Hjerting is a district of

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

in southwest

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, Denmark, some north of the centre. As of 2011, it has 7,289 inhabitants. With a history as a fishing village going back some 700 years it is now an exclusive suburb with views over the sandy beach and the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

History

Hjerting has a history going back over 700 years. It was originally a fishing village and port for

Varde Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old ma ...

. In the mid-19th century, meat was exported from Hjerting to England until

Esbjerg Harbour The Port of Esbjerg on the southwest coast of Jutland is a competitor to Aarhus and Hamburg for freight. Built by the State in 1868, it was once Denmark's principal fishing harbour but today has become Europe's leading port for shipping offshore ...

was developed. The housing estate which has been extended since 1960 is located on the coast with views out to the Skallingen peninsula. Hjerting Church, completed in 1992, was designed by

Alan Havsteen-Mikkelsen Alan may refer to: People * Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

The district today

Today Hjerting is a pleasant seaside resort and an exclusive suburb overlooking the bay of Ho Bugt on the

. In addition to the views out over the bay, the main attraction is the sandy beach which has a reddish colour. Thanks to the Skallingen peninsula to the west, the water is usually calm. Large private villas line the coast road, rather like those in the north of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

. The octagonal church from 1992 with a separate tower looks a little like a modern version of a medieval castle. Inside, the impressive round nave is illuminated by natural light from above. The chancel is decorated with figures crafted by

Robert Jacobsen Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen (4 June 1912 – 26 January 1993) was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert Award is named in his honor. Biography Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen. He was self-taught as a sculptor. During World War I, ...

. :da:Hjerting Kirke (Esbjerg Kommune)

References

{{Coord, 55, 31, 33, N, 8, 21, 25, E, type:landmark_region:DE-HB, display=title Neighbourhoods in Esbjerg Fishing communities in Denmark Resorts in Denmark