In the period preceding the Municipal Reform of 1970, Denmark was divided into around 170 hundreds (Danish: herred, plural: herreder). In the timeframe 1793 through 1970, each parish was functioning as a municipality within their respective hundreds. The hundreds were in turn part of a county. This was changed in 1970, when the parishes were merged into larger municipalities sometimes crossing hundred borders, and the hundreds fell out of administrative use.
Today, hundreds are used mostly for purposes of genealogy research.
Detail
Denmark was subdivided into hundreds from the early medieval period until this administrative division was finally abolished as part of the 1970 administrative reform.
Hundreds comprised varying numbers of parishes (Danish: sogn, plural: sogne), and each hundred had its own tingsted (assembly place) where the ting (assembly) was held, serving as court of law in minor affairs (major affairs were decided by the three landsting assemblies, serving as supreme courts in respectively 1) Scania [including Halland, Blekinge and Bornholm], 2) Zealand [including Lolland and Falster] and 3) Jutland and Funen). It has been hypothesised - since an extremely large amount of Denmark's herreder have access to the sea - that the division may have originated in the Viking era, for either offensive or defensive purposes. The subdivision applies to almost all parts of medieval Denmark (see below), including Southern Schleswig, Scania, Halland and Blekinge, but not Rügen.
Jutland (including Southern Schleswig) and most or all of Zealand were divided into syssel divisions (Danish: syssel, plural: sysler), each composed of a number of herreder, which in turn were subdivided into parishes. The syssel division did not apply in other parts of Denmark.
The area between the Danevirke fortifications and the river Eider (originally very sparsely populated) was exceptional in being included into the syssel divisions (as part of Istedsyssel) but was not subdivided into herreder. The area of North Frisian settlement Uthlande, now North Frisia, was subdivided into herreder which in turn were divided into parishes, but this region was not subject to Danish law but to a local Frisian law, and was in the medieval period administered as part of the royal demesne.
When Denmark in the 1660s abolished the former division into fiefs (Len), their replacement, the counties (amt, plural: amter) were similarly based on the herreder which in turn remained subdivided into parishes.
List Hundred County Als Nørre Sønderborg Als Sønder Sønderborg Alsted Sorø Anst Ribe Ars Holbæk Bjerge Odense Bjerre Vejle Bjæverskov Præstø (since 1803) Bornholms Nørre Bornholm Bornholms Sønder Bornholm Bornholms Vester Bornholm Bornholms Øster Bornholm Brusk Vejle Bølling Ringkøbing Børglum Hjørring Båg Odense Bårse Præstø (since 1803) Djurs Nørre Randers Djurs Sønder Randers Dronninglund Hjørring Elbo Vejle Fakse Præstø (since 1803) Falsters Nørre Maribo Falsters Sønder Maribo Fjends Viborg Fleskum Ålborg Framlev Århus Frøs Haderslev Fuglse Maribo Galten Randers Ginding Ringkøbing Gislum Ålborg Gjerlev Randers Gjern Skanderborg Gram Haderslev Gudme Svendborg Gørding Ribe Haderslev Haderslev Hads Århus Hammer Præstø (since 1803) Hammerum Ringkøbing Harre Viborg Hasle Århus Hassing Thisted Hatting Vejle Hellum Ålborg Hids Viborg Hind Ringkøbing Hindborg Viborg Hindsted Ålborg Hillerslev Thisted Hjelmslev Skanderborg Hjerm Ringkøbing Holbo Frederiksborg Holmans Vejle Horns Frederiksborg Horns Hjørring Hornum Ålborg Houlbjerg Viborg Hundborg Thisted Hvetbo Hjørring Hviding Tønder Jerlev Vejle Kær Ålborg Langelands Nørre Svendborg Langelands Sønder Svendborg Lollands Nørre Maribo Lollands Sønder Maribo Lunde Odense Lundtoft Åbenrå Lynge-Frederiksborg Frederiksborg Lynge-Kronborg Frederiksborg Lysgård Viborg Læsø Hjørring Løve Holbæk Malt Ribe Merløse Holbæk Middelsom Viborg Mols Randers Morsø Nørre Thisted Morsø Sønder Thisted Musse Maribo Mønbo Præstø (since 1803) Nim Skanderborg Ning Århus Nybøl Sønderborg Nørhald Randers Nørlyng Viborg Nørre Viborg Nørre Horne Ringkøbing Nørre Rangstrup Haderslev Nørre Tyrstrup Vejle Nørvang Vejle Odense Odense Ods Holbæk Onsild Randers Ramsø Roskilde (København after 1808) Refs Thisted Ribe Ribe Rinds Viborg Ringsted Sorø Rise Åbenrå Rougsø Randers Rødding Viborg Sabro Århus Sallinge Svendborg Samsø Holbæk Skam Odense Skast Ribe Skippinge Holbæk Skodborg Ringkøbing Skovby Odense Slagelse Sorø Slavs Ribe Slet Ålborg Slogs Tønder Smørum København Sokkelund København Stevns Præstø (since 1803) Strø Frederiksborg Støvring Randers Sunds Svendborg Sømme Roskilde (København after 1808) Sønderhald Randers Sønderlyng Viborg Sønder Rangstrup Åbenrå Sønder Tyrstrup Haderslev Tune Roskilde (København after 1808) Tuse Holbæk Tybjerg Præstø (since 1803) Tyrsting Skanderborg Tønder, Højer og Lø Tønder Ulfborg Ringkøbing Tørrild Vejle Vandfuld Ringkøbing Vends Odense Vennebjerg Hjørring Vester Flakkebjerg Sorø Vester Han Thisted Vester Horne Ribe Vester Lisbjerg Århus Vindinge Svendborg Voer Skanderborg Voldborg Roskilde (København after 1808) Vrads Skanderborg Ølstykke Frederiksborg Øster Flakkebjerg Sorø Øster Han Hjørring Øster Horne Ribe Øster Lisbjerg Randers Ærø Svendborg Års Ålborg Åsum Odense
See also Danish municipal reforms of 1970 and of 2007 Other administrative units (current or historical) in Denmark, roughly in decreasing order of size: Regions of Denmark Counties of Denmark Municipalities of Denmark Market town#Denmark and Parish (Denmark)
References