærde Espergærde is a town situated in North Zealand near Øresund in Denmark and is statistically considered part of the larger urban area Espergærde-Snekkersten- Elsinore, some 5 to 8 km south of the centre of Elsinore and in reality separated f ...

* Mørdrup * Skotterup * Snekkersten * Stenstrup To the east is the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

, the

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 ...

which separates Zealand from

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 ...

. To the north is the Kattegat.

Ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

service connects the municipality at the town of Helsingør east over the Øresund to the town of

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, Sweden. The

European routes The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Centr ...

E47 and E55 traverse the two cities. Helsingør municipality was not merged with other municipalities due to the nationwide ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007).

History

The town as we know it today was founded in the 1420s by the Danish king Eric of Pomerania. He established the

Sound Dues The Sound Dues (or Sound Tolls; da, Øresundstolden) were a toll on the use of the Øresund, or "Sound" strait separating the modern day borders of Denmark and Sweden. The tolls constituted up to two thirds of Denmark's state income in the 16th ...

in 1429 and built the castle 'Krogen', which was made bigger in the 1580s and named Kronborg. Kronborg Castle, known internationally as the setting of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's theatre play ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', is today the town's main tourist attraction.

Politics

Municipal council

Helsingør's municipal council consists of 25 members, elected every four years. Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.

Economy

Local companies include the Noa Noa clothing company, Barslund,

Bavarian Nordic Bavarian Nordic A/S is a fully integrated biotechnology company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer immunotherapies. The company is headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark, wit ...

and Peter Beier Chokolade.

Twin towns – sister cities

Helsingør is twinned with: *

Harstad ( se, Hárstták) is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogalan ...

, Norway *

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of ...

, France *

Sanremo Sanremo (; lij, Sanrémmo(ro) or , ) or San Remo is a city and comune on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination on the Italian Rivie ...

, Italy *

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Um ...

, Sweden *

Uummannaq Uummannaq is a town in the Avannaata municipality, in central-western Greenland. With 1,407 inhabitants in 2020, it is the eighth-largest town in Greenland, and is home to the country's most northerly ferry terminal. Founded in 1763 as Omenak, t ...

, Greenland *

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

, Finland

References

* Municipal statistics
NetBorger Kommunefakta
delivered fro
KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
* Municipal mergers and neighbors
Eniro new municipalities map

External links

Official website

Helsingør tourist bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helsingor Municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark Municipalities of Denmark fr:Helsingør