Tønder Municipality (Danish: Tønder Kommune, German: Kommune Tondern, North Frisian: Tuner Komuun) is a kommune in the Region of Southern Denmark on the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,252 km2, and has a total population of 36,651 (2024). Its mayor is Jørgen Popp Petersen, a member of the regional Schleswig Party.[2]

Tønder Municipality
Tønder Kommune (Danish)
Kommune Tondern (German)
Tuner Komuun (North Frisian)
Coat of arms of Tønder Municipality
Location in Denmark
Location in Denmark
Coordinates: 54°56′00″N 8°54′00″E / 54.933333333333°N 8.9°E / 54.933333333333; 8.9
CountryDenmark
RegionSouthern Denmark
Established1 January 2007
Government
 • MayorJørgen Popp Petersen (Schleswig Party)
Area
 • Total1,252 km2 (483 sq mi)
Population
 (1. January 2024)[1]
 • Total36,651
 • Density29/km2 (76/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Websitewww.toender.dk Edit this at Wikidata
An example of a traditional Tønder lace (Tønderknipling)

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Tønder. It consists of six old municipalities, the former Tønder municipality (1970-2006) with 12,706 inhabitants in January 2000 on 184.59 square kilometers among them.

Subdivision

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The municipality was created in 1970 as the result of a kommunalreform ("Municipal Reform") that merged a number of existing parishes:

  • Abild Parish
  • Hostrup Parish
  • Møgeltønder Parish
  • Tønder Parish
  • Ubjerg Parish

Locations

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Tønder 7,500
Løgumkloster 3,500
Toftlund 3,200
Skærbæk 3,100
Bredebro 1,400
Agerskov 1,200
Højer 1,100
Møgeltønder 800
Abild [da] 500
Øster Højst [da] 500
Bedsted [da] 450
Jejsing [da] 450
Brøns 400
Visby [da] 350
Døstrup 350
Arrild [da] 300
Husum-Ballum [da] 300
Branderup [da] 270
Havneby 270
Rejsby [da] 270

History

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On 1 January 2007, Tønder municipality was enlarged as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007) when the Bredebro, Højer, Løgumkloster, Nørre-Rangstrup (without Bevtoft Parish), and Skærbæk municipalities were merged into the new Tønder municipality.

Politics

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Tønder's municipal council consists of 31 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has nine political committees.[3]

Municipal council

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

Election Party Total
seats
Turnout Elected
mayor
A C D F I K L O S T V Ø
2005 9 2 1 1 1 1 16 31 73.0% Vagn Terkel Pedersen (V)
2009 9 2 3 2 2 13 68.1% Laurids Rudebeck [da] (V)
2013 7 1 1 1 3 3 14 1 73.3%
2017 6 1 1 1 1 3 2 15 1 72.0% Henrik Frandsen (V)
2021 5 2 1 1 3 4 9 6 69.8% Jørgen Popp Petersen [da] (S)
Data from Kmdvalg.dk 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021

North Schleswig Germans

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Tønder Municipality is home to the only officially recognised ethno-linguistic minority of Denmark proper, the North Schleswig Germans. This minority makes up about 6% of the total population of the municipalities of Aabenraa/Apenrade, Haderslev/Hadersleben, Sønderborg/Sonderburg and Tønder/Tondern. In these four municipalities, the German minority enjoys certain linguistic rights in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

References

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  1. ^ BY2: Population 1. January by municipalities The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark
  2. ^ "Medlemmer af kommunalbestyrelsen". Tønder Kommune (in Danish). Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Politiske udvalg". Tønder Kommune (in Danish). Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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