Great Belt Fixed Link in the context of "Great Belt"

Zealand (Danish: Sjælland [ˈɕeˌlænˀ]) is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020, comprising 40% of the country's population.

Zealand is the 13th-largest island in Europe by area and the 4th most populous. It is connected to Sprogø and Funen by the Great Belt Fixed Link and to Amager by several bridges in Copenhagen. Indirectly, through the island of Amager and the Øresund Bridge, it is also linked to Scania in Sweden. In the south, the Storstrøm Bridge and the Farø Bridges connect it to Falster, and beyond that island to Lolland; the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, currently under construction, would connect Lolland to the German island of Fehmarn, which is itself connected with mainland Europe.

The Region of Southern Denmark (Danish: Region Syddanmark, pronounced [ʁekiˈoˀn ˈsyðˌtænmɑk]; German: Region Süddänemark, pronounced [ʁeˈɡi̯oːn zyːtˈdɛːnəˌmaʁk]; North Frisian: Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 (271 before 2006) before 1 January 2007 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favor of the local level and the central government in Copenhagen. The Region of Southern Denmark has 22 municipalities. The reform was implemented in Denmark on 1 January 2007, although the merger of the Funish municipalities of Ærøskøbing and Marstal, being a part of the reform, was given the go-ahead to be implemented on Sunday 1 January 2006, one year before the main reform. It borders Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) to the south and Central Denmark Region to the north and is connected to Region Zealand via the Great Belt Fixed Link.

The regional capital is Vejle but Odense is the region's largest city and home to the main campus of the University of Southern Denmark with branch campuses in Esbjerg, Kolding and Sønderborg.The responsibilities of the regional administration include hospitals and regional public transport, which is divided between two operators, Sydtrafik on the mainland and Als, and Fynbus on Funen and adjacent islands. On the island municipalities of Ærø (since 2016) and Fanø (since 2018), the municipalities themselves are responsible for public transport. Billund Airport is region's main airport, it is the second-busiest airport in Denmark behind Copenhagen Airport and one of the busiest air cargo centres. It handes an average of more than three million passengers a year, and millions of pounds of cargo.

The Øresund Bridge or Öresund Bridge is a combined railway and motorway cable-stayed bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the second longest bridge in Europe and combines both roadway and railway in a single structure, consisting of international European route E20 and the Øresund Line respectively. It runs nearly 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the Swedish coast to the artificial island of Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The Øresund Link is completed by the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) Øresund Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager.

Construction began in 1995 and it opened to traffic on 1 July 2000. The bridge, as part of the Øresund Link, directly connects the road and rail networks of the Scandinavian Peninsula with Mainland Europe, via the Great Belt Fixed Link (constructed 1988–1998) connecting Zealand to Funen and thence to the Jutland Peninsula. Both projects helped to lessen the isolation of Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia from the rest of the continent. A data cable also makes the Øresund Link the backbone of Internet data transmission between central Europe and Sweden.

The Great Belt ferries (Danish: Storebæltsfærgerne) were the train and car ferries operating across the Danish strait of Great Belt, between the islands of Zealand and Funen. The railway ferry link was established in 1883, while automobile-only ferries started operating in 1930. The ferry services ceased operating with the opening of the Great Belt Fixed Link, which occurred in 1997 for rail and 1998 for car traffic.

Despite the popularity of the fixed link, some ferries still connect eastern and western Denmark. The company Mols-Linien continues to operate ferries between northwest Zealand and East Jutland, while the Spodsbjerg–Tårs route some 45 kilometres to the south also remains serviced by ferries.