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Vallensbæk Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in the
Capital Region of Denmark The Capital Region of Denmark (, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark, and contains Copenhagen, the national capital. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 ...
on
Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...
. It is part of the Greater Copenhagen area and consist primarily of the
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of Vallensbæk. It is one of the smallest municipalities in Denmark in terms of area. Vallensbæk Municipality borders the municipalities of Ishøj, Høje-Taastrup,
Albertslund Albertslund is a Copenhagen suburb in Albertslund Municipality, Denmark. It is located west of central Copenhagen, with a population of around 30,000. Albertslund is a planned community or new town mainly built in the 1960s and 1970s. The sub ...
and Brøndby. It borders Køge Bay, and the Køge Bay Beach Park (Danish: ''Køge Bugt Strandpark'') along the coast. The suburb of Vallensbæk consists of two sections, not directly connected to each other: '' Vallensbæk Nordmark'' in the north and '' Vallensbæk Strand'' in the south. The two parts of the town are commonly referred to together as Vallensbæk. The only other settlement in the municipality is the village of '' Vallensbæk Landsby''. The municipality's mayor has been Henrik Rasmussen, a member of the Conservative People's Party, since 2010. The Conservative People's Party has held the position as mayor since the municipality's creation in 1970. Vallensbæk Municipality was not merged with any other municipality in the municipal reform of 2007.


History

Vallensbæk is known from at least 1184 under the name ''Wolensbech'', possibly translating to 'narrow land area' or 'the field with the brook'. In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into syssels, Vallensbæk was part of Østersyssel. It later became a part of Copenhagen
Fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
, which was changed to Copenhagen County in 1661. Although Copenhagen County changed many times over the years, Vallensbæk always remained within the borders. When the counties were disestablished in 2007, Vallensbæk came under the new
Capital Region of Denmark The Capital Region of Denmark (, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark, and contains Copenhagen, the national capital. The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 ...
. Since 1842, and until the 1970 Danish Municipal Reform, Vallensbæk was a parish municipality. It became a regular municipality with the 1970 reform, and its borders have remained unchanged since. Vallensbæk wasn't merged with any other municipality in the 2007 municipal reform.


Towns

Below are all settlements in the municipality with populations of at least 200 people (populations as of 2020).


Vallensbæk

Vallensbæk is part of the Greater Copenhagen Area, and is divided into Vallensbæk Nordmark in the north of the municipality and Vallensbæk Strand in the south by the coast. Vallensbæk Nordmark is almost entirely residential buildings, mainly
detached houses A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...
, with a small industrial area and an area with schools and institutions. Vallensbæk Nordmark is connected to
Albertslund Albertslund is a Copenhagen suburb in Albertslund Municipality, Denmark. It is located west of central Copenhagen, with a population of around 30,000. Albertslund is a planned community or new town mainly built in the 1960s and 1970s. The sub ...
. In the northern part of Vallensæk Strand is an industrial area and many
city block A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. In a city with a grid system, the block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are th ...
s. The rest of Vallensbæk Strand are mainly detached houses. Near the center of Vallensbæk Strand is Vallensbæk railway station, as well as a number of amenities, schools and institutions. By the coast, not directly connected to Vallensbæk Strand, is a sizable marina. Next to the marina is Køge Bugt Strandpark, of which a small portion is in Vallensbæk Municipality. Vallensbæk Strand is connected to Brøndby Strand. The beaches in Vallensbæk Municipality are administered by Ishøj Municipality.


Vallensbæk Landsby

Vallensbæk Landsby (Danish for ''Vallensbæk Village'') is a village located centrally between Vallensbæk Strand and Vallensbæk Nordmark. In the village are the only two churches in the municipality: the Three Kings Church (Danish: ''Helligtrekongers Kirke''), a modern church built between 2006 and 2012, and Vallensbæk Church from the 1100s.


