The village of Stouby, located between Juelsminde and Vejle, has been named Årets Landsby 2026, Denmark’s Village of the Year. The title was announced on Thursday morning and comes with 50,000 kroner.
DR reports that the announcement was made on the morning of Thursday, August 27. Volunteers immediately began putting up posters on the town signs, so the title is visible to anyone driving into Stouby. According to the announcement from Landdistrikternes Fællesråd, the village lies in Hedensted Municipality.
It is the village’s community life that carried Stouby to the title. Jimmi Brøndum, chair of the local sports association, says the point is to get people engaged in the town. He describes the cohesion in Stouby as entirely unique.
The prize is awarded by Landdistrikternes Fællesråd, Landsforeningen Landsbyerne i Danmark and Forenet Kredit, and 2026 marks the 30th time it has been handed out. Committee chair Helene Simoni Thorup points to the scale of voluntary activity in the village. She says Stouby has wild resources and enormous energy.
872 residents and 40 associations
Thorup notes that the village has 40 associations despite having only 872 inhabitants. New residents are welcomed with a communal dinner, and both newcomers and tourists are offered a guided tractor tour of the neighborhood. The tour is run in a wagon that locals call “salatfadet”, the salad bowl.
When the committee visited the village on Sunday, more than 400 residents took part in a communal meal. Volunteers handled the cooking and served pork roast burgers. Per DR, new arrivals in Stouby are also given a guided tour of the town as a way of drawing them into the community.
One of the volunteers behind the bid is Jan Volmer, chair of Stouby Multihus. He says he shed a tear when he learned that the village had won, after many hours and a great deal of energy went into the effort. Volmer believes the title can push development in Stouby further, because it shows there is something to come for if you move to the village.
Volmer adds that Stouby used to be viewed as “udkantsdanmark”, the Danish term for the country’s peripheral areas. He says that is no longer the case. The village signs now carry the 2026 title for passing traffic to see.
Thorup says the reason for naming a Village of the Year is to put focus on small communities where residents themselves make the town a good place to live. She describes the award as a way of honoring the volunteers who make things happen, calling it a good opportunity to give them a pat on the shoulder.
Along with the title, Stouby receives 50,000 kroner. The village is one of many small communities across Denmark where association life shapes daily living in Denmark, as described by the award committee.
