Jutland

Jutland (/ˈdʒʌtlənd/) historically known as the Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula in Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It stretches from the Grenen spit in the north to the confluence of the Elbe and the Sude in the southeast. The historic southern border river of Jutland as a cultural-geographical region, which historically also included Southern Schleswig, is the Eider. The peninsula, on the other hand, also comprises areas south of the Eider: Holstein, the former duchy of Lauenburg, and most of Hamburg and Lübeck.

Jutland's geography is flat, with comparatively steep hills in the east and a barely noticeable ridge running through the center. West Jutland is characterised by open lands, heaths, plains, and peat bogs, while East Jutland is more fertile with lakes and lush forests. The southwestern coast is characterised by the Wadden Sea, a large, unique international coastal region stretching through Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. The peninsula's longest river is the Eider, which rises close to the Baltic but flows in the direction of the North Sea due to a moraine, while the Gudenå is the longest river of Denmark. In order for ships not having to go around the whole peninsula to reach the Baltic, the Kiel Canal – the world's busiest artificial waterway, crossing the peninsula in the south – was constructed.

Jutland is connected to Funen by the Old and New Little Belt Bridge, and Funen in turn is connected to Zealand and Copenhagen by the Great Belt Bridge.

Jutland is known by several different names, depending on the language and era, including German: Jütland [ˈjyːtlant] ^ⓘ; Old English: Ēota land [ˈeːotɑˌlɑnd], known anciently as the Cimbric Peninsula or Cimbrian Peninsula (Latin: Cimbricus Chersonesus; Danish: den Cimbriske Halvø or den Jyske Halvø; German: Kimbrische Halbinsel or Jütische Halbinsel). The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, respectively.

The Jutland peninsula reaches from the sandbar spit of Grenen on the North Jutlandic Island in the north, to the banks of the Elbe in the south. The peninsula is also called the Cimbric peninsula.

Jutland as a cultural-geographical term mostly only refers to the Danish part of the peninsula, from Grenen to the Danish-German border. Sometimes, the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein down to the Eider (Southern Schleswig), is also included in the cultural-geographical definition of Jutland, because the Eider was historically the southern border of Denmark and the cultural and linguistic boundary between the Nordic countries and Germany from c. 850 to 1864.

In Denmark, the term Jylland can refer both to the whole peninsula and to the region between Grenen and either the Danish-German border or the Eider.

In Germany, however, the peninsula as a whole is only referred to as Kimbrische Halbinsel or Jütische Halbinsel, while the term Jütland is reserved solely for the cultural-geographical definition of Jutland.