Sjaelland

 

(shĕ'län) or Zealand (zē'lənd) , Ger. Seeland, island (1992 pop. 1,976,882), 2,709 sq mi (7,016 sq km), E Denmark, between the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. Denmark's largest island, it is separated from Fyn by the Store Bælt and from Sweden by the Øresund. Sjælland includes most of Copenhagen, the Danish capital, and the cities of Roskilde, Helsingør, Hillerød, Holbæk, Næstved, Køge, and Birkerød. The island is generally low-lying, rising to a maximum height of 413 ft (126 m) in the northeast, and has much fertile farmland. Wheat growing, dairy farming, cattle breeding, and fishing are important occupations. Sjælland's northern shore is indented by the many-branched Isefjord. The Store Bælt bridge (1998), between Sjælland and Fyn islands, links the island to Denmark's mainland.

Zealand (Sjælland)
Island
Country	Denmark
Region	Region Sjælland
Area	km² ( mi²)
Center
- coordinates	55°30′0″N 11°45′0″E / 55.5, 11.75Coordinates: 55°30′0″N 11°45′0″E / 55.5, 11.75
Time zone	CET ([[UTC+1]])
- summer (DST)	CEST ([[UTC+2]])
Postal codes	[1]
Zealand (Sjælland) island (map center) is linked west to Fyn by the Great Belt Bridge and east to Sweden by the Oresund Bridge.

Zealand (Danish: Sjælland; [ˈɕɛˌlænˀ]) is the largest island (7,031 km²) of Denmark (excluding Greenland, which is a Danish territory) and the 95^th largest island of the world . It is separated from Funen by the Great Belt and from Scania in Sweden by the Oresund.

Zealand is connected to Funen by the Great Belt Bridge and to Sweden by the Oresund Bridge.

The capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, is partly located on the eastern shore of Zealand and partly on Amager. Other cities on the island include Roskilde and Elsinore.

In Norse mythology, the island was created by the goddess Gefjun after she tricked Gylfi, the king of Sweden, as told in the story of Gylfaginning. She removed a piece of land and transported it to Denmark, and it became the island of Zealand. The vacant area was filled with water and became Mälaren.^[2] However, since modern maps show a similarity between Zealand and the Swedish lake Vänern, it is sometimes identified as the hole left by Gefjun.

Geography

On June 5, 2007, the regional subsidiary of national broadcaster Danmarks Radio reported that an obscure hill, Kobanke, situated in the southeast near the town Rønnede in Faxe municipality, with a natural point of terrain at 122.9 m (403.21 feet), was the highest natural point on Zealand. Gyldenløveshøj, south of the city Roskilde has a height of 126 m (413.4 feet), but that is due to a man-made hill from the 1600s and its highest natural point is only 121.3 m (397.96 feet).

Cities, towns and villages

• Ålsgårde
• Ballerup
• Birkerød
• Copenhagen (København)
• Elsinore (Helsingør)
• Espergærde
• Frederiksberg
• Frederikssund
• Frederiksværk
• Haslev
• Helsinge
• Hillerød
• Holbæk
• Hundested
• Humlebæk
• Kalundborg
• Kokkedal
• Kongens Lyngby
• Køge
• Næstved
• Præstø
• Ringsted
• Roskilde
• Skovlunde
• Slagelse
• Slangerup
• Sorø
• Tisvilde
• Vallensbæk
• Vordingborg

See also

• Sealand
• Zealand, New Brunswick, Canada
• Zeeland and New Zealand (related to each other, but not related to Zealand)

References

1. ^ Postal website www.Postnumre.dk.
2. ^ Den Store Danske Encyklopædi, article Gefion

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