Odense Christian Andersen. The Odense Steel Shipyard ("Staalskibsvæeft"), which since 1996 had been Denmark's largest shipbuilding facility, closed in 2012 as a result of international competition. Opened in 1919 by A.P. Møller, it latterly produced container ships for Mærsk, the parent company. The Lindø site was sold to the Port of Odense ("Odense Havn") who are developing the Lindø Industrial Park. Odense is situated in the northeastern centre of the island of Funen. By road, Odense is located north of Svendborg, to the south of Aarhus, to the southwest of Copenhagen, east of Esbjerg and southeast of Kolding. Suburbs of Odense
Odense boundaries were redefined in 1970. As a result, the population declined slightly in the 1970s and 1980s, falling to 136,646 in 1981. It began climbing again in the late 1980s, and steadily grew to 144,518 in 1996 and 145,554 in 2004. In 2010 Odense had a population of 166,305 people. As of 2017 it had a population of 176,683. Odense Municipality is the administrative unit which covers not only the city of Odense but surrounding suburbs and villages. Odense City Council consists of 29 members, including a mayor. The former mayor of Odense, Anker Boye, is a member of the