Ærøskøbing Municipality is a former municipality (Danish

Danish language

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...

, kommune) in Funen County

Funen County

Fyns Amt is a former county in central Denmark, comprising the islands of Funen, Langeland, Tåsinge, Ærø, and approximately 90 other islands, of which only 25 are inhabited. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Odense and Svendborg. The county was abolished...

 on the island of Ærø

Ærø

Ærø is one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of Region of Southern Denmark. The western portion of the island was the municipality of Ærøskøbing; the eastern portion of the island was the municipality of Marstal...

 in southern Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. Since January 1, 2006, it has been a part of Ærø Municipality

Ærø municipality

Ærø Municipality is a municipality occupying the island of Ærø in southern Denmark. The municipality belongs to Region of Southern Denmark....

  The municipality covered an area of 74 km², and had a total population of 3,731 (2005). Its last mayor was Jørgen Otto Jørgensen, a member of the Social Democrats

Social Democrats (Denmark)

The Social Democrats , is a Danish political party committed to the political ideology of social democracy. It is the major coalition partner in Denmark's government since the 2011 parliamentary election, and party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the current Prime Minister of Denmark...

 (Socialdemokraterne) political party

Politics of Denmark

The Politics of Denmark takes place in a framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, in which the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system...

.

The main town and site of its municipal council was the town of Ærøskøbing

Ærøskøbing

Ærøskøbing is a town in central Denmark, located in Ærø Municipality on the island of Ærø. The suffix -købing means a trade town in the languages that derive from Old Norse....

.

The municipality was located on the western portion of the island of Ærø. Its neighboring municipality Marstal

Marstal municipality

Marstal municipality, is a former municipality in Funen County on the island of Ærø in southern Denmark. Since January 1, 2006, it has been part of Ærø municipality. Its territory included the islands of Birkholm and Halmø, and covered an area of 17 km². In 2005, it had a total population of...

 occupied the eastern portion of the island. To the north and west are the waters of the Little Belt

Little Belt

The Little Belt is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula.The belt is about 50 km long and 800m to 28 km wide, the maximum depth is approximately 75 m, and contains numerous small Danish islands....

. To the south is the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

, and to the southeast are the waters of Marstal Bay (Marstal Bugt).

Several ferry services

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 connect the Ærøskøbing area to the rest of Denmark. One route links Ærøskøbing to the town of Svendborg

Svendborg

Svendborg is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark. The town is in Svendborg municipality . Svendborg is the second-largest city on Funen and has a population of 27,009 ....

, other routes connect Søby on the western part of the island to Faaborg

Faaborg

Faaborg or Fåborg is a Danish town with a population of 7,178 , located in Faaborg-Midtfyn municipality on the island of Funen. It was formerly the seat of Faaborg municipality. The seat of the new municipality is Ringe...

 on Funen, and to Mommark on the island of Als.

On January 1, 2006 Ærøskøbing Municipality ceased to exist as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), when Ærøskøbing merged with Marstal municipality

Marstal municipality

Marstal municipality, is a former municipality in Funen County on the island of Ærø in southern Denmark. Since January 1, 2006, it has been part of Ærø municipality. Its territory included the islands of Birkholm and Halmø, and covered an area of 17 km². In 2005, it had a total population of...

 and formed the new Ærø municipality

Ærø municipality

Ærø Municipality is a municipality occupying the island of Ærø in southern Denmark. The municipality belongs to Region of Southern Denmark....

. The result is a municipality with an area of 91 km² and a total population of 6,939 (2005). The new municipality belongs to Funen County

Funen County

Fyns Amt is a former county in central Denmark, comprising the islands of Funen, Langeland, Tåsinge, Ærø, and approximately 90 other islands, of which only 25 are inhabited. The county was formed on 1 April 1970, comprising the former counties of Odense and Svendborg. The county was abolished...

 in 2006 and will belong to the new Region of Southern Denmark from January 1, 2007.