View source for Vallensbæk Municipality

{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name                   = Vallensbæk Municipality
| native_name            = {{native name|da|Vallensbæk Kommune}}
| settlement_type        = [[Municipalities of Denmark|Municipality]]
| image_skyline          = Helligtrekongers Kirke, Vallensbæk.jpg
| image_alt              = 
| image_caption          = Three Kings Church in Vallensbæk Landsby
| image_seal             = 
| seal_alt               = 
| image_shield           = Vallensbæk Municipality Coat of Arms.jpg
| shield_size            = 100x80px
| image_map              = Map DK Vallensbæk.PNG
| map_alt                = 
| map_caption            = 
| coordinates            = {{coord|format=dms|region:DK_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint          = 
| coordinates_footnotes  = 
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = [[Denmark]]
| subdivision_type1      = Region
| subdivision_name1      = [[Capital Region of Denmark|Capital Region]]
| established_title      = Established
| established_date       = April 1, 1970
| seat_type              = [[Administrative centre|Seat]]
| seat                   = [[Vallensbæk]]
| government_footnotes   = 
| leader_party           = [[Conservative People's Party (Denmark)|C]]
| leader_title           = Mayor
| leader_name            = [[Henrik Rasmussen (politician)|Henrik Rasmussen]]
| unit_pref              = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_footnotes         = 
| area_total_km2         = 9.23
| area_land_km2          = 
| area_water_km2         = 
| area_water_percent     = 
| area_note              = 
| elevation_footnotes    = 
| elevation_m            = 
| population_footnotes   = <ref>[https://m.statbank.dk/TableInfo/BY2?lang=en BY2: Population 1. January by municipalities] The Mobile Statbank from [[Statistics Denmark]]</ref>
| population_total       = 18322 
| population_as_of       = 1. January 2025
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_note        = 
| timezone1              = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1            = +1
| timezone1_DST          = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST        = +2
| blank_name_sec1        =
| blank_info_sec1        = 
| blank1_name_sec1       = [[Kommunkod|Municipal code]]
| blank1_info_sec1       = 187
| postal_code_type       = 
| postal_code            = {{#property:P281}}
| area_code_type         = 
| area_code              = {{#property:P473}}
| iso_code               = 
| website                = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes              = 
}}
'''Vallensbæk Municipality''' ({{langx|da|Vallensbæk Kommune}}) is a municipality ([[Danish language|Danish]]: ''[[Municipalities of Denmark|kommune]]'') in the [[Capital Region of Denmark]] on [[Zealand]]. It is part of the [[Urban area of Copenhagen|Greater Copenhagen area]] and consist primarily of the [[suburb]] of Vallensbæk. It is one of the smallest municipalities in Denmark in terms of area. Vallensbæk Municipality borders the municipalities of [[Ishøj Municipality|Ishøj]], [[Høje-Taastrup Municipality|Høje-Taastrup]], [[Albertslund Municipality|Albertslund]] and [[Brøndby Municipality|Brøndby]]. It borders Køge Bay, and the Køge Bay Beach Park (Danish: ''Køge Bugt Strandpark'') along the coast. The suburb of Vallensbæk consists of two sections, not directly connected to each other: ''[[Vallensbæk Nordmark]]'' in the north and ''[[Vallensbæk Strand]]'' in the south. The two parts of the town are commonly referred to together as Vallensbæk. The only other settlement in the municipality is the village of ''[[Vallensbæk Landsby]]''.

The municipality's mayor has been Henrik Rasmussen, a member of the [[Conservative People's Party (Denmark)|Conservative People's Party]], since 2010. The Conservative People's Party has held the position as mayor since the municipality's creation in 1970.

Vallensbæk Municipality was not merged with any other municipality in the [[Municipalities of Denmark#Municipality Reform 2007|municipal reform of 2007]].

