Funen County () is a former

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

(Danish: '' amt'') in central

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, comprising the

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 ...

s 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 ...

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island 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.

, Tåsinge,

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 approximately 90 other islands, of which only 25 are inhabited. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

and Svendborg. The county was abolished from 1 January 2007, when it merged into

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

(''Region Syddanmark''). The county employed around 20,000 people working in more than 160 institutions located all over Funen.

Insignia

Funen County's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

showed three connected gold hop leaves on a field of red, representing three former counties of Odense, Svendborg and Assens. The choice of hop leaves comes from Funen native

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

's song "''I Danmark er jeg født''" ("In Denmark I was born"), where he refers to Funen as "''Æblegård og humlehave''" (Apple farm and hop garden). For common daily usage, a more modern and IT-friendly version was used. In this version, the background was green and the hop leaves white and much less detailed. Alternate versions had a red or, on occasion, a black background. The coat of arms was registered in 1976.

List of County Mayors

Municipalities (1970-2006)

Municipal reform in 2006/2007

On 1 January 2007, The Danish Municipal Reform replaced the traditional counties with five new regions and cut the number of municipalities to 98. Funen county is included in the new Region Syddanmark (Region South Denmark). The 32 municipalities within Funen County were reduced to 10. * Assens municipalitybr>
- Aarup municipality, Aarup, Assens, Glamsbjerg, Haarby, Tommerup, and Vissenbjerg * Faaborg-Midtfyn municipalitybr>
- Årslev municipality, Årslev, Broby,

Faaborg Faaborg or Fåborg () is an old port town located on Faaborg Fjord in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen in Denmark. By road, Faaborg is located southwest of Odense, west-northwest of Svendborg, and roughly southeast of Midde ...

, Ringe, and Ryslinge * Kerteminde municipalitybr>
- Kerteminde municipality, Kerteminde, Langeskov, and Munkebo * Langeland municipalitybr>
- Rudkøbing municipality, Rudkøbing, Sydlangeland, and Tranekær *

Middelfart municipality Middelfart Municipality () is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark, located on the west coast of the island of Funen in southern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 297 km² and has a total popula ...

br>
- Ejby municipality, Ejby,

Middelfart Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 16,749 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen (). Etymology The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in Valdemar's Census Book ...

, and Nørre Aaby * Odense municipalitybr>
(unchanged by the reform) *

Nordfyn municipality Nordfyn Municipality () is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark on the north coast of the island of Funen in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 452.30 km2 and has a total population of 29 ...

br>
- Bogense municipality, Bogense, Otterup, and Søndersø *

Nyborg municipality Nyborg Municipality () is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark on the east coast of the island of Funen in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 278 km2, and has a total population of 32,329 ...

br>
- Nyborg municipality (1970-2006), Nyborg, Ullerslev, and Ørbæk *

Svendborg municipality Svendborg Municipality () is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark on the southeast coast of the island of Funen, as well as on the islands of Drejø, Hjortø, Skarø, Thurø, and Tåsinge off Funen's southeast ...

br>
- Egebjerg municipality, Egebjerg,

Gudme Gudme is a town in central Denmark with a population of 925 (1 January 2024),BY3: popul ...

, and Svendborg * Ærø municipalitybr>
(formed 1 January 2006, a merger between Marstal municipality, Marstal and

Ærøskøbing Ærøskøbing () is a town on the island of Ærø, Denmark. The suffix -købing means a trade town in the languages that derive from Old Norse. Ærøskøbing's houses and streets are delicately restored to retain the character of the olden days ...

)

Important former municipalities

* Marstal municipality (1970-2005) *

Ærøskøbing municipality Ærøskøbing Municipality (, ) is a former municipality of Funen County on the island of Ærø. The municipality was formed in 1970 and disestablished in 2006 when it was integrated into Ærø Municipality. The municipality was located on the ...

(1970-2005)

References

External links

* {{Counties of Denmark Former counties of Denmark (1970–2006) Region of Southern Denmark