Fanø
Encyclopedia
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
off the coast of southwestern Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and is the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands
Danish Wadden Sea Islands
The Danish Wadden Sea Islands are a group of islands on the western coast of Jutland, Denmark. They belong to the new region of Southern Denmark since January 1, 2007...
. Fanø municipality is the municipality (Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, kommune) that covers the island and its seat is the town of Nordby
Nordby
Nordby is a Danish town, seat of the Fanø Municipality, in the Region of Southern Denmark. The population was 2,620 as of 1 January 2011.-Geography:...
.
The island of
Fanø is separated from the mainland by the Wadden Sea over a span of approximately five kilometres.(C.Michael Hogan. 2011) The island is 16 km long and 5 km wide, and it is located off the coast from the city of EsbjergEsbjerg
Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...
to which it is connected by ferry.
A variety of environments are to be found on Fanø. Not surprisingly, a very common one is sand. The island's whole western shore is made up of beaches, and the sea off the island's northwest end is also home to the "Søren-Jessens-Sand", a vast sandbank. Fanø also has heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
and a small pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
wood.
Fanø relies heavily on tourism throughout the year and the number of people that arrive in Fanø are ca. 30.000 people every summer.
The main attractions is the white sand beaches, the waden sea with the migrating birds and the two unique sailor towns with their maritime history and vernacular architecture consisting of simple thatched houses all oriented west-east.
Fanø municipality
The municipality is in Region of Southern Denmark, and covers an area of 56 km². It has a total population of 3192 (2008). Its mayor is Erik Nørreby, a member of the VenstreVenstre (Denmark)
VenstreThe party name is officially not translated into any other language, but is in English often referred to as the Liberal Party. Similar rules apply for the name of the party's youth wing Venstres Ungdom. , full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti , is the largest political party in Denmark...
political party
Politics of Denmark
The Politics of Denmark takes place in a framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, in which the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system...
.
The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Nordby. Other towns include Sønderho
Sønderho
Sønderho is a small village, with a population of 277 , at the southern tip of the island Fanø, in southwestern Denmark.The village dates back to the 16th century and has about 300 well-preserved buildings that stem mainly from the 19th century when Sønderho was the leading navigation area on the...
, Fanø Vesterhavsbad and Rindby.
Fanø municipality was not merged with other municipalities by January 1, 2007 as a result of nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007).
It has throughout history been connected to sea travel, but today tourism is its main industry. Tourist attractions are primarily the beaches (including the naturist) and the area's nature.