Fredericia

Submitted by editor on Fri, 09/02/2011 - 22:12

Fredericia

Fredericia
Town
The statue Landsoldaten ("The Foot Soldier") in Fredericia, Denmark.
Coat of arms
Country Denmark
Region Region of Southern Denmark
Municipality Fredericia municipality
Coordinates 55°35′N 9°46′E / 55.583°N 9.767°E / 55.583; 9.767
Population 39,716 (2011)
Founded 1650
 - Current municipality 1970
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 7000
Website: www.fredericia.dk

Fredericia (Danish pronunciation: [fʀɛðəˈʀedɕa]) is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle. It was founded in 1650 by Frederick III, after whom it was named.

The city itself has a population of 39,716 (1 January 2011) and the Fredericia municipality has a population of 49,849 (2010).

Contents

History

After the devastation caused by the Thirty Years' War in a largely unfortified Jutland, King Christian IV realized the necessity of building a strong fortress in Jutland, and decided that this project could be combined with his plans for building a large town in Jutland.

A fortified encampment was built on a point of land called Lyngs Odde, near the current location of Fredericia, with a rampart stretching to either side of the point, thus protecting the encampment from attacks. However, the fortifications were not perfect, and when Swedish Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson invaded Jutland, he was able to break through the ramparts. It was Frederick III who was finally able to complete the plans for the fortification, also adding a flank fortification on nearby Bers Odde as suggested by Danish Imperial Marshal Anders Bille.

Fredericia (left center) is east of Kolding, southeast of Vejle on Jutland in Denmark.

On 15 December 1650, the King signed the document giving the town its first privileges, and work on the new fortifications could begin. In 1651, the town was named Frederiksodde (Frederick's Point) after the king, and on 22 April 1664, it was given the newly Latinized name of Fredericia.

Every 6 July, the town of Fredericia holds a festival to commemorate the 1849 Battle of Fredericia, fought during the First War of Schleswig, in which Danish troops won a victory over the Schleswig-Holstein rebels who were laying siege to the town. Fredericia's landmark, Landsoldaten, was unveiled on 6 July 1858.

Present

The municipality today is part of the East Jutland metropolitan area with 1.2M inhabitants, and is the site of Fredericia municipality's municipal council..

The town is one of Denmark's largest traffic hubs, and location of Denmark's largest shipyard Fredericia Skibsværft A/S.

The town is a major barracks, home to the Royal Danish Army's army's Signals Regiment (Telegrafregimentet), which is located at Rye's Barracks (Ryes Kaserne) and Bülow's Barracks (Bülows Kaserne).

Notable residents

  • Erik Holtved (1899–1981), ethnologist
  • Henrik Pontoppidan (1857-1943), writer

Twin towns

See also

  • Fredericia municipality

  1. ^ BEF44: Population 1st January, by urban areas database from Statistics Denmark
  2. ^ http://www.assistens.dk/bissen.htm
  3. ^ [1]
30 most populous urban areas of Denmark
as of 1 January 2011, according to Statistics Denmark [2]
1. Copenhagen 1,199,224
2. Århus 249,709
3. Odense 167,615
4. Aalborg 124,921
5. Esbjerg 71,576
6. Randers 60,656
7. Kolding 57,197
8. Horsens 53,807
9. Vejle 51,341
10. Roskilde 47,117
11. Helsingør 46,279
12. Herning 46,279
13. Hørsholm 45,873
14. Silkeborg 42,724
15. Næstved 41,667
16. Fredericia 39,716
17. Viborg 35,893
18. Køge 35,104
19. Holstebro 34,241
20. Taastrup 32,406
21. Slagelse 31,979
22. Hillerød 30,350
23. Sønderborg 27,237
24. Holbæk 27,055
25. Svendborg 27,009
26. Hjørring 24,762
27. Frederikshavn 23,339
28. Haderslev 21,213
29. Ringsted 21,151
30. Ølstykke/Stenløse 20,665
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