Struer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of the future municipality

Struer is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Ringkjøbing County on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Venø, and it covers an area of 175 km². It has a total population of 19,175 (2005). Its mayor is Niels Viggo Lynghøj Christensen, a member of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) political party.

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Struer.

Neighboring municipalities with land connection are Lemvig to the west, Ulfborg-Vemb and Holstebro to the south, and Vinderup to the east. Neighboring municipality Thyholm to the north is separated from the municipality by the waters of Nissum Bredning, the Odde Strait (Oddesund), and Venø Bay (Venø Bugt), parts of the larger Limfjord which separates the main part of the Jutland peninsula from the island of Vendsyssel-Thy to the north, and which defines most of the municipality's northern and eastern borders.

The 472 meter long Oddesund Bridge (Oddesundbro) connects the municipality at the town of Oddesund Syd to the town of Oddesund Nord in Thyholm municipality on Vendsyssel-Thy. Ferry service connects the municipality to the island of Venø every 20 minutes from Kleppen, 5 km northwest of the town of Struer.

Denmark's smallest church, built ca. 1600, is located on the island of Venø. The island has a population of approx. 160, of which most work on the mainland. The island is 7.5 km long and 1.5 km at its widest point.

By January 1, 2007 Struer municipality will, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), be merged with existing Thyholm municipality to form the new Struer municipality. This will create a municipality with an area of 248 km² and a total population of 22,752 (2005). The new municipality will belong to the new Region Midtjylland ("Mid-Jutland Region").

[edit] The city of Struer

The city of Struer owes its growth to the railroad, which arrived in 1865 with Jutland's first railroad line from Århus/Randers over Viborg to Skive and Struer. Before its arrival Struer was a little town, that primarily functioned as a harbour for the residents of Holstebro; but after its arrival the town grew explosively into a big city, and eventually became one of Denmark's most important railway connection points. Although the station has been expanded several times, the central part of the well-maintained building is one of Denmark's oldest stations.

Struer received privileged status as a merchant town in 1917.

Until the end of the 1960s Struer Station served as the headquarters for the central West Jutland administration of DSB, Danske Statsbaner ("Danish State Railways"). More than 300 DSB employees still work in Struer today.

Bang & Olufsen, Denmark's only radio/TV manufacturer today, is the city's most important business, and they employ almost a third of the town's population. The business started 1925 in Svend Olufsen's old family farm, Quistrup, just south of the city.