Fanø is a Danish island in the North Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark, and is the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands. Fanø municipality is the municipality (Danish, kommune) that covers the island and its seat is the town of Nordby.
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Fanø is separated from the mainland by the Wadden Sea over a span of approximately five kilometres.(C.Michael Hogan. 2011) The island is 16 km long and 5 km wide, and it is located off the coast from the city of Esbjerg to which it is connected by ferry.
A variety of environments are to be found on Fanø. Not surprisingly, a very common one is sand. The island's whole western shore is made up of beaches, and the sea off the island's northwest end is also home to the "Søren-Jessens-Sand", a vast sandbank. Fanø also has heath and a small pine wood.
Fanø relies heavily on tourism throughout the year and the number of people that arrive in Fanø are ca. 30.000 people every summer. The main attractions is the white sand beaches, the waden sea with the migrating birds and the two unique sailor towns with their maritime history and vernacular architecture consisting of simple thatched houses all oriented west-east.
The municipality is in Region of Southern Denmark, and covers an area of 56 km². It has a total population of 3192 (2008). Its mayor is Erik Nørreby, a member of the Venstre political party.
The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Nordby. Other towns include Sønderho, Fanø Vesterhavsbad and Rindby.
Fanø municipality was not merged with other municipalities by January 1, 2007 as a result of nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007).
It has throughout history been connected to sea travel, but today tourism is its main industry. Tourist attractions are primarily the beaches (including the naturist) and the area's nature.
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