Jutland facts for kids

Jutland Peninsula

Jutland (called Jylland in Danish and Jütland in German) is a large piece of land in northern Europe. It's a peninsula, which means it's surrounded by water on three sides. Jutland forms the main part of Denmark and also a northern part of Germany. It acts like a natural wall, separating the North Sea from the Baltic Sea.

The land in Jutland is mostly flat, with some small hills and areas of peat bogs. Peat bogs are wetlands where dead plants have built up over thousands of years. This interesting area covers about 29,775 square kilometers (11,496 square miles). In 2004, about 2.5 million people lived there.

Most of Jutland, about two-thirds of it, belongs to Denmark. There isn't a special name for the Danish part; it's just called Jutland. The very northern tip of Jutland actually became an island after a big flood in 1825. The Limfjord (a narrow waterway) now separates it from the rest of the mainland. This island is known as Vendsyssel-Thy or Nørrejyske Ø ("North Jutlandic Island"). Even though it's an island, people still think of it as part of the Jutland peninsula.

The southern part of Jutland is in Germany. This area is called Schleswig-Holstein, and it includes two older regions known as Schleswig and Holstein. Over many years, these regions were sometimes ruled by the Danes and sometimes by German rulers. After a special vote in 1920, Denmark got back a part of Schleswig called North Schleswig (Nordslesvig in Danish). The southern part of Schleswig stayed with Germany.

The River Elbe forms the southern edge of Jutland. The big city of Hamburg in Germany is located on its banks. Along the southwest coast of Jutland, you can find the Danish Wadden Sea Islands and the North Frisian Islands. These islands are in a part of the North Sea called the German Bight.

Two bridges connect the middle part of Jutland to the island of Funen in the east. These are the Little Belt Bridge and the New Little Belt Bridge. These bridges are important for travel and are part of Europe's road network.

Major Cities in Jutland

Jutland is home to several important cities. Here are some of the largest:

• Århus, Denmark
• Kiel, Germany
• Lübeck, Germany
• Aalborg, Denmark
• Flensburg, Germany
• Esbjerg, Denmark
• Randers, Denmark
• Kolding, Denmark
• Vejle, Denmark
• Horsens, Denmark

Images for kids

• 

  Dunes on Jutland's northwest coast.

• 

  Flensburg has the largest Danish minority of any city in Germany.

• 

  Kiel is the largest city on the German side of the Jutland Peninsula.

• 

  Military stratagem in the Maneuver against the Romans by Cimbri and Teutons circa 100 B.C.

• 

  Regions of Denmark; Jutland is highlighted in green.

• 

  Bunker remnants from WWII in Thyborøn. German fortifications remain along the entire west coast of Jutland.

• 

  Art tied to Jutland specifically, in particular paintings and literature, boomed during the industrialisation in the later half of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s. Thorvald Niss, part of Skagen Painters collective.

• 

  Until the late 19th century, West Jutland was marked by vast moors covered with heather, a small population and low-intensive agriculture. (Frederik Vermehren: A Jutish shepherd on the moors, 1855)

See also

In Spanish: Península de Jutlandia para niños