==History==
Vallensbæk is known from at least 1184 under the name ''Wolensbech'', possibly translating to 'narrow land area' or 'the field with the brook'. In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into [[syssel]]s, Vallensbæk was part of Østersyssel. It later became a part of Copenhagen [[Fief]], which was changed to [[Copenhagen County]] in 1661. Although Copenhagen County changed many times over the years, Vallensbæk always remained within the borders. When the counties were disestablished in 2007, Vallensbæk came under the new [[Capital Region of Denmark]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Københavns Amt - Herreder og Sogne |url=http://www.banckfam.org/banckfam/indexdk.php?in=dkmt&ara=dk.kha |website=Banckfam.org |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

Since 1842, and until the [[1970 Danish Municipal Reform]], Vallensbæk was a parish municipality. It became a regular municipality with the 1970 reform, and its borders have remained unchanged since. Vallensbæk wasn't merged with any other municipality in the 2007 municipal reform.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæk Kommune |url=https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Vallensb%C3%A6k_Kommune |website=Denstoredanske.lex.dk |access-date=17 September 2021 |archive-date=10 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210152152/https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/Vallensb%C3%A6k_Kommune |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Towns==
Below are all settlements in the municipality with populations of at least 200 people (populations as of 2020).<ref name="Statistik">{{cite web |title=Statistikbanken |url=https://www.statistikbanken.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1920 |website=Statistikbanken.dk |access-date=8 April 2021}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left; margin-right:1em"
|-
| [[Vallensbæk]] || style="text-align:center"| 16,098
|-
| [[Vallensbæk Landsby]] || style="text-align:center"| 430
|}
{{clear}}
[[Image:2008 09 14 vallensbaek havn 125.jpg|thumb|Vallensbæk Harbour.]]

===Vallensbæk===
{{main|Vallensbæk}}

Vallensbæk is part of the Greater Copenhagen Area, and is divided into Vallensbæk Nordmark in the north of the municipality and Vallensbæk Strand in the south by the coast. Vallensbæk Nordmark is almost entirely residential buildings, mainly [[Single-family detached home|detached houses]], with a small industrial area and an area with schools and institutions. Vallensbæk Nordmark is connected to [[Albertslund]].

In the northern part of Vallensæk Strand is an industrial area and many [[city block]]s. The rest of Vallensbæk Strand are mainly detached houses. Near the center of Vallensbæk Strand is [[Vallensbæk railway station]], as well as a number of amenities, schools and institutions. By the coast, not directly connected to Vallensbæk Strand, is a sizable marina. Next to the marina is [[Køge Bugt Strandpark]], of which a small portion is in Vallensbæk Municipality. Vallensbæk Strand is connected to [[Brøndby Strand]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Historie |url=http://www.xn--vallensbkportal-4lb.dk/kultur/historie-vallensbaek |website=Vallensbækportal.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

The beaches in Vallensbæk Municipality are administered by [[Ishøj Municipality]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæk Strand er blåstemplet med det blå flag |url=https://www.vallensbaek.dk/om-kommunen/nyhedsarkiv/vallensbaek-strand-er-blaastemplet-med-det-blaa-flag |website=Vallensbaek.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>
[[Image:Vallensbæk Landsby.jpg|thumb|Vallensbæk Landsby.]]

===Vallensbæk Landsby===
{{main|Vallensbæk Landsby}}
Vallensbæk Landsby (Danish for ''Vallensbæk Village'') is a village located centrally between Vallensbæk Strand and Vallensbæk Nordmark. In the village are the only two churches in the municipality: the Three Kings Church (Danish: ''Helligtrekongers Kirke''), a modern church built between 2006 and 2012, and Vallensbæk Church from the 1100s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Helligtrekongers Kirke |url=http://kajbollmann.dk/hellig-tre-konger/diverse/helligtrekongers-kirke |website=Kajbollmann.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæk Landsby |url=https://trap.lex.dk/Vallensb%C3%A6k_Landsby |website=Trap.lex.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==Nature==
[[Image:P3170170 vejleåstien cykelrute 69 ved Vallensbæk mose.JPG|thumb|Biking and hiking trail by Vallensbæk Bog.]]
Located in the Great Copenhagen Area, there aren't much nature in Vallensbæk Municipality. There are no protected nature within the municipality's borders.

