Stevns
Encyclopedia
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 Sjælland
Region Sjælland
Region Zealand is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of...
on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in south 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 247 km², and has a total population of 21,892 (2008). Its mayor is Paul Arne Sørensen, a member of the Venstre
Venstre (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...
(Liberal Party) 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 municipality covers most of Stevns Peninsula
Stevns Peninsula
Stevns Peninsula is a peninsula on Sjælland in Denmark. It is separated from Sjælland by the three streams Stevns Å, Tryggevælde Å and Kildeå.The main town of the peninsula is Store Heddinge, and most of the peninsula is covered by the Stevns Municipality....
.
The third largest town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Hårlev
Hårlev
Not to be confused with Harlev, a western suburb of Aarhus.Hårlev is a railway town with a population of 2,533 in Stevns Municipality on the southeastern part of the Danish island of Zealand about 12 kilometres south of Køge....
.
On January 1, 2007 Stevns municipality, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with Vallø
Vallø
Vallø was a municipality in the former Roskilde County on the east coast of the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 84 km², and had a total population of 10,337...
municipality to form an enlarged Stevns municipality.
The town of Store Heddinge
The town of Store HeddingeStore Heddinge
Store Heddinge is a Danish town in Region Sjælland. It is the administrative seat of Stevns Municipality and has a population of 3,448 .-History:...
came into existence during the 13th century, and Saint Katharina Church (Sct. Katharina kirke) is also from that time. The town received privileged status as a merchant town in 1441. A Latin preparatory school was founded in the town in 1620, but was closed down in 1739.
Attractions
The area is known for its white chalk cliffs, which are quite rare in Denmark. Stevns Klint (Stevns' Cliffs) is one of these, and it is a popular attraction. The old town church by the small village of Højerup collapsed partially over the cliffs in 1928 due to erosion.The cliffs at Højerup is also the place where the father-and-son team of scientists Luis and Walter Alvarez
Walter Alvarez
Walter Alvarez is a professor in the Earth and Planetary Science department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is most widely known for the theory that dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid impact, developed in collaboration with his father, Nobel Prize winning physicist Luis...
measured the highest level of Iridium
Iridium
Iridium is the chemical element with atomic number 77, and is represented by the symbol Ir. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum family, iridium is the second-densest element and is the most corrosion-resistant metal, even at temperatures as high as 2000 °C...
in the K–T boundary
K–T boundary
The K–T boundary is a geological signature, usually a thin band, dated to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma ago. K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary period...
layer, which led them to propose their hypothesis
Alvarez hypothesis
The Alvarez hypothesis claims that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs and many other living things was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth sixty-five million years ago, called the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. Evidence indicates that the asteroid fell in the Yucatán...
that the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event
Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event
The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, formerly named and still commonly referred to as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, occurred approximately 65.5 million years ago at the end of the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period. It was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant...
was caused by an impact
Impact event
An impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Throughout recorded history, hundreds of minor impact events have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage or other significant...
of a large asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
65 million years ago.
In 2008 Cold War Museum Stevns Fortress opened to the public. It features a large exhibition of military equipment and a 1,5 hour guided tour in the large underground system of the fortress. The underground system of the fortress features 1,6 km tunnels, living quarters, command centers, hospital and even a chapel. Also two ammunition deposits for its two 15 cm cannons. The tunnels are 18–20 meters below surface excavated in the chalk of Stevns. This top secret fortress was built in 1953 and remained operational until year 2000.
Stevns is also home to Elverhøj (Elves' Hill), while not much of an attraction, it is famous for the fairy tale The Elf Mound
The Elf Mound
"The Elf Mound" is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen . The tale is about a feast held in an elf mound for the Goblin Chief of Norway and his two sons, both of whom are expected to select elf brides. The tale was published in Copenhagen, Denmark by C.A...
by H.C. Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
and the Danish national play Elves' Hill
Elves' Hill
Elves' Hill is a comedy by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with overture and incidental music by Friedrich Kuhlau , which is considered the first Danish national play....
, both of which in Danish share the name Elverhøj.
Towns and villages in Stevns Municipality
- Barmhjertigheden
- Bjælkerup
- Endeslev
- Holteland
- Holtug
- Hårlev
- Højerup
- Klippinge
- Renge
- Rødvig
- Sigerslev
- Store HeddingeStore HeddingeStore Heddinge is a Danish town in Region Sjælland. It is the administrative seat of Stevns Municipality and has a population of 3,448 .-History:...
- Tommestrup
- Valløby