Odense Municipality Odense Kommune (Danish)
Municipality
Odense City Hall
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 55°23′46″N 10°23′19″E / 55.396°N 10.3885°E / 55.396; 10.3885
Country	Denmark
Region	Southern Denmark
First documented	988
Chartered	1355
Municipalized	1 April 1970
Government
• Mayor	Peter Rahbæk Juel [dk]
Area
• Total	304.34 km2 (117.51 sq mi)
Population  (1. January 2023)[1]
• Total	207,762
• Density	680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC2 (CEST)
Website	www.odense.dk

Odense Municipality (Danish: Odense Kommune) is a Danish municipality (kommune) in Southern Denmark on the island of Funen in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 304.34 km² (118 sq mi), and has a population of 207,762 (1. January 2023).^[1] It is the most populous municipality in the region of Southern Denmark.

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Odense. Including the social sector, 17,000 people are employed by the municipality. The municipal budget is 6,881 million DKK as of 2006. The municipality runs 37 schools; Odense is also the home of 13 private schools.

Neighboring municipalities are Kerteminde to the east, Faaborg-Midtfyn to the south, Assens to the west, and Nordfyn to the north.

Geography

The Odense municipality is located near the Odense Fjord. The Odense Canal (Odense Kanal) flows out from the fjord and forms three ports in the city's industrial area. The Odense River (Odense Å) also flows out from the fjord and meanders through the municipality, including Odense town center where Sankt Jørgens Park and Munke Mose are located on its banks. The river springs from Lake Arreskov (Arreskov Sø) in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality.

The highest point in the municipality is Dyred Banke which is located at 123 m or 404 ft above sea level.

History

The municipality, a former "Provincial municipality" was re-created 1 April 1970 as Odense municipality as the result of a kommunalreform ("Municipal Reform") that merged a number of existing Provincial- Parish- and Village- municipalities: Allerup-Davinde, Allese-Næsbyhoved, Broby, Brændekilde, Bellinge, Dalum, Fraugde, Korup-Ubberud, Lumby, Odense, Paarup, Sanderum, Stenløse-Fangel, the "coalition-municipality" of Fjordager (which had been created in 1966 by merging Agedrup and Seden-Åsum municipalities), and Højby parish.

Odense municipality was not merged with other municipalities by 1 January 2007 as the result of the nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007). Before this reform, the list of neighboring municipalities were Langeskov to the east, Munkebo to the northeast, Otterup to the north, Søndersø, Vissenbjerg, and Tommerup to the west, and Broby and Årslev to the south. Odense belonged to Funen County 1970-2006 and before this to Odense County.

Politics

Odense's municipal council consists of 29 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has five political committees.^[2]

Municipal council

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

Mayors

Odense's mayor is Peter Rahbæk Juel [dk], representing the Social Democrats, since 1 January 2018.

The former mayor of Odense Municipality, Anker Boye, is a member of the Social Democratic Party. His first term was from 1993 to 2005 when he was defeated by Jan Boye, a Conservative. He was re-elected in the 2009 election, forming a coalition with the Red–Green Alliance, the Socialist People's Party and the Social Democrats.^[3]

The following is a list of mayors since 1792:^[4]

Neighbourhoods and settlements

After the city of Odense itself, the next most populous locations in the Municipality are:

The municipality of Odense is divided into 11 different sectors. Neighbourhoods, suburbs and surrounding villages of the city of Odense include:^[5][6]

The city of Odense

Odense is the third largest city in Denmark, and one of country's oldest settlements. The first record of its existence dates from 988 and the town celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 1988. The name refers to Odin in Norse mythology— Odins Vi ("Odin's Sanctuary"). The shrine of Canute the Saint was a great resort of pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages. His relics are still preserved in Saint Canute's Cathedral. In the 16th century the town was the meeting-place of several parliaments, and down to 1805 it was the seat of the provincial assembly of Funen.

Denmark's famous author and poet Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense on 2 April 1805. Museums honouring him have been created both in a house in the old part of Odense with a large collection of his works and belongings, and his childhood home, which is also located in the city.

Odense also has a museum honouring the classical composer Carl Nielsen, who was born in Nr. Lynelse near Odense.

Transportation

The municipality is connected with all points on the island with an extensive system of roads, including the major E20 Funish Motorway (Fynske Motorvej) which runs across the island through the town of Odense and connect the island on the east to the island of Zealand over the Great Belt Bridge and on the west to the Danish mainland, Jutland over the Little Belt Bridge. A motorway built 2006-2009 connects Odense to the island's second-largest city, Svendborg, which also has a railroad connection (Svendborgbanen). The town of Odense is also a major stop on the national railroad system lines.