Zealand (also Sealand; ; ) is the largest
island (7,031 km²) of
Denmark (the
95th largest island in the world). Zealand is connected to
Funen by the
Great Belt Bridge and to
Sweden by the
Oresund Bridge.
The capital of Denmark,
Copenhagen, is partly located on the eastern shore of Zealand and partly on
Amager. Other cities on the island include
Roskilde and
Elsinore.
Mythological origins
In
Norse mythology, the island was created by the goddess
Gefjun after she tricked
Gylfi, the king of Sweden, as told in the story of
Gylfaginning. She removed a piece of land and transported it to Denmark, and it became the island of Zealand. The vacant area was filled with water and became
Mälaren. However, since modern maps show a similarity between Zealand and the Swedish lake
Vänern, it is sometimes identified as the hole left by Gefjun.
Geography
On
June 5,
2007, the regional subsidiary of national broadcaster
DR reported that a hill,
Kobanke, situated in the southeast near the town
Rønnede in
Faxe municipality, with a natural point of terrain at 122.9
m (403.21
feet), was the highest natural point on Zealand.
Gyldenløveshøj, south of the city
Roskilde has a height of 126 m (413.4 feet), but that is due to a man-made hill from the 1600s and its highest natural point is only 121.3 m (397.96 feet).
Cities, towns and villages