South-west of Vallensbæk Nordmark is a bog named Vallensbæk Bog (Danish: ''Vallensbæk Mose''). It spans 50 acres and is mainly located in Vallensbæk Municipality, but also in the municipalities of Albertslund, Høje Taastrup and Ishøj. The bog includes the two lakes of Tueholm Lake (Danish: ''Tueholmsøen'') and Vallensbæk Lake (Danish: ''Vallensbæk Sø''), which is home to a variety of birds. Both lakes were artificially created in 1972 in order to prevent floodings from the river of ''Store Vejleå''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Velkommen til Vallensbækmose |url=http://www.vallensbaekmose.dk/ |website=Vallensbaekmose.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Natur og friluftsliv |url=https://vallensbaek.dk/service/kultur-og-fritid/gronne-omrader |website=Vallensbaek.dk |access-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807131343/https://vallensbaek.dk/service/kultur-og-fritid/gronne-omrader |archive-date=7 August 2020}}</ref>

===Køge Bugt Strandpark===
{{main|Køge Bugt Strandpark}}

Køge Bugt Strandpark (translating to Køge Bay Beach Park) is a park in Køge Bay. It is artificially made and was opened in 1980. It is located along the coast of the bay, in [[Greve Municipality|Greve]], Ishøj, Vallensbæk and Brøndby municipalities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Køge Bugt Strandpark |url=https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/K%C3%B8ge_Bugt_Strandpark |website=Denstoredanske.lex.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

The park is home to many species of birds, with [[common redshank]] and [[northern lapwing]] breeding in the area. Many types of [[wader]]s and shorebirds breed on the meadows. The [[European green toad]], rare in Denmark, can be seen in the park, though mostly in the part of the park located in Greve Municipality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Natur |url=https://strandparken-kbh.dk/naturen/#fane_dyr |website=Strandparken-kbh.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==Politics==
Vallensbæk Municipality was not merged with any adjacent municipality under the [[Municipalities of Denmark#Municipality Reform 2007|municipal reform of 2007]], as it agreed to enter into a "municipal cooperation agreement" with [[Ishøj Municipality]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bekendtgørelse om revision af den kommunale og regionale inddeling og om forpligtende kommunale samarbejder |url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2005/656 |website=Retsinformation.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

===Municipal council===
Vallensbæk's municipal council consists of 15 members, elected every four years.

Below are the municipal council elected since the municipality's creation in 1970.

{| class="wikitable" 
! rowspan=2| Election
! colspan=7| Party
! rowspan=2| Total<br/>seats
! rowspan=2| Turnout
! rowspan=2| Elected<br/>mayor
|-
|style="background:#B5211D;"|'''[[Social Democrats (Denmark)|{{font color|white|A}}]]'''
|style="background:#843A93;"|'''[[Danish Social Liberal Party|{{font color|white|B}}]]'''
|style="background:#89A920;"|'''[[Conservative People's Party (Denmark)|{{font color|white|C}}]]'''
|style="background:#C9096C;"|'''[[Socialist People's Party (Denmark)|{{font color|white|F}}]]'''
|style="background:#F4D44D;"|'''[[Danish People's Party|{{font color|white|O}}]]'''
|style="background:#254C85;"|'''[[Venstre (Denmark)|{{font color|white|V}}]]'''
|style="background:#E3CF57;"|'''[[Progress Party (Denmark)|{{font color|white|Z}}]]'''
|-
|[[1970 Danish local elections|1970]]
|4
|1
|6
|style="background:#CDC9C9;"|
|style="background:#CDC9C9;" rowspan=10|
|style="background:#CDC9C9;" rowspan=5|
|style="background:#CDC9C9;"|
|11
|style="background:#CDC9C9;" rowspan=9|
|rowspan=6|[[Poul Hansen (mayor)|Poul Hansen]] (C)
|-
|[[1974 Danish local elections|1974]]
|4
|1
|8
|1
|1
|rowspan=12|15
|-
|[[1978 Danish local elections|1978]]
|5
|style="background:#CDC9C9;" rowspan=11|
|9
|1
|style="background:#CDC9C9;" rowspan=11|
|-
|[[1981 Danish local elections|1981]]
|4
|10
|1
|-
|[[1985 Danish local elections|1985]]
|4
|9
|2
|-
|[[1989 Danish local elections|1989]]
|5
|8
|1
|1
|-
|[[1993 Danish local elections|1993]]
|4
|10
|style="background:#CDC9C9;" rowspan=4|
|1
|rowspan=5|[[Kurt Hockerup]] (C)
|-
|[[1997 Danish local elections|1997]]
|4
|10
|1
|-
|[[2001 Danish local elections|2001]]
|4
|10
|1
|-
|[[2005 Danish local elections|2005]]
|4
|10
|1
|73.5%
|-
|[[2009 Danish local elections|2009]]
|4
|8
|1
|1
|1
|70.0%
|-
|[[2013 Danish local elections|2013]]
|3
|8
|1
|2
|1
|73.6%
|rowspan=2|[[Henrik Rasmussen (politician)|Henrik Rasmussen]] (C)
|-
|[[2017 Danish local elections|2017]]
|5
|8
|style="background:#CDC9C9;"|
|2
|style="background:#CDC9C9;"|
|71.1%
|-
|colspan=14|Data from [https://www.kmdvalg.dk Kmdvalg.dk], [https://www.statistikbanken.dk/ Statistikbanken.dk] and editions of ''Kommunal Aarbog''
|}

