Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality (occasionally spelled Lyngby-Tårbæk, ) is a municipality () in the Capital Region of Denmark near Copenhagen on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand (). It is part of the Greater Copenhagen area. The municipality borders Rudersdal Municipality to the north, Furesø Municipality to the west and Gladsaxe and Gentofte Municipality to the south. It borders the Øresund to the east.
The municipality covers an area of 39 km2, and has a population of 58,614 (2026). Its mayor is Sofia Osmani, a member of the Conservative People's Party. The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Kongens Lyngby.
Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality was not merged with any other municipality in the municipal reform of 2007.
History In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into syssels, Lyngby-Taarbæk was part of Østersyssel. It later became a part of Copenhagen Fief, which was changed to Copenhagen County in 1661. Although Copenhagen County changed many times over the years, Lyngby-Taarbæk always remained within the borders. When the counties were disestablished in 2007, Lyngby-Taarbæk came under the new Capital Region of Denmark.
Since 1842, and until the 1970 Danish Municipal Reform, Lyngby-Taarbæk was a parish municipality. It became a regular municipality with the 1970 reform, and its borders have remained unchanged since. Lyngby-Taarbæk wasn't merged with any other municipality in the 2007 municipal reform.
Neighbourhoods Nearly the entirety of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality is part of the Greater Copenhagen area and so there are no towns or villages in the municipality. Instead there are named neighbourhoods. On the list below are all the neighbourhoods with counted populations (numbers as of 2018).
Virum 14,454 Kongens Lyngby 12,214 Ulrikkenborg 9,419 Sorgenfri 6,479 Lundtofte 6,210 Hjortekær 5,199 Taarbæk 1,498
Kongens Lyngby
Kongens Lyngby (or simply Lyngby) is located in the southern part of the municipality. The neighbourhoods of Fuglevad, Lundtofte and Fortunen borders Kongens Lyngby to the north. Also bordering Kongens Lyngby are Bagsværd to the west and Buddinge to the south, both located in Gladsaxe Municipality. Also to the south are Vangede and to the east is Jægersborg, both located in Gentofte Municipality. Lyngby Lake is located north of the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood primarily consists of residential buildings, though in the north are numerous facilities and shops, including the mall Lyngby Storcenter. Also located in this area is the neighbourhood's train station and city hall, as well as Lyngby Church.
Bondebyen is a former village, now a part of Kongens Lyngby. Many of the old buildings of the village are preserved and are protected.
Taarbæk
Taarbæk is a small town or neighbourhood located in the eastern part of the municipality. It borders the Øresund to the east and Jægersborg Dyrehave to the west. Klampenborg is located to the south. Although Taarbæk is technically connected to the Greater Copenhagen Area, and thus a neighbourhood of Copenhagen, it is in the outskirts of the Greater Copenhagen Area and is occasionally referred to as its own town. Taarbæk is a former fishing village, with many old fishing houses preserved. The neighbourhood is, however, dominated by high-end luxury villas. Taarbæk Church and Taarbæk Harbour are both located centrally in the neighbourhood.
Virum
Virum is a neighbourhood located in the north-western part of the municipality. It borders the lake of Furesø to the west. It borders the neighbourhood of Brede to the east, Frederiksdal to the south and Sorgenfri to the south and east. To the north it borders Holte in Rudersdal Municipality. Virum is primarily a residential neighbourhood. Virum Church is located in Virum.
Villages There are few real villages in the municipality, though there are several small or isolated neighbourhoods. These villages and small neighbourhoods are listed below.
BondebyenBredeFortunenFrederiksdalFuglevadKongens Lyngby Enghave RavnholmRaadvadSpring-forbiStampenStrandmøllenØrholm
Nature
Cottageparken is a public park located by Taarbæk. It used to be a part of Jægersborg Dyrehave, with the oaks of the part dating back from 1763, when a number of oaks where planted in the park. The forest was cleared to make room for buildings, including a spa.
418 acres of land is protected around the stream Mølleåen, as well as areas around Lyngby Lake and Bagsværd Lake. Mølleåen is 36 km long and runs through the entire municipality from the coast and onwards to Bastrup Lake in Allerød and Egedal Municipality. Notable plants around the stream include marsh-marigold, yellow iris and water buttercup.
Jægersborg Dyrehave
Jægersborg Dyrehave is a forest park located in the eastern part of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, bordering Taarbæk to the east. The amusement park Dyrehavsbakken is located in the southern part of the park. The park spans 11 km2 and is home to around 2000 red and fallow deer. There are 19 gates to the park, all of them painted a characteristic red. The current design of the gates date back to the 1700s. The park is home to many old oaks, the oldest being around 850 years old and known as Skovfogedegen (literally "forest ranger oak"), named such because it is located next to the forest ranger house Klampehus. The oak is hollow, and has throughout history been used for many things, including church ceremonies and as a shed for peat. Another oak is named Christian V's Oak, named such because Christian V suffered his fatal hunting injury nearby, when he was kicked by a wounded deer. Another old oak is named Ulvedalsegen and is around 600—700 years old. The park is also home to hawthorn, most of it naturally occurring. In the park is a mass grave from the Black Death victims from the 1600s and 1700s. These graves have been planted with hawthorn.
