Langeland (, ) is a Danish

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km² (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446."Danmarks Statistik."
Retrieved 14 June 2018. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational and wellness tourism area. A

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

connects it to Tåsinge via

Siø Siø is a small Danish island in the South Funen Archipelago between Tåsinge and Langeland. It is part of Langeland Municipality. With an area of 1.3 km2, as of 1 January 2014 it has a population of 16. Since 1681, a system of dykes has expa ...

– a small island with a population of approx. 20 – and the main island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as o ...

(to the northwest). There are connections by car ferry to the islands of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitan ...

, Ærø, and

Strynø Strynø is a small Danish island lying west of Langeland, north-east of Ærø, and south of Tåsinge in the South Funen Archipelago. A constituent part of Langeland municipality, Strynø covers an area of 4.88 km2. The population of the island on ...

. Rudkøbing, the island's largest town, is the birthplace of famous physicist and chemist

Hans Christian Ørsted Hans Christian Ørsted ( , ; often rendered Oersted in English; 14 August 17779 March 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricit ...

, his brother, Anders Sandøe Ørsted, a former Danish prime minister, and their nephew,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Anders Sandøe Ørsted. Administratively, Langeland and several smaller islands around it form the ''

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 ...

of Langeland,'' the most populous of them being

Role in the Larne gun-running

On 30 March 1914, the vessel '' SS Fanny'' docked at Langeland and proceeded to be loaded with a "mysterious" cargo.Jonathan Bardon, ''A History of Ulster'', published by ''The Black Staff Press'', '' This cargo turned out to be a weapons cache including 11,000 Männlicher rifles brought from the Steyr works in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

; 9,000 ex-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

army Mausers; 4,600 Italian Vetterli-Vitali rifles; and 5 million rounds of ammunition in clips of five. The cache had been purchased by Major

Frederick Hugh Crawford Colonel Frederick Hugh Crawford, CBE, JP (21 August 1861 – 5 November 1952) was an officer in the British Army. A staunch Ulster loyalist, Crawford is most notable for organising the Larne gun-running which secured guns and ammunition for ...

for the Ulster Unionist Council to equip the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

.S. J. Connolly, ''Oxford Companion to Irish History'', published by ''Oxford University Press'', Danish customs officials suspected that the cargo might have contained weapons to arm militant Icelandic home rulers who sought independence from Denmark. However the ''SS Fanny'' cut loose, escaped in a gale and sailed out of Danish territorial waters. The weapons cache would later land in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid a ...

on the north-east coast of Ireland in what became known as the Larne gun-running.

Gallery

File:Gulstav Klint ved Langelands sydspids.jpg, Dovns Klint File:Rudkøbing - Bymøllen2.JPG, Rudkøbing windmill File:Bagenkop Kirke.JPG, Bagenkop Church File:Rudkobing01.JPG, Rudkøbing market place

References

External links

Official tourist information site for LangelandTravel guide to Langeland
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 Islands of Denmark Geography of Langeland Municipality

Role in the Larne gun-running

Gallery

See also

References

External links