Sønderborg Municipality

Sønderborg Municipality Sønderborg Kommune (Danish) Kommune Sonderburg (German)
Municipality
Coat of arms
Sønderborg Municipality in Denmark
Coordinates: 54°55′0″N 9°47′0″E
Country	Denmark
Region	Southern Denmark
Established	January 2007
Government
• Mayor	Erik Lauritzen
Area
• Total	496 km2 (192 sq mi)
Population  (1. January 2024)
• Total	74,233
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal codes	6400
Website	sonderborgkommune.dk

Sønderborg Municipality (Danish: Sønderborg Kommune, German: Kommune Sonderburg), is a kommune in the Region of Southern Denmark partially on the Jutland peninsula and partially on the island of Als in south Denmark, at the border with Germany. The municipality covers an area of 495.86 km² (191.45 sq mi), and has a population of 74,233 (as of 2024). Its mayor as of 1 January 2014 is Erik Lauritzen, a member of the Social Democratic party.

Geography

The municipality is split into two sections separated by Alssund, the waterway which separates the island of Als from the Jutland mainland.

Locations

Sønderborg	28,300
Nordborg	5,700
Gråsten	4,300
Broager	3,200
Augustenborg	3,200
Høruphav	2,700
Guderup	2,400
Dybbøl	2,400
Vester Sottrup	1,400
Egernsund	1,400
Rinkenæs	1,300
Nybøl	1,100
Fynshav	786
Tandslet	623
Svenstrup	597
Lysabild	510

The city of Sønderborg

Main article: Sønderborg

The site of its municipal council is the town of Sønderborg.

Politics

Sønderborg's municipal council consists of 31 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has 11 political committees.

Municipal council

Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.

Election	Party									Total seats	Turnout	Elected mayor
	A	C	D	F	L	O	S	V	Ø
2005	15	1			6	1	1	7		31	76.2%	Jan Prokopek Jensen (A)
2009	12	1		2	8	2	1	5			69.3%	Aase Nyegaard (L)
2013	12	1			2	3	3	9	1		74.1%	Erik Lauritzen (A)
2017	15				1	3	5	7			74.5%
2021	14		1			1	3	11	1		69.0%
Data from Kmdvalg.dk 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021

2007 administrative reform

On January 1, 2007, due to Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), the former Sønderborg municipality, located on Als and the mainland, was combined with Augustenborg (on Als), Broager, Gråsten, Nordborg (on Als), Sydals (on Als), and Sundeved municipalities to form a new Sønderborg municipality. The municipality shares the number one position with Lolland Municipality of being formed through the merger of most former municipalities in the reform of 2007:seven (7). The former Sønderborg municipality covered an area of 54 km² (21 sq mi), and had a population of 30,555 (2005). Its last mayor was Arne Peder Hansen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

Economy

The municipality is home to two of the major industrial companies in Denmark: Danfoss and Linak.

North Schleswig Germans

Sønderborg Municipality is home to the only officially recognised ethno-linguistic minority of Denmark proper, the North Schleswig Germans. This minority makes up about 6% of the total population of the municipalities of Aabenraa/Apenrade, Haderslev/Hadersleben, Sønderborg/Sonderburg and Tønder/Tondern. In these four municipalities, the German minority enjoys certain linguistic rights in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Denmark

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sønderborg is twinned with:

• Zabrze Poland
• Baoding China

References

• Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
• Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map

External links

• The municipality's official website (in Danish)
• Joint webportal for public offices, business and non-profit organisations (in English)
• Tourist attractions in Sønderborg (in English)
• Video showing the town of Sønderborg
• Student association in Sønderborg