Esbjerg

Esbjerg is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Ribe County on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 221 km?, and has a total population of 82,312 (2005). Its mayor is Johnny S?trup, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

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

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Neighboring municipalities with land connection are Bramming to the southeast, Helle to the east, and Varde to the north. Neighboring municipalities to the west are Fan?, an island municipality located in Fano Bay (Fan? Bugt) and Bl?vandshuk, which is separated from Esbjerg by the waters of Ho Bay (Ho Bugt). These two bays define the municipality's western border. Beyond the island of Fan? and Fan? Bay is the North Sea.

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Ferry service connects the municipality at the city of Esbjerg over Ho Bay to the town of Fan? on the island of the same name via Scandlines, and over the North Sea to Harwich, England via DFDS Seaways.

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By January 1, 2007 Esbjerg municipality will, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), be merged with existing Bramming and Ribe municipalities to form the new Esbjerg municipality. This will create a municipality with an area of 741 km? and a total population of 114,097 (2005). The new municipality will belong to the new Region Syddanmark ("South Denmark Region").

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The municipality is a large transport hub for both rail and highway traffic, and is an important port for Danish North Sea oil offshore activity. It has an airport, and is a center for machine building. The municipality has a number of museums, theatres (operas also of ballet, drama), and several libraries.

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Danish: Danish may refer to:...

Kommune: Kommune may mean:...

Ribe County: Ribe Amt (English, Ribe County) is a county (Danish, amt) on the Jutland peninsula of in southwest Denmark....