Hjejlen ("The Golden Plover") is a historic steamboat that sails from Silkeborg to Himmelbjerget. In the background can be seen the city's former paper mills, now home to the Radisson-SAS hotel and shops.

Silkeborg [upper left] is south of Viborg and west of Aarhus, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.

Silkeborg (Danish pronunciation: [ˈselɡəˌbɒːˀ]) is a city in central Denmark. Located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, the city has a population of 42,724 (1 January 2011). The development of Silkeborg as a modern city may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844. The city is divided north and south by a lake, the Silkeborg Langsø, which at the eastern side of the city, resolves into the Guden River (Gudenaa).

Silkeborg municipality has a population of 88,481 (2010). The municipality is also a part of the East Jutland metropolitan area, which has 1.2 million inhabitants.

The city is notable for the large number of car dealerships located there, and the economically significant presence of the headquarters of Jyske Bank A/S, Denmark's third largest bank.

At the end of June each year, the city is home to the Riverboat Jazz festival.

The city is home of the Tollund man, who is kept in the Silkeborg Museum.

In 1944, the priest and playwright Kaj Munk was shot by the Gestapo nearby.

During World War II the German Wehrmacht (Army) had its Jutlandic headquarter at Silkeborg Bad, the city's former sanatorium known for its curative spring waters. It is now a municipal art centre, where it is possible to visit the wartime bunkers in the grounds.

Silkeborg was the home city of COBRA painter Asger Jorn, and has in addition to the above mentioned Silkeborg Bad art centre another art museum, the Museum Jorn, Silkeborg with its large Asger Jorn collection.

Inspired by an Asger Jorn print in a band member's home in Dublin, Ireland, Silkeborg is now also the name of an Irish band [2]

Silkeborg has a ski resort, with a nylon track so that one can enjoy going down the slopes all year round, and there is natural snow in winter.

Fireworks

Since 1899 Silkeborg has been hosting an event called "Ildfestregatta", which means "fire party regatta". Currently this event is held every third year, where the last event was held on August 17–20, 2011.

At this event the streets are closed at night during the 4 days it lasts in mid-August. There is then held live music along with, an amusement park and many more... It is per Tradition, that regatta starts on a Wednesday and ends on a saturday. Normally the three compteting firm, shoot of their firework shows, on the three firste days, while the show on saturday, are sponsor by Silkeborg Municipality.

Every night at 00:00 p.m there will be held an amazing show of fireworks. Every night the fireworks are sponsored by a different fireworks manufacturer, which is then competing against the other companies to have the prettiest show. This show is what the event "Ildfestregatta" is about.

Do note, that in previous years the fireworks, was started a 11:15 p.m. o'clock. But that has changed, also earlier the location, of fireing place of the fireworks, was in a another place of the town center(Silkeborg's old paperfactory(Papirfabrikken), which is closed and now a small but strong neighborhood of the town).

This time and in 2008, it it located in, Silkeborg langsø, just of the town hall buildings, near the lakes springs, which are man made, and sometimes they are lighted up, by colored lighting. The reason for putting the fireworks, at the new location, was public safety. And to make it more visible.

The event's homepage (in Danish): ildefestregatta.dk

Location

Silkeborg is located in mid-eastern Jutland. The surrounding locations of Silkeborg are regarded among the most beautiful places in Denmark. The landscape is dominated by big lakes, forests and some of the highest points in Denmark, including Himmelbjerget. It is also one of the most expensive areas to live in, and the neighbouring towns Sejs is known for its mansions and villas at the lakeside.

Celebrities from Silkeborg

• Alphabeat (Pop band)
• Asger Jorn (Artist)
• Dawn Of Demise (Metal band)
• Infernal Torment (Metal band)
• Simon Kvamm (Singer)
• Thomas Bjørn (Golfer)
• Jesper Asholt (Actor)
• Lars Ytting Bak (Cyclist)

Notable Mentions in Popular Culture

• in the 1973 film, Day of the Jackal, the main character dons a number of aliases throughout the story. One of them is that of a Danish schoolteacher by the name of Par Lundqvist, who claims to herald from the town of Silkeborg.

Friendship cities

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Banja Luka
• Savonlinna, Finland
• Árborg, Iceland
• Arendal, Norway
• Giżycko, Poland
• Kalmar, Sweden
• Kaiserslautern, Germany
• Corona, United States

50 most populous urban areas in the Nordic countries  Denmark ·  Finland ·  Iceland ·  Norway ·  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,252,000 2.  Copenhagen 1,181,239 3.  Helsinki 1,027,635 4.  Oslo 907,288 5.  Gothenburg 510,500 6.  Malmö 258,000 7.  Aarhus 242,914 8.  Bergen 227,752 9.  Tampere 211,691 10.  Reykjavík 195,000 11.  Stavanger 189,828 12.  Turku 176,401 13.  Odense 166,305 14.  Trondheim 160,072 15.  Uppsala 144,839 16.  Oulu 137,370 17.  Jyväskylä 128,114 18.  Aalborg 123,432 19.  Västerås 107,000 20.  Fredrikstad 101,698 21.  Lahti 100,444 22.  Örebro 98,200 23.  Linköping 97,400 24.  Drammen 96,563 25.  Kuopio 91,845 26.  Helsingborg 91,500 27.  Kouvola 88,396 28.  Skien 86,923 29.  Jönköping 84,400 30.  Norrköping 83,600 31.  Pori 75,562 32.  Lund 76,200 33.  Umeå 75,600 34.  Joensuu 72,167 35.  Esbjerg 71,459 36.  Lappeenranta 70,210 37.  Gävle 68,700 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 66,257 40.  Borås 63,400 41.  Södertälje 60,300 42.  Randers 60,227 43.  Eskilstuna 60,200 44.  Rovaniemi 59,274 45.  Vaasa 58,607 46.  Täby 58,593 47.  Karlstad 58,500 48.  Kolding 57,087 49.  Seinäjoki 56,578 50.  Halmstad 55,688

Coordinates: 56°10′N 9°34′E / 56.167°N 9.567°E / 56.167; 9.567