Næstved Municipality

Næstved is a municipality (Danish, "kommune") in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand ("Sjælland") in the south of Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Gavnø. It covers an area of 681 km², and has a total population of 80,732 (2008). Its mayor is Henning Jensen, a member of the Social Democrats ("Socialdemokraterne") political party. The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Næstved.

On January 1, 2007, "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007) merged the Næstved municipality with existing Fladså, Fuglebjerg, Holmegaard, and Suså municipalities to form the new Næstved municipality, increasing the total urban area population to more than 80,000.

Attractions

* Gavnø Castle on the island of Gavnø has a large, beautiful park with seasonal flower displays. A magnificent display of spring bulbs can be seen during the month of May. The castle has an extensive collection of paintings. In addition to the castle and grounds, there is a church, a live, tropical butterfly collection, and a collection of historic firetrucks. It is open annually from mid-April until the end of August.
* The boat "Friheden" ("Freedom") runs regular, round-trip service from May-August. The 2½ hour trip starts in the center of Næstved, and goes through the Næstved Canal, to the Gavnø Castle, and out on Karrebæk Fjord to the town of Karrebæksminde before returning to Næstved. It is possible to debark at Gavnø and Karrebæksminde.
* Herlufsholm Private School is one of Denmark's oldest private schools.
* Susåen ("The Susa River"), Zealand's largest waterway and longest river, runs through Næstved.

External links

* [http://www.naestved.dk/ Municipality's official website (Danish only)]
* [http://www.naestvednyt.dk/ NæstvedNyt (Video news)]
* [http://www.visitnaestved.com/ Næstved area tourism bureau]
* [http://www.gavnoe.dk/ Gavnø island (Danish only)]
* [http://www.sjoelundkirken.dk/ Sjølundkirken (Danish only)]
* [http://www.naesbib.dk/ Næstved bibliotek ]

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/danmarkskort/ Eniro new municipalities map]