Struer

Struer is a municipality (Danish, "kommune") in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Venø, and it covers an area of 248 km². It has a total population of 22,672 (2008). Its mayor is Martin Merrild, a member of the Venstre, the Liberal political party.

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Struer - population 11,364 (2007).

The 472 meter long Oddesund Bridge ("Oddesundbro") connects the municipality at the town of Oddesund Syd to the town of Oddesund Nord in Thyholm municipality on Vendsyssel-Thy. Ferry service connects the municipality to the island of Venø every 20 minutes from Kleppen, 5 km northwest of the town of Struer.

Denmark's smallest church, built ca. 1600, is located on the island of Venø. The island has a population of approx. 160, of which most work on the mainland. The island is 7.5 km long and 1.5 km at its widest point.

On January 1, 2007 Struer municipality was, as the result of "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with existing Thyholm municipality to form an enlarged Struer municipality.

The city of Struer

[
Struer [upper left] is west of Randers and north of Holstebro, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.]

The city of Struer owes its growth to the railroad, which arrived in 1865 with Jutland's first railroad line from Århus/Randers over Viborg to Skive and Struer. Before its arrival Struer was a little town, that primarily functioned as a harbour for the residents of Holstebro; but after its arrival the town grew explosively into a big city, and eventually became one of Denmark's most important railway connection points. Although the station has been expanded several times, the central part of the well-maintained building is one of Denmark's oldest stations. One of the oldest station buildings now house the administration and science labs of [http://www.struer-gym.dk Struer statsgymnasium] , one of the few Danish school that offer the International Baccerlaureate [http://www.ibo.org] program. The school also has the Danish STX(3 years) and HF(2 years)programs. There are about 500 students spread out on 20 classes. The "Gymnasium" also has a boarding school, and therefore is a popular choice for exchange students.

Struer received privileged status as a merchant town in 1917.

Until the end of the 1960s Struer Station served as the headquarters for the central West Jutland administration of DSB, "Danske Statsbaner" ("Danish State Railways"). More than 300 DSB employees still work in Struer today.

Bang & Olufsen, Denmark's only radio/TV manufacturer today, is the city's most important business, and they employ almost a third of the town's population. The business started 1925 in Svend Olufsen's old family farm, "Quistrup", just south of the city. At Struer Museum there is a new large exhibition where old and new B&O products are displayed together with a lot of famous danish design furnitures.

Sister cities

flagicon|Sweden Södertälje, Sweden

flagicon|Finland Forssa, Finland

flagicon|Norway Sarpsborg, Norway

flagicon|Norway Spydeberg, Norway

External links

* [http://www.struer.dk Municipality's official website]
* [http://www.visitstruer.dk/ Struer tourist bureau]
* [http://www.struermuseum.dk/ Struer Museum]
* [http://www.struer-gym.dk Struer Statsgymnasium]

References

* Municipal statistics: [http://www2.netborger.dk/Kommunefakta/ NetBorger Kommunefakta] , delivered from [http://www.kmd.dk/ KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)]
* Municipal mergers and neighbors: [http://kommune.eniro.dk/danmarkskort/ Eniro new municipalities map]