Øresund (Danish) or Öresund (Swedish), sometimes also known as The Sound, is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand from the southern Swedish province of Scania. Its width is just at the narrowest point between Elsinore, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden.

Øresund is one of the three Danish Straits that connects the Baltic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean via Kattegat, Skagerrak and the North Sea, and is one of the busiest waterways in the world.

The Öresund Bridge was inaugurated on July 1, 2000, by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Ferries run around the clock between Helsingborg, Sweden and Helsingør, Denmark.

History

Political control of Öresund has been an important issue in Danish and Swedish history. Denmark maintained military control with the coastal fortress of Kronborg at Elsinore on the west side and Kärnan at Helsingborg on the east, until the eastern shore was ceded to Sweden in 1658. Both fortresses are located where the strait is just 4 kilometers wide.

In 1429 King Eric of Pomerania introduced the Sound Dues which remained in effect for more than four centuries, until 1857. Transitory dues on the use of waterways, roads, bridges and crossings were then an accepted way of taxing which could constitute a great part of a state's income. The Sound Dues remained the most important source of income for the Danish Crown for several centuries, thus making Danish kings relatively independent of Denmark's Privy Council and aristocracy.

Notable islands

• Amager

• Saltholm

• Ven (also spelled Hven)

• Peberholm - an artificial island

• Middelgrundsfortet - an artificial island

• Flakfortet - an artificial island

• Gråen - a semi artificial island outside port of Landskrona

See also

• Öresund Region

• Öresund Bridge

• Danish straits

• Great Belt

• Øresund station on the Copenhagen Metro