Holmegaard

Until January 1, 2007, Holmegaard was a municipality (Danish, "kommune") in Storstrøm County in the southern part of the island of Zealand ("Sjælland") in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 66 km², and had a total population of 7,442 (2005). Its last mayor was Søren Dysted, a member of the Social Democrats ("Socialdemokraterne") political party. The main town and the site of its municipal council was the town of Fensmark. The municipality was created in 1966 when the following parishes were combined: Fensmark-Rislev Parish and Holme-Olstrup Parish. As the result of "kommunalreform" ("Municipality Reform") in 1970, Toksværd Parish was incorporated into Holmegaard municipality, and Rislev Parish was incorporated into Næstved municipality.

Holmegaard municipality ceased to exist as the result of "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with existing Fladså, Fuglebjerg, Næstved, and Suså municipalities to form the new Næstved municipality. This created a municipality with an area of 681 km² and a total population of 78,446 (2005). The new municipality belongs to Region Sjælland ("Zealand Region").

Holmegaard Glassworks

The home of famous Holmegaard Glassworks products is located in Fensmark. The company got its start in 1823 when Count Christian Danneskjold-Samsøe petitioned the Danish king for permission to build a glassworks at Holmegaard Mose ("Holmegaard Bog"). He died before permission was granted. But after his death when permission was finally received his widow, Countess Henriette Danneskjold-Samsøe pursued the project and began production in 1825 of green bottles, moving on to table-glass within its first decade.

Much of its early work was derivative and inconsequential, but between the 1930s and 1980s its fortunes were transformed by the designs of Jacob E. Bang (1899-1965), Per Lütken (1916-98), and Bang's son, Michael (1944-).

Today the company is known for its high-quality products of Danish design. Tours of´the facility can be arranged.

External links

* [http://www.20thcenturyglass.com/glass_encyclopedia/scandinavian_glass/holmegaard_glass/holmegaardglass_home.htm Holmegaard Glass Gallery]
* [http://www.naestved.dk/ The new Næstved municipality's official website] da icon
* [http://www.holmegaard.com/ Holmegaard Glass Company]
* [http://www.modernistglass.com/learn/manufacturer/holmegaard Modernist Glass' write-up on Holmegaard]

References

* Municipal statistics: [http://www2.netborger.dk/Kommunefakta/ NetBorger Kommunefakta] , delivered from [http://www.kmd.dk/ KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)]
* Municipal mergers and neighbors: [http://kommune.eniro.dk/region/media/nyekommuner.shtml Eniro new municipalities map]