===Mayors===
Since the [[1970 Danish Municipal Reform]], the mayors of Vallensbæk Municipality have been:<ref>{{cite web |title=Danske borgmestre 1970-2018 |url=https://www.sdu.dk/-/media/files/om_sdu/institutter/statskundskab/skriftserie/danske+borgmetre+1970-2018_2.pdf |website=Sdu.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! #
!Mayor
!Party
!Term
|-
|1 || [[Poul Hansen (mayor)|Poul Hansen]] ||{{color box|#89A920}} [[Conservative People's Party (Denmark)|Conservative People's Party]]||1970–1993
|-
|2 || [[Kurt Hockerup]] ||{{color box|#89A920}} Conservative People's Party||1994–2010
|-
|3 || [[Henrik Rasmussen (politician)|Henrik Rasmussen]] ||{{color box|#89A920}} Conservative People's Party||2010–present
|}

==Economy==
The largest industries in Vallensbæk Municipality are retail, education, social institutions and transport.<ref>{{cite web |title=RAS301: Beskæftigede (ultimo november) efter område (arbejdssted), branche (DB07), socioøkonomisk status, alder og køn |url=https://statistikbanken.dk/RAS301 |website=Statistikbanken.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

Companies with their headquarter in Vallensbæk Municipality include medico-company [[Simonsen & Weel]]. Another company set in the municipality is Frugt.dk, Denmark's largest distributor of fruit for companies.<ref>{{cite web |title=Om os |url=https://frugt.dk/om-os/ |website=Frugt.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref> A documentation service company called Ricoh is also set in the municipality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Om os |url=https://www.ricoh.dk/om-os/index.html |website=Ricoh.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{historical populations
|title=Historical&nbsp;population
|1971|8105
|1975|9905
|1980|12320
|1985|12085
|1990|11752
|1995|12081
|2000|12047
|2005|12260
|2010|14045
|2015|15204
|2020|16633
|2021|16515
|source = [https://www.statistikbanken.dk/ Statistikbanken.dk]
}}
There are 16,633 people living in Vallensbæk Municipality (2020). 50.06% are men and 49.94% are women.<ref name="Statistik" />

Below is the age distribution of the municipality.
{{Pie chart
| thumb =left
| caption = Age
| other =
| label1 =0–5 
| value1 =7.94
| color1 =red
| label2 =6–17
| value2 =16.14
| color2 =blue 
| label3 =18–35
| value3 =21.02
| color3 =green
| label4 =36–64
| value4 =36.29
| color4 =purple
| label5 =64+
| value5 =18.61
| color5 =pink
}}{{clear}}

==Education==
There are 3 [[Danish Folkeskole Education|ground schools]], 1 independent school and 1 special school. There is also 1 music school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Skoler, SFO, juniorklub og Ungdomsskolen |url=https://www.vallensbaek.dk/service-institutioner-og-skoler/skole-sfo-og-juniorklub/skole-sfo-juniorklub |website=Vallensbaek.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

There is 1 library in the municipality, located at Vallensbæk Strand. Citizens in Vallensbæk Nordmark can pick up reserved books at the nearby public school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæk Kultur- & Borgerhus |url=https://kulturogborgerhus.vallensbaek.dk/bibliotek/hb |website=Kulturogborgerhus.vallensbaek.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==Sights==
The small size of the municipality means that there is a limited number of attractions. The nature areas in the municipality, however, are popular tourist destinations.

