The
Counties of Denmark were former subdivisions of metropolitan
Denmark, used primarily for administrative regions, with each county having its own council with substantial powers. Originally there had been twenty-four counties, but the number was reduced to roughly fourteen in 1970 - the number fluctuated slightly over the next three decades. In 2006 there were thirteen traditional counties as well as three municipalities with county status (the island of
Bornholm, which was a county from 1660 until 2002, became a
regional municipality with county powers, but only briefly from 2003 until 2006). On January 1, 2007, the counties were abolished and replaced by five larger
regions.