Funen (Danish:Fyn,pronounced[ˈfyˀn]) is the third-largestisland of Denmark, afterZealand andVendsyssel-Thy, with an area of 3,099.7 square kilometres (1,196.8 sq mi). It is the165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of 2020.[1] Funen's main city isOdense, which is connected to the sea by a rarely-usedcanal. The city's shipyard,Odense Steel Shipyard, has been relocated outside Odense proper.
Funen is linked to Zealand, Denmark's largest island, by theGreat Belt Bridge, which carries both trains and cars. The bridge is in reality three bridges; low road and rail bridges connect Funen to the small island ofSprogø in the middle of theGreat Belt, and a long roadsuspension bridge (the second longest in the world at the time of opening) connects Funen the rest of the way to Zealand, paralleled by a rail tunnel.
Two bridges connect Funen to the Danish mainland,Jutland. TheOld Little Belt Bridge was constructed in the 1930s, shortly before World War II, for both cars and trains. TheNew Little Belt Bridge, a suspension bridge, was constructed in the 1970s and is used for cars only.
The populations of the major cities and towns on the island are, as of 1 January 2024:[2]
The distribution of one, two, and three grammatical genders in Danish dialects. InZealand (marked in orange) the transition from three to two genders has happened fairly recently. West of the red line the definite article goes before the word as in English or German; east of the line it takes the form of a suffix.
Fynsk, colloquially known as Funish by local English speakers, but in English most commonly known as the Funen dialects, refers to the variations of Danish spoken on Funen and adjacent islands.
Locally, there can be significant variations, even within short distances, for example between neighboring towns. On the island of Funen, at least four main dialects are typically distinguished: East, North, South, and West Funen dialects, as well as sub-dialects such as the Tåsinge, Ærø, and Langeland dialects. West Funen dialects may further be divided into Northwest and Southwest Funen dialects.
The Funen dialects belong to what is referred to asInsular Danish, where the dialects have retained threegrammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. This is in contrast to Zealand, where, like in Swedish,a reduction to two genders has taken place, and large parts of Jutland, where, like in English, no such distinction is made.
For instance in masculine, the indefinite article is "ei" and the ending in the definite form is "-i":ei mar, mar'i, ei post, posti, ei vogn, vogni, ei ovn, ovni, ei kat, katti (a man, the man, a post, the post, a wagon, the wagon, an oven, the oven, a cat, the cat). These articles and endings are usuallyunstressed.
In 2018, atMunkebo Bakke in northeastern Funen, archaeologists found an exceedingly large Viking hall that dates back to c. 825 – 1,000 CE. According to the Funen museum experts, this Viking hall is larger than any found on Funen before.[3]
Galgedil is a Viking Age cemetery located in northern Funen. Excavations at the site revealed 54 graves containing 59 inhumations and 2 cremation burials.[4]
