Sønderborg (German: Sonderburg, Sønderjysk: Synneborre / Synnebo)
is a town and municipality in Southern Jutland with 27,841
inhabitants (2020) on both sides of Alssund. Most of the town is
located on the island of Als, which is connected to Southern Jutland
by King Christian X's Bridge and the northern Alssund Bridge. It is
Sønderjylland's largest city and grew up around Sønderborg Castle,
which was built a little before the year 1200. Archaeological
excavations in various places in the city show the medieval
Sønderborg on Humletorvet.
Shipping was an important
profession from the 16th century, when ships from Sønderborg sailed
throughout the Baltic Sea area with goods from Als. The Prussian
bombing in 1864 hit Sønderborg very hard, where more than 80 percent
of the town's houses burned down or were damaged. The reconstruction
took place slowly, and only after 1900 did the population grow
noticeably, e.g. due to German immigration.
Southern Jutland
belonged to Germany in the period 1864-1920, and the city lost many
citizens who emigrated to Denmark, which lay north of the Kongeå
border. In return, Sønderborg gained several German military
institutions, and the city's industry and trade developed further.
After the Reunification in 1920, a number of Germans emigrated, and
the population dropped again from 11,500 before World War I to 8,500
in 1921. The port and road network were expanded, and Christian X’s
Bridge replaced the old pontoon bridge. The city grew especially
after World War II, and from 1960 it had overtaken Haderslev in
terms of population and had become South Jutland's largest city.
Half of the city's inhabitants were employed in handicrafts and
industry in 1960, and the metal and machine industry in particular
were significant industries.
In 1970, with the municipal
reform, Sønderborg lost its status as a county seat, and the
population fell until the mid-1980s, after which the trend reversed.
The Sønderborg area today has a dynamic business environment
within high technology, machinery, food and textile industry and has
many educational institutions and colleges. The University of
Southern Denmark in Sønderborg offers i.a. business economics,
business languages and engineering educations, and in addition
there are e.g. Sønderborg Idrætshøjskole og kunstskole. The city is
also home to the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra. Sønderborg
Hospital is the city's largest workplace with 1,500 employees.
Sønderborg is the capital of Sønderborg Municipality, which is
part of the Region of Southern Denmark. On 1 January 2007,
Sønderborg became part of the larger Sønderborg Municipality. The
municipality currently has 74,561 inhabitants (2019). Other cities
in Sønderborg Municipality are: Nordborg, Augustenborg, Guderup,
Fynshav, Høruphav, Vester Sottrup, Broager, Havnbjerg and Gråsten.