Tårnby

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Location in Denmark

Oresund Bridge from Denmark to Sweden. On the right the artificial Peberholm and on the left Saltholm. This picture is taken from the air.

Tårnby church

Tårnby is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Copenhagen County on the island of Amager just east of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark. The municipality includes the islands of Saltholm and Peberholm, and covers an area of 65 km². It has a total population of 39,582 (2005). Its mayor is Henrik Zimino, a member of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) political party.

The municipality is primarily an amalgamation of the formerly independent towns of Tårnby and Kastrup, as well as the earlier villages of Ullerup and Tømmerup. The municipal council is located in the Kastrup section of the municipality. Tårnby municipality will not be merged with other municipalities by January 1, 2007 as the result of nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007).

Tårnby is divided into three main built up districts: Kastrup, Tårnby, and Vestamager. Kastrup in the north-east is marked by higher density apartments and harbour facilities; Tårnby, west of Kastrup, is known for its older houses, row houses, and some apartments; Vestamager, to the west of the airport, is known for its smaller houses and gardens. Most of the community's infrastructure is fairly evenly spread throughout the municipality.

Neighbouring municipalities are Copenhagen to the north and Dragør to the south. These three municipalities cover the entirety of Amager island. To the east is the Øresund (the Sound), the strait which separates Zealand from Sweden. To the west is Køge Bay (Køge Bugt).

The E20 Amager Motorway (Amagermotorvejen) / Øresund Motorway (Øresundsmotorvejen) runs through Tårnby, where in the east it crosses over the Øresund and over the island of Peberholm to Sweden as the Øresund Bridge, and to the west it crosses over Køge Bay to Avedøre Holme in Hvidovre municipality as the 241-meter long Kalvebod Bridge (Kalvebodbroen).

Most of Copenhagen Airport lies in the municipality. In fact, about the airport takes up about 19% of the municipality's area. The airport has had a strong impact on the area, as the national significance of the international airport has sometimes taken precedent over local wishes. However, the airport is also a major employer and benefit for the local economy.

Demographically, Tårnby is slightly older than most of Copenhagen. This trend is expected to become more pronounced in the coming years. Income is slightly less than the average in Copenhagen county.

Politically the municipality has been very stable. From the 1930s until the early 21st century there were only 4 different mayors, all social democrats. The town council has always a majority of social democrats. The municipality has a low tax rate, in the county only Søllerød has a lower one. However, the service level is still relatively high.

The first mention of Tårnby in the historical record was in 1135. Tårnby's name is thought to come from torn or tjørn a bush used in the community. The local church was built in the 12th century at some point.

Much of the community was still quite rural until the mid 20th century when expansion of the airport, construction of new highways and streets, and a population boom in Copenhagen encouraged the construction of apartments and row housing.