Jægersborg Dyrehave is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed among the par force hunting landscape in North Zealand. The park was originally established as hunting grounds, for hunts with hounds. The paths of the park reflects this, with a star-shaped path system, that would allow the hunters a better view of the hunting dogs.
The Hermitage Hunting Lodge is located centrally in the park. It is a former hunting lodge used to host royal banquets after hunts in Dyrehaven. It was built in 1734-36 by architect Lauritz de Thurah.
Politics Municipal council Lyngby-Taarbæk's municipal council consists of 21 members, elected every four years.
Below are the municipal council elected since the municipality's creation in 1970.
Election Party Totalseats Turnout Electedmayor19706210119Paul Fenneberg (C)1974617211321Ole Harkjær (C)1978611011111981611011219856110211198951102111Kai Aage Ørnskov (C)199351824119975182142001517215Rolf Aagaard-Svendsen (C)200552721468.6%200942441668.2%Søren P. Rasmussen (V)20135152115174.0%Sofia Osmani (C)2017421022172.9%Data from Kmdvalg.dk, Statistikbanken.dk and editions of Kommunal Aarbog
Mayors Since the 1970 Danish Municipal Reform, the mayors of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality have been: #MayorPartyTerm1 Paul Fenneberg Conservative People's Party1970–19732 Ole Harkjær Conservative People's Party1973–19873 Kai Aage Ørnskov Conservative People's Party1987–20014 Rolf Aagaard-Svendsen Conservative People's Party2001–20105 Søren P. Rasmussen Venstre2010–20136 Sofia Osmani Conservative People's Party2013–present
Economy The largest industries in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, by number of employees, are education, retail and counselling. Consulting companies in the municipality include Alectia and COWI.
Companies with their headquarters in the municipality include investment company DADES, one of the largest one of the largest private property investment companies in Denmark. DDC-I is a software development company, also with their headquarter located in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality. Also located in the municipality are coating supplier Hempel and porcelain factory Porcelænsfabrikken Danmark. Catalysis company Haldor Topsøe also have their headquarter in the municipality. Catalysts by Haldor Topsøe are used in production of around 50% of the world's fertilizer.
Demographics
There are 56,614 people living in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality (2021). 50.78% are women and 49.22% are men. 81.46% of the municipality are members of the Church of Denmark.
Below is the age distribution of the municipality.
Education
There are 9 ground schools, 1 efterskole and 4 independent schools in the municipality, as well as 1 youth school and 2 special schools. The municipality also has a nature school, with available facilities for the schools in the municipality.
There is also 2 gymnasium, 1 technical gymnasium, 1 media school and 1 music school. One of the gymnasiums is part of the Copenhagen North Business College, which also offers vocational educations. Also located in the municipality are several schools of higher education: Cphbusiness Lyngby, Copenhagen's Engineer School (Danish: Københavns Maskinmesterskole) and the Technical University of Denmark. Departments of the Technical University of Denmark located in Lyngby-Taarbæk include the departments of Mathematics, Micro- and Nanotechnology and Veterinary Science.
There are 3 libraries in the municipality. One is located in Lyngby, one in Taarbæk and one in Virum.
Transport The S-train network connects Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality with the rest of the Greater Copenhagen area. The B and E S-trains both service in the municipality, with both making stops at Lyngby station. Both of these lines are part of the Nordbanen rail lines. The B-line opened in 1936 and the E-line in 1968. A local train line, the Nærum Line, connects Jægersborg station in Hillerød Municipality to areas in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality and onward to Nærum in Rudersdal Municipality.
Sights
The historic Jægersborg Dyrehave in the municipality, means that there are several historic buildings in the municipality.
Dyrehavsbakken is an amusement park located by Jægersborg Dyrehave. It is the second largest tourist attraction in Denmark, the first being the Tivoli Gardens. Unlike Tivoli, admission is free in Dyrehavsbakken. It opened in 1583 and is the world's oldest operating amusement park. The origins of the park are said to come from a young girl named Kirsten Piil, who in 1583 found a natural spring in Jægersborg Dyrehave. This spring attracted people from Copenhagen and eventually gathered large crowds, which attracted entertainers, causing the foundation of the amusement park. Frilandsmuseet is an open-air museum located in Sorgenfri. It was founded in 1897, but moved to Sorgenfri already in 1901 where founder Bernhard Olsen bought 12 acres of land. It portrayed Danish folklore and stories in authentic surroundings, which it still does today. The museum's collection consists of around 50,000 items. Brede Works (Danish: Brede Værk) is a museum under the National Museum of Denmark. It is an industrial museum, and the largest protected industrial area in Denmark. Also part of the museum is Brede House, the main building originally used by the owner of Brede Works. Frieboeshvile is a country house located in Kongens Lyngby. Its most notable former resident was German diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz. The house was built in 1756 by August Gynther. The building acts as a museum today. Fæstningskanalen is a canal, built in 1887—88 as part of the Copenhagen fortifications. The maintenance of the canal is taken care of by a community known as 'Fæstningskanalens Venner' (The Friends of Fæstingskanalen).