List of national parks of Denmark
There are four national parks in the Kingdom of Denmark; three in Denmark proper and one in Greenland.
The first national park in Denmark is Thy National Park (Danish: Nationalpark Thy), created in 2008. It is located in Thisted Municipality, Nordjylland. The park is a narrow stretch of land running down the North Jutlandic Island's west coast from Hanstholm southward to Agger Tange, excluding Hanstholm, Klitmøller, Nørre Vorupør, Stenbjerg and Agger. Thy National Park is named after Thy, an area that includes not only today's national park but also adjacent land further east. The park has dunes, heath, forests and grassland and also covers several small lakes and a small part of the Limfjord, which is the fjord that separates the North Jutlandic Island from the Cimbrian Peninsula.
In August 2009 the second national park, Mols Bjerge National Park was inaugurated, followed by Wadden Sea National Park, the third park, in mid-October 2010.[1] Another two areas in mainland Denmark were selected on 17 January 2008 to become national parks (see the table below for details). It was hoped that the areas would have become National Parks during 2012-2013.
Greenland has had its own national park since 1974. The Northeast Greenland National Park stretches over the northern three fifths of Greenland's east coast and, since its expansion in 1988, the eastern two thirds of Greenland's north coast. From these coasts, the park's limits extend inland until they meet at the island's centre, so that the park covers the island's entire, almost uninhabited, north-eastern quarter.[2]
Like Greenland, the Faroe Islands are another autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. As of 2008, the Faroes have not set aside any areas as national parks.
| Image | Name | Danish name | Region | Area in km² | Establishment | External link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Northeast Greenland National Park | Grønlands Nationalpark | Northeast Greenland | 972,000 | 1974 | — |
 |
Thy National Park | Nationalpark Thy | Nordjylland | 243.7 | 2008 | SNS |
 |
Mols Bjerge National Park (Mols Mountains) |
Nationalpark Mols Bjerge | Midtjylland | 180 | 2009 | SNS |
 |
Wadden Sea National Park | Nationalpark Vadehavet | Southern Denmark | 1,466 | 2010 | SNS |
| Skjern Å National Park (Skjern River) | Nationalpark Skjern Å | Midtjylland | 248.7 | (project abandoned 2012) | SNS (Danish) | |
| Kongernes Nordsjælland National Park | Nationalpark Kongernes Nordsjælland | Hovedstaden | approx. 390 | (In consultation as of December 2014) | SNS (Danish) |
Footnotes
Notes
- ↑ Official English, Greenlandic or Danish name unknown. A WCMC web page uses “North-east Greenland National Park”.
- ↑ About 150 km² land and about 30 km² sea.
References
External links
- Danish Forest and Nature Agency's website on the national parks of mainland Denmark
- Avatangiisinut Pinngortitamullu Aqutsisoqarfik (Greenlandic) = Miljø- og Naturstyrelsen (Danish).
Operates under Greenland Home Rule's new ministry for domestic affairs (Greenlandic · Danish) - Faroese Ministry of the Interior (Faroese)