Hanherred or Hanherrederne is a traditional district in northern Jutland

Jutland

Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

, 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...

. It lies between Thy

Thy (district)

Thy is a traditional district in northwestern Jutland, Denmark. It is situated north of the Limfjord, facing the North Sea and Skagerrak, and has a population of around 50,000. The main towns of Thy are Thisted, Hanstholm and Hurup....

 in the west and Vendsyssel

Vendsyssel

Vendsyssel is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island. Vendsyssel is part of the North Denmark Region....

 in the east. To the north it faces the North Sea

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...

 (Skagerrak

Skagerrak

The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...

) and to the south the Limfjord

Limfjord

The Limfjord is a shallow sound in Denmark that separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula. It extends from Thyborøn Channel on the North Sea to Hals on the Kattegat. It is approximately 180 kilometres long and of an irregular shape with several bays, narrowings,...

. There are only two towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants, Fjerritslev

Fjerritslev

Fjerritslev is a town in Jammerbugt Municipality, Region Nordjylland in Denmark. The town's population is 3,403 .Until 1 January 2007, Fjerritslev was the municipal seat of the former Fjerritslev Municipality.-External links:* -References:...

 and Brovst

Brovst

Brovst is a town with a population of 2,778 in Jammerbugt municipality in northern Jutland in the Region Nordjylland. To the north is Jammer Bay , and beyond that the Skagerrak, the strait that separates Denmark from Norway....

.

Hanherred is the central, but lesser known part of the North Jutlandic Island. Since the municipal reform of 2007, it is mainly a part of Jammerbugt municipality

Jammerbugt municipality

Jammerbugt is a municipality in North Denmark Region in Denmark. It covers an area of 863 km² and a total population of 38,957 ....

. The westernmost fringe with the villages of Frøstrup and Vesløs belongs to Thisted municipality

Thisted municipality

Thisted municipality is a municipality in North Denmark Region, Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,072 km², and has a total population of 45,549 . Its mayor is Erik Hove Olesen, a member of the Social Democrats...

 and is sometimes erroneously thought to be part of Thy. The border to Thy is Arup Vejle and Tømmerby Fjord, while the border to Vendsyssel is the river Ryå, just west of Aabybro

Aabybro

Aabybro is a town in Jammerbugt municipality in Denmark. In 1953, its population was 1,188; by 1960 it had risen to 1,346 and by 2011 to 5,382....

.

Herred is an ancient Danish judicial district, and since the area actually contains two of these, Øster (East) Han Herred and Vester (West) Han Herred, the plural

Plural

In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...

 form Hanherrederne is sometimes used.

Hanherred and Thy share the largest bird sanctuary of Northern Europe, Vejlerne. Nearby is the bird cliff

Bird cliff

Bird cliffs are steep cliffs with numerous small shelves which serve as nesting locations for bird colonies. Bird cliffs are found on islands in the North Atlantic and Arctic, such as the Faroe Islands, the Svalbard archipelago and on islands off Northern Norway...

 of Bulbjerg

Bulbjerg

Bulbjerg is a limestone cliff in northern Jutland, Denmark, facing Skagerrak. It is the only rock formation in Jutland, the only bird cliff on the Danish mainland, and as such the only breeding place of the black-legged kittiwake on the Danish mainland...

. The large Viking ring castle Aggersborg

Aggersborg

Aggersborg is the largest of Denmark's former Viking ring castles, and one of the largest archeological sites in Denmark. It is located near Aggersund on the north side of the Limfjord. It consisted of a circular rampart surrounded by a ditch. Four main roads arranged in a cross connected the...

lies at a strategic location at the Limfjord.