Als (, ) is a Danish

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

Geography

Als lies to the east of the

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

peninsula, and north of the coast of

Southern Schleswig Southern Schleswig ( or ', ; ) is the southern half of the former Duchy of Schleswig in Germany on the Jutland Peninsula. The geographical area today covers the large area between the Eider river in the south and the Flensburg Fjord in the no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Covering an area of , the island has a total population of 51,322 as of 1 January 2010."Danmarks Statistik."
Retrieved 28 June 2010. It is administered as part of the Sønderborg Municipality as of 1 January 2007. To the north and east of the island are the waters of the

Little Belt The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish straits, Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the Nor ...

, to the south is Flensborg Fjord, and to the west is Als Fjord and Als Strait (''Alssund''). The town of

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

that separates the island from Jutland, the Danish mainland and part of Als Fjord. It has a good harbour and considerable trade. The two halves of the city are connected over the fjord by two bridges: the 682-metre-long Als Strait Bridge (''Alssundbro''), built between 1978 and 1981, carries road traffic; and the 331-metre-long King

Christian X Christian X (; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 until his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, holding the title as a result of the personal union between Denmark and independent Ice ...

's Bridge (''Kong Christian Xs Bro''), built between 1925 and 1930, which originally carried both road and rail traffic but is now purely for road traffic.

Ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

services are run from the town of Hardeshøj on the island to Ballebro on the Jutland mainland, and from the town of

Fynshav Fynshav () is a small coastal town and ferry port, with a population of 786 (1 January 2024),Søby on the island of

Ærø Ærø () is one of the Denmark, Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of the Region of Southern Denmark, Southern Denmark Region. Since 1 January 2006 all of Ærø has constituted a single Municipalities of Denmark, municipality, known as Ærø M ...

and to Bøjden on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. Als is a fertile island with a thriving

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

breeding industry. The island was formerly known for its

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s, some of which are still in operation. The west coast of the island has many bays and coves: Stegsvig, Sandvig, Ketting Nor, Lille Hav, Augstenborg Fjord, Kær Vig, Hørup Hav, and Dyvig. On the east coast along the Little Belt lies the 7 km² Northern Forest (''Nørreskov''), and Lake Nordborg (''Nordborg Sø''). The former municipality of Nordborg is the home of

Danfoss Danfoss is a Danish multinational company, based in Denmark, with more than 41,928 employees globally. Danfoss was founded in 1933 by engineer Mads Clausen. History Beginning (1933–1966) In 1933 Mads Clausen (1905–1966) founded ''D ...

, Denmark's largest industrial company, and a number of its subsidiaries.

History

There are many archeological finds that show the island has been inhabited from the late

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. From the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

comes the

Hjortspring boat The Hjortspring boat () is a vessel designed as a large canoe, from the Scandinavian Pre-Roman Iron Age. It was built circa 400–300 BC. The hull and remains were rediscovered and excavated in 1921–1922 from the bog of ''Hjortspring Mose'' on ...

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the island came under the influence of a number of noblemen, each of which ruled over their portion of the island, and its citizens. King Christian III's son, Duke John, came in possession of the island as a titular

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

, and he bought the other noblemen out. The island was again divided into several smaller Duchies later on, but this venture failed eventually. The town of Augustenborg grew up around Augustenborg Palace which was established in the years after 1651 by Ernest Günther, a member of the ducal House of Schleswig-Holstein (its branch of Sønderborg), great-grandson of King Christian III, and a cadet of the royal house of Denmark. The palace, and the town consequently, received the name in honour of Ernest's wife Auguste, who was from another branch of the Dukes of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. In 1658, troops under Frederick William invaded the island, successfuly reconquering it from the Swedes during the Dano-Swedish War of 1658–1660. The palace became the chief seat of their line which used the name Augustenborg as its branch name. Later a Danish king made the head of that line specifically

Duke of Augustenborg The House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg () was a branch of the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg of the House of Oldenburg. The line descended from Alexander, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. Like all of the secondary ...

. They grew in relative prominence in late 18th century, and the Duke of Augustenborg became the dominating person on the island. The Duchy was taken over by the Danish Crown after the last Duke of Augustenborg to live at the palace, Christian August II, had sided with the Schleswig-Holstein pro-German nationalist movement against Denmark. He left on March 18, 1848. That same year during the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

(1848–1851), the Danes directed their main attack against Field Marshal Friedrich Graf von Wrangel's Austro-

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

army from the lighthouse on the peninsula of Kegnæs at the southwest end of Als. In 1864 the Battle of Als took place there. After these two wars over which nation would rule the island (and the whole of Schleswig), the following period saw the island under Prussian and German rule, although the island's population was largely Danish. In 1870 Als was fortified by Prussia. Following the

Schleswig plebiscites The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 109 to 114 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany through the former Duchy of S ...

of 1920, Als as part of the northern voting zone returned to Danish rule. After 1920 Als has been marked by growing industry, especially after 1945 when

grew into an international corporation. The Augustenburg line died out in the 20th century.

Attractions

The town of

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 28,333 (1 January 2025),Sønderborg Castle (''Sønderborg Slot'') and Sandbjerg Estate (''Sandbjerg Gods''). Sønderborg castle is located in the centre of the town, and houses a museum focusing on the history and culture of the area. The museum is open year-round. Sandbjerg Estate, which had belonged for many years to the Dukes of Sønderborg, and then to the

Reventlow The Reventlow family is a Holstein and Mecklenburg Danish nobility, Dano-German noble family, which belongs to the :De:Equites Originarii, Equites Originarii Schleswig-Holstein. Alternate spellings include Revetlo, Reventlo, Reventlau, Reventlou, ...

family, was donated to

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

in 1954. The island's Augustenborg Palace has been converted into a hospital. There is an exhibit about the castle, the town and its ducal history in the building's entryway. The castle church is open to the public in the summertime, and tours are given.

In literature

The writer Herman Bang was born in 1857 Asserballe on Als and was a child during the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

when the island came under Prussian (later German) rule. That traumatic war forms the background of Bang's novel ''Tine'' (1889), which tells the tragic love story of a young girl on the island of Als. It was translated to various other languages, making people in other countries familiar with Als.

Image gallery

File:Schloss Augustenburg.jpg, Augustenborg Castle File:Havnbjerg strand.JPG, Havnbjerg beach File:Lusig Strand mod Sandvig.JPG, Lusig beach File:Kegnæs Sønderby 2.jpg, Sønderby File:Nordborg Kirke.JPG, Nordborg Church File:Katholm.01.jpg, Katholm island File:Nordborg 2008-07-13 Nørreskovvej.jpg, Nørreskoven in the north of Als File:Danfoss Hauptgebäude in Nordborg.jpg, Danfoss headquarters at Nordborg File:Fynshav færge.JPG, Ferry harbour at Fynshav File:Kong Christian den X's Bro.jpg, King Christian X's Bridge at Sønderborg File:Nordborg Slot 2008.JPG, Nordborg Castle File:Svenstrup Kirke.JPG, Svenstrup Church

Notable people

Vibeke Vasbo Vibeke Vasbo (born 9 July 1944) is a Danish writer and women's rights and LGBT rights activist. In the early 1970s, she participated in the Redstocking movement and in the Danish Lesbian Movement. She embarked on a literary career in 1976 with '' ...

(born 1944 on Als) a Danish writer and women's rights and lgbt rights activist

References

Works cited

External links

{{Authority control Geography of Sønderborg Municipality Danish islands in the Baltic