Middelfart municipality is a 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

Municipalities of Denmark

This is a list of Municipalities of Denmark.-Region Hovedstaden:* Albertslund Municipality* Allerød Municipality* Ballerup Municipality* Bornholm Regional Municipality* Brøndby Municipality* Copenhagen Municipality* Dragør Municipality* Egedal Municipality...

) in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the 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...

 in southern 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...

. The municipality covers an area of 297 km². It has a total population of 37,274 (2008). Its mayor is Steen Dahlstrøm, a member of the Social Democrats

Social Democrats (Denmark)

The Social Democrats , is a Danish political party committed to the political ideology of social democracy. It is the major coalition partner in Denmark's government since the 2011 parliamentary election, and party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the current Prime Minister of Denmark...

 (Socialdemokraterne) 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 Middelfart

Middelfart

Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 14,781 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart municipality on the island of Funen .-Overview:The Middelfart municipality has a population of 37,701 people as of 2011...

.

The Snævringen ("The Narrowing"), is the strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

 that separates the 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...

 from the Jutland mainland in this area, where the two lie very close to each other, often less than 1.5 km apart. Snævringen is an extension of the Kattegat, and begins near the cities of Fredericia

Fredericia

Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...

 and Middelfart

Middelfart

Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 14,781 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart municipality on the island of Funen .-Overview:The Middelfart municipality has a population of 37,701 people as of 2011...

. To the south of the municipality is Fænø Strait (Fænø Sund), which separates Funen from the municipality's island of Fænø

Fænø

Fænø is a small Danish island in the Little Belt off the west coast of Funen in Middelfart Municipality. With an area of 3.9 km2, as of 1 January 2010 it has a population of just 2. Reaching a height of 39 metres above sea level at its highest point, the island is privately owned...

.

On January 1, 2007 Middelfart municipality was, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with Ejby

Ejby municipality

Until 1 January 2007, Ejby municipality was a municipality in Funen County on the north and west coasts of the island of Funen in southern Denmark. The municipality included the island of Brandsø, covered an area of 163 km², and had a total population of 10,046 . Its last mayor was Claus...

 and Nørre Aaby

Nørre Aaby municipality

Until January 1, 2007 Nørre Aaby municipality was a municipality in the former Funen County on the north and west coasts of the island of Funen in southern Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 65 km², and had a total population of 5,626 . Its last mayor was Hanne Christensen, a...

municipalities to form an enlarged Middelfart municipality.