Nature

Located in the Great Copenhagen Area, there aren't much nature in Vallensbæk Municipality. There are no protected nature within the municipality's borders. South-west of Vallensbæk Nordmark is a bog named Vallensbæk Bog (Danish: ''Vallensbæk Mose''). It spans 50 acres and is mainly located in Vallensbæk Municipality, but also in the municipalities of Albertslund, Høje Taastrup and Ishøj. The bog includes the two lakes of Tueholm Lake (Danish: ''Tueholmsøen'') and Vallensbæk Lake (Danish: ''Vallensbæk Sø''), which is home to a variety of birds. Both lakes were artificially created in 1972 in order to prevent floodings from the river of ''Store Vejleå''.


Køge Bugt Strandpark

Køge Bugt Strandpark (translating to Køge Bay Beach Park) is a park in Køge Bay. It is artificially made and was opened in 1980. It is located along the coast of the bay, in Greve, Ishøj, Vallensbæk and Brøndby municipalities. The park is home to many species of birds, with
common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of hi ...
and
northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...
breeding in the area. Many types of
wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s and shorebirds breed on the meadows. The European green toad, rare in Denmark, can be seen in the park, though mostly in the part of the park located in Greve Municipality.


Politics

Vallensbæk Municipality was not merged with any adjacent municipality under the municipal reform of 2007, as it agreed to enter into a "municipal cooperation agreement" with Ishøj Municipality.


Municipal council

Vallensbæk's municipal council consists of 15 members, elected every four years. Below are the municipal council elected since the municipality's creation in 1970.


Mayors

Since the 1970 Danish Municipal Reform, the mayors of Vallensbæk Municipality have been:


Economy

The largest industries in Vallensbæk Municipality are retail, education, social institutions and transport. Companies with their headquarter in Vallensbæk Municipality include medico-company Simonsen & Weel. Another company set in the municipality is Frugt.dk, Denmark's largest distributor of fruit for companies. A documentation service company called Ricoh is also set in the municipality.


Demographics

There are 16,633 people living in Vallensbæk Municipality (2020). 50.06% are men and 49.94% are women. Below is the age distribution of the municipality.


Education

There are 3 ground schools, 1 independent school and 1 special school. There is also 1 music school. There is 1 library in the municipality, located at Vallensbæk Strand. Citizens in Vallensbæk Nordmark can pick up reserved books at the nearby public school.


Sights

The small size of the municipality means that there is a limited number of attractions. The nature areas in the municipality, however, are popular tourist destinations. *Little Tilde (Danish: ''Lille Tilde'') is a large wooden sculpture located in Vallensbæk Bog. It portrays a
troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
, and was part of a project where six municipalities in the western suburbs of Copenhagen would commission wooden sculptures of giants to be located in nature areas. Little Tilde was made by Thomas Dambo. *Vallensbæk Harbour (Danish: ''Vallensbæk Havn'') is a harbour and marina located by the Køge Bay Beach Park, south of Vallensbæk Strand. The marina has room for approximately 600 boats.


Churches

See List of churches in Vallensbæk Municipality


Parishes

There is 1
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 ...
in Vallensbæk Municipality that encompass the entire municipality. Shown in the table below is the population of the parish, as well as the percentage of that population that are members of the
Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church ( , or unofficially ; ), sometimes called the Church of Denmark, is the established, state-supported church in Denmark. The supreme secular authority of the church is composed of ...
. All numbers are from 1 January 2020.


Symbols

Vallensbæk's coat of arms originate from 1952 and was designed by Aage Wulff. Wulff focused on Vallensbæk location around water, with the river of ''Store Vejleå'' crossing the municipality. The coat of arms is blue, with two white swans in flight at the top. A wavy white line, representing ''Store Vejleå'' goes across the coat of arms in the middle. At the bottom is a swimming swan, and behind it two crossed reeds. The coat of arms was changed in 2003, with the swans turned to face right instead of left, and the background color and river changed to a darker green. The changes were reverted in 2013, where the swans were flipped back to face left again. The background color was returned to blue and the white line in the middle returned to white.


Notable residents

* Niels Knudsen (1904–1987), architect * Pia Olsen Dyhr (born 1971), politician, member of the
Folketing The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
and chairman of the Socialist People's Party * Nicolai Wael (born 1972), football manager * Amalie Wichmann (born 1995), handball player


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallensbaek Municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark Municipalities of Denmark Populated places established in 1970 Copenhagen metropolitan area