Until 1 January 2007 Tranekær Municipality was a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in the former Funen County, on the northern parts of the island of Langeland. It also included the island of Siø. The municipality covered an area of 107.45 km², and had a total population of 3,439 (2006). Its last mayor was Jørgen Nielsen, a member of the Venstres political party. Tranekær Municipality bordered

Rudkøbing Municipality Until January 1, 2007 Rudkøbing Municipality was a municipality (Danish language, Danish: ''List of municipalities of Denmark (1970–2006), kommune'') in the former Funen County, on the central parts of the island of Langeland. It also included th ...

to the south and east, and connected to Svendborg Municipality from Siø through the

Siøsund Bridge The Siøsund Bridge ( da, Siøsundbroen) is a road bridge that connects the Danish islands of Tåsinge and Siø. It crosses Siøsund, a shallow strait that allowed much of the link to be built as a causeway, the Siø Causeway or Siø Dam ( da, Siø ...

. The municipality ceased to exist as the result of ''Kommunalreformen 2007'' (the Municipality Reform of 2007). It was merged with the Sydlangeland and

Rudkøbing Rudkøbing is a town in Denmark, on the western coast of the island of Langeland. It is the seat of Langeland Municipality, in the Region of Southern Denmark, Southern Denmark Region. The town is located southeast of Svendborg and is connected t ...

municipalities to form the new Langeland municipality. The new municipality belongs to the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark ( da, Region Syddanmark, ; german: Region Süddänemark, ; frr, Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which ab ...

History

In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into hundreds, Langeland was divided into two hundreds. These were Langeland's Northern Hundred (Danish: ''Langelands Nørre Herred'') and Langeland's Southern Hundred (Danish: ''Langelands Sønder Herred''), the latter also including the island of Siø. The two hundreds on Langeland were part of the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) 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 f ...

(Danish: ''len'') of Tranekær Fief, which became Tranekær County in 1662. In 1793 the two counties of Tranekær and Nyborg were merged to form Svendborg County, which was merged with Odense County in 1970 to form Funen County (Danish: ''Fyns Amt''). This county was dissolved in 2007, and the entirety of Funen County became a part of the

. In 1842 Denmark was divided into smaller administrative divisions, namely parish municipalities (Danish: ''sognekommunner''). The borders of these municipalities were largely based on the country's

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. In the 1970 municipal reform these parish municipalities were dissolved. Three parish municipalities had merged already in 1966 to form Tranekær Parish Municipality, which then became Tranekær Municipality in 1970. This municipality lasted until 2007 when it was merged with the municipalities of Sydlangeland and Rudkøbing.

Historical divisions

Towns

Approximately half of the municipality's population lived in rural areas or smaller villages. The municipality's main seat of Tranekær is in this category, being a small village. The other half of the population lived in the municipality's three largest settlements of Lohals, Snøde and Tullebølle. Tranekær was located centrally in the municipality. Below is the populations from 2006 of the three larger settlements of the municipality.

Politics

Municipal council

Below are the municipal council elected since the municipality's creation in 1970 and until 2001, which was the last election before the municipality was dissolved.

Mayors

Since the creation of the municipality in 1970 and until it was dissolved in 2007, the mayors of Tranekær Municipality were:

Parishes

The municipality consisted of six parishes and six churches. * Bøstrup Parish ( Bøstrup Church) * Hou Parish ( Hou Church) * Snøde Parish ( Snøde Church) * Stoense Parish ( Stoense Church) * Tranekær Parish ( Tranekær Church) * Tullebølle Parish ( Tullebølle Church)

Symbols

Tranekær Municipality's coat of arms was a white crane on a red strip, covering a blue and white ocean.

References

{{Langeland Municipality Former municipalities of Denmark