Langeland
Encyclopedia
Langeland is a Danish
island
located between the Great Belt
and Bay of Kiel
. The island measures 285 km² (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2010, has a population of 13,277. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational area. A bridge connects it to Tåsinge
via Siø
- a small island with a population of approx. 20 - and the main island of Funen
(to the northwest). Also there are connections by car ferry to the islands of Lolland
, Ærø
, and Strynø
.
Rudkøbing
, the island's largest town, is the birthplace of famous physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ørsted
, his brother, Anders Sandøe Ørsted
, a former Danish prime minister, and their uncle, botanist Anders Sandøe Ørsted
.
Administratively, the island is also a municipality
(Langeland municipality
).
Additionally, Langeland is also a small town in southern Norway
(map: click here). Several families from that town changed their surname in the 19th century to "Langeland."
.
Danish customs officials suspected that the cargo might have contained weapons to arm militant Iceland
ic home rulers who sought independence from Denmark. However the SS Fanny cut loose, escaped in a gale and sailed out of Danish territorial waters.
The weapons cache would later land in Larne
on the north-east coast of Ireland in what became known as the Larne gun-running.
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...
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
located between the Great Belt
Great Belt
The Great Belt is a strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen . Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries from the late 19th century until the islands were connected by the Great Belt Fixed Link in 1997–98.-Geography:The Great Belt is the...
and Bay of Kiel
Bay of Kiel
The Bay of Kiel is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, and the Great Belt in the North....
. The island measures 285 km² (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2010, has a population of 13,277. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational area. A bridge connects it to Tåsinge
Tåsinge
Tåsinge is a Danish island south of Funen, at Svendborg. The island covers an area of 70 km² and has 6,111 inhabitants.Tåsinge was once called Thorsinge or Thorsenge, which in the Danish means "Thor's Bed" or "Thor's Meadow"...
via Siø
Siø
Siø is a small Danish island in the South Funen Archipelago between Tåsinge and Langeland. It is part of Langeland Municipality. With an area of 1.3 km2, as of 1 January 2010 it has a population of 18. Since 1681, a system of dykes has expanded it to include the former islands of Skovø and...
- a small island with a population of approx. 20 - and the main island of Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
(to the northwest). Also there are connections by car ferry to the islands of Lolland
Lolland
Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...
, Ærø
Ærø
Ærø is one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of Region of Southern Denmark. The western portion of the island was the municipality of Ærøskøbing; the eastern portion of the island was the municipality of Marstal...
, and Strynø
Strynø
Strynø is a small Danish island in the southern Funen archipelago and is part of Langeland municipality. Lying south of Tåsinge, north-east of Ærø, and west of Langeland, Strynø covers an area of 4.88 km²....
.
Rudkøbing
Rudkøbing
Rudkøbing is a town on the island of Langeland in Denmark with a population of 4,697 belonging to Langeland municipality .-References:...
, the island's largest town, is the birthplace of famous physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ørsted
Hans Christian Ørsted
Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism...
, his brother, Anders Sandøe Ørsted
Anders Sandøe Ørsted
Anders Sandøe Ørsted was a Danish politician and jurist. He served as the Prime Minister of Denmark in 1853-1854 as leader of the Cabinet of Ørsted....
, a former Danish prime minister, and their uncle, botanist Anders Sandøe Ørsted
Anders Sandøe Ørsted (botanist)
Anders Sandøe Ørsted, also written as Anders Sandoe Oersted or Anders Sandö Örsted was a Danish botanist, mycologist, zoologist and marine biologist. He was nephew of the brothers physicist H.C...
.
Administratively, the island is also a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
(Langeland municipality
Langeland municipality
Langeland municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark in Denmark consisting of the island of Langeland. It covers an area of 290 km² and a total population of 13,741 ....
).
Additionally, Langeland is also a small town in southern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(map: click here). Several families from that town changed their surname in the 19th century to "Langeland."
Role in the Larne gun-running
On 30 March 1914, the vessel SS Fanny docked at Langeland and proceeded to be loaded with a "mysterious" cargo. This cargo turned out to be a weapons cache including 11,000 Männlicher rifles brought from the Steyr works in Austria; 9,000 ex-German army Mausers; 4,600 Italian Vetterli-Vitali rifles; and 5 million rounds of ammunition in clips of five. The cache had been purchased by Major Frederick Hugh Crawford for the Ulster Unionist Council to equip the Ulster Volunteer Force in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Danish customs officials suspected that the cargo might have contained weapons to arm militant Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic home rulers who sought independence from Denmark. However the SS Fanny cut loose, escaped in a gale and sailed out of Danish territorial waters.
The weapons cache would later land in Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
on the north-east coast of Ireland in what became known as the Larne gun-running.