Aabenraa (Danish pronunciation: [ɔːpm̩ˈʁɔˀ]; German: Apenrade, pronounced [apn̩ˈʁaːdə] ⓘ; South Jutlandic: Affenråe, also known as Åbenrå) is a town in Southern Denmark, at the head of the Aabenraa Fjord, an arm of the Little Belt, 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of the Denmark–Germany border and 32 kilometres (20 mi) north of German town of Flensburg.

It was the seat of Sønderjyllands Amt (South Jutland County)[3] until 1 January 2007, when the Region of Southern Denmark was created as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform.

The name Aabenraa originally meant "open beach" (Danish: åben strand).

The town's glory days were during the period of the 1750s to c. 1864, when ship traffic was at a high growth rate with trade to the Mediterranean Sea, China, South America, and Australia.

[4] After the 1948 Danish spelling reform, which abolished the digraph Aa in favor of Å, there was fervent resistance in Aabenraa.

While the municipality of Aabenraa and most local citizens use the Aa spelling, Åbenrå remains the option recommended by the Danish Language Board.

[8] Another primarily rated High-end IF1/F1/T3 tornado struck åbenrå on July 13, 2023, causing moderate damage.

Some noteworthy buildings in the town are St. Nicholas Church [da; de] (Sankt Nicolai Kirke) from the time of King Valdemar with construction beginning ca.