West Zealand County ( da, Vestsjællands Amt) is a former

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

( Danish: ''

amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'') in the west-central part 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 county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising a few former counties. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it merged into

Region Sjælland 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 ...

(i.e. ''Region Zealand''). The county was responsible for public hospitals, upper secondary schools and schools for Higher Preparatory Examination, public transport and social welfare for the disabled. The County Hall was located in the town of Sorø, and became the seat of the new

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. Sorø is by no means the biggest city in West Zealand, but it has great historical value. It is famed for the

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated b ...

( Danish, ''Sorø Akademi''), an educational institution built in 1140 together with the church where Queen

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I ( da, Margrete Valdemarsdatter; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was ruler of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian ...

was buried (later moved to Roskilde Domkirke,

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 ...

). Many people who live in West Zealand

commute Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to: * Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work Mathematics * Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...

to the greater metropolitan area 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 ...

for work.

List of County Mayors

Municipalities (1970-2006)

References

External links

West Zealand County website - list of county mayors

Tourist information

Sorø Akademi
{{coord, 55, 26, N, 11, 34, E, type:adm1st_source:itwiki, display=title Former counties of Denmark (1970–2006) Region Zealand States and territories established in 1970 States and territories disestablished in 2006