Kongeå
River in Denmark From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kongeå (in German Königs Au) is a watercourse in Southern Jutland in Jutland, Denmark.[2] It rises southeast of Vejen and Vamdrup and after about 50 kilometres (31 mi) it flows through a sluice to tidal mudflats and sandbanks north of Ribe, and eventually into the North Sea. The eastern section is little more than a stream, while the western section is navigable by boat as far as the sluice. The Kongeå, however, passes no port or market town of any significance, and small boats use the Ribe Å.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2008) |
| Kongeå Königsau (German) | |
|---|---|
 The mouth of the Kongeå, flowing into the Wadden Sea. | |
 Map of Jutland with the Kongeå on the western coast. | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Wadden Sea |
| Length | 65 km (40 mi)[1] |
Historically, the watercourse has been the administrative border between regions to the north and south. In the Middle Ages it was called Skodborg Å after the royal castle Skodborghus, where a track crossed the watercourse south of Vejen.[3] For centuries a customs border near the Kongeå separated the Kingdom of Denmark from the duchy of Schleswig. From 1864 to 1920, except in the extreme west, the Kongeåen marked the border between Denmark and Germany.[2]
The Kongeå is mentioned (as "Skotborg river") in the Heimskringla[4] in a description of the 1043 battle in which King Magnus I of Norway and Denmark defeated at Lyrskov Hede (Hlyrskog Heath) a large army of Slavs who had invaded southern Denmark from the current Mecklenburg region in retaliation for a Viking attack on Jomsborg, which at the time was the Slavic kingdom's primary town on Wolin island.
The area around the river is the site of several preserved burial mounds that have been the subject of archeological study, including Skelhøj.[5]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
