Lejre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Municipality
2 Attractions
3 Images
4 See also
5 External links
6 References

Map of Lejre municipality

Lejre is a town and municipality (Danish, kommune) on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The town's Old Norse name was Hleiðra. The municipality has an area of 240 km² and a total population of ca. 25,971 (2005). Its mayor is Flemming Jensen, representing the liberal Venstre political party. The municipal seat is Kirke Hvalsø.

[edit] Municipality

The current municipality was established on 1 January 2007 as a result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), merging the former Lejre municipality with Bramsnæs and Hvalsø municipalities to form a new Lejre municipality. The former Lejre municipality covered an area of 88 km², and had a total population of 8,724 (2005). Its last mayor was Jens Hald Madsen, representing the Venstre party. Neighboring municipalities were Ramsø and Roskilde to the east, Bramsnæs to the north, Hvalsø to the west, and Hvalsø to the south. Most of the old municipality's northern border was defined by the waters of Roskilde Fjord. It belonged to Roskilde County.

[edit] Attractions

The municipality is home to the Lejre Experimental Centre, a center for experimental archaeology and education, which includes reconstructions and recreations from different periods of Denmark’s history— from pre-history to the time of the Vikings. The centerpiece of the facility is an Iron Age village reconstruction, complete with sacrificial bog. The center is open to the public.