Langeland Municipality

Langeland Municipality is a kommune in the Region of Southern Denmark, located entirely on the island of Langeland and a number of smaller surrounding islands. The municipality covers an area of 290.30 km2, and has a total population of 12,384 (2023). Being an island, it doesn't have any land borders with any other municipality, though it connects to Svendborg Municipality through the Siøsund Bridge. There are connections by ferry to Ærø Municipality and Lolland Municipality. Its mayor is Tonni Hansen, a member of the Socialist People's Party. The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Rudkøbing. Besides the island of Langeland, the municipality also consists of the inhabited islands of Strynø, Siø, Langø and Lindø as well as the uninhabited islands of Lille Græsholm, Bredholm, Grensholm, Strynø Kalv, Vogterholm, Bondeholm, Store Holm, Bukø, Kværnen, Eskilsø, Kuholm and Asholm. History The town of Rudkøbing was granted market town rights in the 1200s, though struggled to compete with the numerous illegal trade ports around the island. During the Northern Wars in the middle of the 1600s, Rudkøbing was occupied by the Swedes. The occupation hurt the already struggling town, and the population dwindled. In the later parts of the 1700s the town began to recover, and during the industrialization the town and the island grew in population and activity. A new harbour was constructed in Rudkøbing in 1847, and the roads of the island were improved. Steamboat routes to Copenhagen, Svendborg and Ærø were established, and the population of Rudkøbing was tripled during the 1800s. 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 island of Strynø was part of Sunds Hundred, which encompassed Svendborg and the town's surrounding area, as well as numerous islands in the South Funen Archipelago. The two hundreds on Langeland were part of the fief (Danish: len) of Tranekær Fief, which became Tranekær County in 1662. Sunds Hundred, with Strynø, meanwhile became a part of Nyborg County. 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).