Rødby


Rødby is a town located on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 1,982. Until 2007, it was the seat of the former Rødby Municipality, and is now located in Lolland Municipality in Region Sjælland.

History

The town is mentioned for the first time as the village "Ruthby" in the Danish Census Book from 1231. In the first centuries, Rødby was a trading post and an important ferry point for Scandinavian travellers going to the Duchy of Holstein and to the central parts of Europe.

Rødby Municipality

The former Rødby municipality covered an area of 120 km2, and had a total population of 6,590. Its last mayor was Hans Ole Sørensen, a member of the Venstre political party.
On 1 January 2007 Rødby municipality ceased to exist as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with the existing Holeby, Højreby, Maribo, Nakskov, Ravnsborg, and Rudbjerg municipalities to form the new Lolland Municipality. This creates a municipality with an area of 892 km2 and a total resident population of 49,469. The new municipality is part of the Region Sjælland.

The harbour at Rødbyhavn

Rødbyhavn is located at the coast approximately 5 km southwest of the town of Rødby. Rødbyhavn is a ferry port and is the endpoint of the Danish section of the European route E47. This endpoint is signposted "Rødby" on road signs, which is the most well-known feature of Rødby.

Notable people