Vendsyssel-Thy

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Vendsyssel-Thy or Nørrejyske Ø (Danish for North Jutlandic Island) is the northernmost part of Denmark. Technically, it is the second largest island of Denmark (excluding Greenland), however for practical and traditional reasons it is considered a part of the Jutland Peninsula, from which it became physically separated during a flood in 1825. The area is separated from Jutland proper by the Limfjord.

Proposed flag of Vendsyssel. The blue colour symbolises the sky and the sea. The red is for Denmark and the green for the nature. This Nordic Cross flag was introduced in 1976 by the mayor of Hjørring, but is not widely used or even recognised.

Vendsyssel-Thy is seldom regarded as a single unit. It consists of three areas which are referred to much more often than to the island as a whole. The consisting areas are:

Vendsyssel, the largest part at east and north (in North Jutland County),
Hanherrederne or Hanherred in the central part (mostly in North Jutland County, westernmost part in Viborg County),
Thy at west (in Viborg County, except for the southernmost part, called Thyholm, which is in Ringkjøbing County).

The term North Jutland usually includes Vendsyssel-Thy, Himmerland and the islands of Mors and Læsø. From 2007, these areas will constitute the North Jutland Region, being smallest by population of Denmark's five new regions.

Vendsyssel-Thy was once connected to Jutland proper by a 13 km long and less than 1 km wide isthmus, Agger Tange, which separated the North Sea from the Limfjord. It became an island on February 3, 1825 when the sea broke through the northern end of the isthmus, creating Agger Channel. Thyborøn Channel, located farther south of the original canal, was created through the center of the isthmus by another flood in 1862. Agger Channel began to fill up with sand and was eventually filled up in 1877, thus making the island a little bit larger.

Vendsyssel-Thy: Thy at west, Hanherred (with the towns Fjerritslev and Brovst) in the middle, and Vendsyssel at east and north

1 Names
2 Key facts
3 Infrastructure

[edit] Names

Some historians and linguists hypothesise that the name Vendsyssel is derived from the Germanic tribe of the Vandals. Syssel is an ancient form of administrative region. Vendel (Old Danish Wændil) was also the ancient name of the Limfjord itself.

Thy is originally the same word as Old Norse Þjóð, meaning people, and is by some scholars thought to be the origin of another Germanic tribe, the Teutons.^[1]

[edit] Key facts

Area: 4,685 km²
Population: 306,373 (January 1, 2003)
Major towns:

Vendsyssel: Hjørring, Frederikshavn, Skagen, Brønderslev, Sæby, Hirtshals, Løkken, Nørresundby (northern part of Aalborg, which is mainly south of the Limfjord)

Hanherred: Fjerritslev, Brovst

Thy: Thisted, Hanstholm, Hurup

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Bridges to mainland Jutland

From west to east:

Oddesund (rail and road, from Thy to Struer and West Jutland)
Vilsund (road, from Thy to the island of Mors and onwards to central Jutland)
Aggersund (road, between Hanherred and Himmerland)
Limfjord Railroad Bridge (in Aalborg, linking Vendsyssel to the Danish rail network)
Limfjord Bridge (road, linking Nørresundby to central Aalborg)
Limfjord Tunnel (motorway, east of Aalborg)
A further bridge crossing the Limfjord west of Aalborg has been proposed.