*Little Tilde (Danish: ''Lille Tilde'') is a large wooden sculpture located in Vallensbæk Bog. It portrays a [[troll]], and was part of a project where six municipalities in the western suburbs of Copenhagen would commission wooden sculptures of giants to be located in nature areas. Little Tilde was made by Thomas Dambo.<ref>{{cite web |title=Idræt, fritid, kunst og kultur |url=https://www.vallensbaek.dk/borger/idraet-fritid-kunst-og-kultur |website=Vallensbaek.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>
*Vallensbæk Harbour (Danish: ''Vallensbæk Havn'') is a harbour and marina located by the Køge Bay Beach Park, south of Vallensbæk Strand. The marina has room for approximately 600 boats.<ref>{{cite web |title=Velkommen til Vallensbæk Havn |url=https://vhkb.dk/havneplads/ |website=Vhkb.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

===Churches===
See [[List of churches in Vallensbæk Municipality]]

==Parishes==
There is 1 [[Parish (Denmark)|parish]] in Vallensbæk Municipality that encompass the entire municipality. Shown in the table below is the population of the parish, as well as the percentage of that population that are members of the [[Church of Denmark]]. All numbers are from 1 January 2020.

{| class="wikitable" 
! rowspan="1"| #
! rowspan="1"| Parish
! rowspan="1"| Population
! rowspan="1"| %
! rowspan="1"| Source
|-
|1
|Vallensbæk
|16,589
|58.59
|<ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæk, Fakta om sognet |url=https://sogn.dk/vallensbaek/fakta-om-sognet/ |website=Sogn.dk |access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref>
|}

==Symbols==
{{multiple image
 | width = 120
 | image1 = Vallensbæk Municipality Coat of Arms.jpg
 | alt1 = Vallensbæk modern
 | image2 = Vallensbæk Kommune coa.svg
 | alt2 = Vallensbæk old
 | footer = Current coat of arms from 2013 (left) and the former coat of arms from 2003 (right).
}}
Vallensbæk's coat of arms originate from 1952 and was designed by Aage Wulff. Wulff focused on Vallensbæk location around water, with the river of ''Store Vejleå'' crossing the municipality. The coat of arms is blue, with two white swans in flight at the top. A wavy white line, representing ''Store Vejleå'' goes across the coat of arms in the middle. At the bottom is a swimming swan, and behind it two crossed reeds. The coat of arms was changed in 2003, with the swans turned to face right instead of left, and the background color and river changed to a darker green. The changes were reverted in 2013, where the swans were flipped back to face left again. The background color was returned to blue and the white line in the middle returned to white.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæks byvåben |url=https://www.vlf.nu/wp-content/uploads/Vallensb%C3%A6ks-byv%C3%A5ben-Byv%C3%A5benet-i-et-heraldisk-lys-1-backup.pdf |website=Vlf.nu |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vallensbæk finpudser 60 år gammelt byvåben |url=https://www.altinget.dk/transport/rssitem.aspx?id=932795 |website=Altinget.dk |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
*[[Niels Knudsen]] (1904–1987), architect
*[[Pia Olsen Dyhr]] (born 1971), politician, member of the [[Folketing]] and chairman of the [[Socialist People's Party (Denmark)|Socialist People's Party]]
*[[Nicolai Wael]] (born 1972), football manager
*[[Amalie Wichmann]] (born 1995), handball player

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Geographic location
 | Centre = Vallensbæk
 | N  = [[Albertslund Municipality|Albertslund]]
 | E  = [[Brøndby Municipality|Brøndby]]
 | S  = ''[[Køge Bay]]''
 | W  = [[Ishøj Municipality|Ishøj]]
 | NW = [[Høje-Taastrup Municipality|Høje-Taastrup]]
}}
{{Vallensbæk Municipality}}
{{Municipalities of Denmark}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallensbaek}}
[[Category:Vallensbæk Municipality| ]]
[[Category:Municipalities in the Capital Region of Denmark]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Denmark]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1970]]
[[Category:Copenhagen metropolitan area]]