Skælskør Municipality

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Skælskør Municipality was a Danish municipality on the southwestern coast of Zealand, in what used to be West Zealand County. It existed from 1 April 1970 until 31 December 2006, and after the 2007 municipal reform it became part of Slagelse Municipality in Region Zealand. The municipal seat was the town of Skælskør, and the last mayor was Hans Ole Drost (Venstre). The area covered 170.02 square kilometres and had a population of 11,928 in 2006, giving a density of about 70 people per square kilometre.

Geography: Skælskør bordered Korsør and Hashøj to the north and Fuglebjerg to the east. It included the islands Agersø, Omø and Glænø. The Great Belt lay to the west, and the Agersø Sound separated Zealand from these islands. To the south were Karrebæksminde Bay and Rågø Sund. A large lake named Noret lay north of Skælskør town.

History: Skælskør began as a town in the 1100s and became a market town in 1414. It was an important transit point between Zealand, Funen and Langeland, though Korsør later became more prominent. Over the centuries the area was part of several hundreds and counties, and it became West Zealand County in 1970.

Municipal reform: In 2007 Skælskør Municipality merged with Hashøj, Slagelse and Korsør municipalities to form the new Slagelse Municipality in Region Zealand.

Population and settlements: The largest town was Skælskør, where more than half of the residents lived. Other towns included Bisserup, Boeslunde, Eggeslevmagle and Rude, plus smaller communities on Agersø and Omø (Agersø By and Omø By).

Notable features: Saint Nicholas Church in Skælskør dates from the 1200s. Harboe Brewery has been located in Skælskør since 1883. The coat of arms shows a bridge over a river with a church and town hall, and a shellfish motif referring to the town’s name meaning shellfish beach.