Als (island)

Als (island)

Als (, German: Alsen) is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. It lies east of the Jutland peninsula of Denmark at the town of Sønderborg, and north of the German coast at Schleswig. Covering an area of 321 km² (124 sq. miles), the island has a total population of 51,322 as of 1 January 2010. It encompasses the Sønderborg Municipality as per January 1, 2007.

To the north and east of the island are the waters of the Little Belt, to the south is Flensborg Fjord, and to the west is Als Fjord and Als Strait (Alssund).

The town of Sønderborg is the capital, and resides on both the island and the mainland, being split in half by the waters of Als Strait (Alssund), part of Als Fjord, the strait that separates the island from Jutland, the Danish mainland. It has a good harbour, considerable trade, and the two halves of the city are connected over the fjord by two bridges: the 682 metre long Als Strait Bridge (Alssundbro), built in 1978 to 1981, carries automobile traffic; and the 331 metre long King Christian X's Bridge (Kong Christian Xs Bro), built in 1925 to 1930, originally carried both automobile and railroad traffic though now is purely for road traffic.

Ferry service connects the island from the town of Hardeshøj to Ballebro on the Jutland mainland, and from the town of Fynshav to Søby on the island of Ærø and to Bøjden on the island of Funen.

Als is a fertile island with a thriving pig breeding industry. The island was formerly known for its fruit orchards, some of which are still in operation.

The west coast of the island has many bays and coves: Stegsvig, Sandvig, Ketting Nor, Lille Hav, Augstenborg Fjord, Kær Vig, Hørup Hav, and Dyvig. On the east coast along the Little Belt lies the 7 km² Northern Forest (Nørreskov), and Lake Nordborg (Nordborg Sø).

Nordborg municipality is the home to a number of larger businesses including Danfoss, Denmark's largest industrial company, Sauer-Danfoss and Linak, one of Denmark's fastest growing companies.