Holbæk () is a town in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

Holbæk municipality Holbæk municipality is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in northwestern Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Orø, and covers an area of 583 km², and has a total p ...

with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density
The Mobile StatBank from

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating st ...

. It is located in the northwestern part of

Region Sjælland Region Zealand ( da, Region Sjælland) is the southernmost administrative region of Denmark, established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regi ...

, Denmark. Holbæk is located on

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 ...

, on the banks of

Holbæk Fjord Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).Isefjord Ise Fjord ( da, Isefjorden) is a deeply branched arm of the sea into the Danish island Zealand. From its relatively narrow entrance from the Kattegat at Hundested and Rørvig, branches of Ise Fjord stretch 35 km inland and divide the northern ...

. Holbæk is a commercial and industrial center for the surrounding area. By rail, Holbæk is served by

Danske Statsbaner DSB, an abbreviation of ''Danske Statsbaner'' (, ''Danish State Railways''), is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goo ...

's line from

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,211 (1 January 2022),Vestsjællands Lokalbaner Vestsjællands Lokalbaner A/S (literally ''The Local Railways of West Zealand'', abbreviated VL) was a Danish railway company. It existed from 2003 to 2009. History A merger of Odsherreds Jernbane A/S (OHJ) and Høng-Tølløse Jernbane A/S (HT ...

connects Holbæk by rail to

Nykøbing Sjælland Nykøbing , often referred to as Nykøbing Sjælland or Nykøbing Sj to destinguish it from Nykøbing F and Nykøbing M, is a seaside town in Denmark, located in Odsherred on the northwestern part of Zealand. Located on the Isefjord, it has a p ...

. The city is a major hub for the Movia bus routes. Holbæk has an active commercial seaport that serves as the harbor for the ferry to

Orø Orø is a small island in Denmark located in the Isefjord. It covers and has a population of 893 (). Administratively the island belongs to Holbæk Municipality. There are four villages on Orø: Bybjerg, the largest village on the island wi ...

(island). Near the harbor there is a substantial

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

History

Holbæk is first mentioned in official documents in

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a gr ...

's letter of 8 June 1199, in which he granted the majority of his estates to

Sorø Klosterkirke Sorø Klosterkirke (i.e. ''Sorø Abbey Church'') is located in the Danish town of Sorø. It was founded by Danish archbishop Absalon and built by Cistercians in the period from 1161 to 1201. It is made of red brick, which was a new material for th ...

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

. It was called Holbækgaard, a larger farm belonging to a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, around which the city eventually developed. Next it appears in

Valdemar the Victorious Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

's book of properties (see Kong Valdemars Jordebog on the Danish Wikipedia) in 1231. Valdmar broke ground for Holbæk Slot (Holbæk Castle) in 1236. Holbæk grew from then on but is not mentioned again until around 1400 when

Margaret I Margaret I may refer to: * Margaret I, Countess of Flanders (died 1194) * Margaret I of Scotland (1283–1290), usually known as the Maid of Norway * Margaret I, Countess of Holland (1311–1356), Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland * Ma ...

came for a court proceeding that granted her territories in

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 ...

. The event may have triggered the creation of the first city seal, which shows the three trees by the water that are the prominent features of the current seal.

Economy

Companies headquartered in Holbæk include Sparekassen Sjælland.

Culture

Culturally, Holbæk can be noted for Musikhus Elværket, a converted

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

that serves as a

concert venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...

for modern music.

Sport

The city is home to the

Holbæk B&I Holbæk Bold- & Idrætsforening is a Danish football club currently playing in 2. Division East. They play at Holbæk Stadion in Holbæk on Zealand, which has a capacity of 10,500. From 2008 to 2014 their first team played under the name Nordve ...

football club.

Transportation

Rail

The Northwest Line connects Holbæk with

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,211 (1 January 2022),Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

and the rest of the Danish rail network, and the Hornsherred Line connects Holbæk with

. Holbæk railway station is the principal railway station of the town, and offers direct

regional train Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...

services to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, and operated by the national

railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation of the track is undertaken ...

DSB DSB may refer to: Science, technology and devices * DsbA, a bacterial member of the Dsb (disulfide bond) family of enzymes * Double strand break, a break in both DNA strands, part of DNA repair * in telecommunications, double-sideband transmission ...

and

local train Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster servi ...

services to operated by the regional

Lokaltog Lokaltog A/S ( en, Local Trains Ltd) is a Danish railway company responsible for train operation and related passenger services on nine local railways on the islands of Zealand, Lolland and Falster in Denmark. The company was formed on 1 July 2015 ...

. The western part of the town is also served by the

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one r ...

Notable people

Public Service & public thinking

Søren Nielsen May Søren Nielsen May (born in Helsingborg, died 16 September 1679 in Holbæk), also spelled Søren Nielsen Maj, was a Danish priest, who was parish priest and provost in Holbæk. He was an uncle of the statesman Peder Griffenfeld Count Peder G ...

(died 1679 in Holbæk) parish priest and provost in Holbæk *

Albert Borgard Albert Borgard (Danish: ''Albrecht Borgaard'' or ''Borregaard''; 10 November 1659 – 7 February 1751) was a Danish artillery and engineer officer. Early career Albert Borgard was born in Holbæk, Jutland, on 10 November 1659 of unknown parents. ...

(1659–1751) a Danish artillery and engineer officer * Michael Bille (1680–1756 in Holbæk) a Danish Admiral *

Christen Friis Rottbøll Christen Friis Rottbøll (3 March 1727, at Hørbygård, Denmark – 15 June 1797, in Copenhagen) was a Danish physician and botanist: He was a pupil of Carolus Linnaeus. Early life Rottbøll was born on the Hørbygaard estate at Holbæk, the so ...

(1727 at Hørbygård–1797) a Danish physician and botanist * Ole Johansen Winstrup (1782 in Winstrup–1867) a self-taught Danish engineer and inventor * Ludvig Christian Brinck-Seidelin (1787 in Eriksholm–1865) a Danish civil servant, landowner, and politician *

Ludwig A. Colding Ludwig August Colding (13 July 1815 – 21 March 1888) was a Denmark, Danish civil engineer and physicist who articulated the principle of conservation of energy contemporaneously with, and independently of, James Prescott Joule and Julius Robert ...

(1815–1888) a Danish civil engineer and physicist *

Edvard Jünger Frederik Gottlieb Edvard Jünger (19 April 1823 – 21 October 1899) was a Danish precision mechanic and instrument maker. His company was taken over by Christopher Peter Jürgensen in 1869. In the 1870s and early 1880s, he was the manager of Holme ...

(1823–1899) precision mechanic and instrument maker *

Ellen Nielsen Ellen Nielsen ( zh, 艾伦·聂乐信 or more commonly zh, 聂乐信, 17 July 1871-25 July 1960) was a Danish-born teacher and missionary who moved to Manchuria, took Chinese citizenship and worked to establish schools and provide social services ...

(1871–1960) a Danish-born teacher and missionary in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

Mads Tofte Mads Tofte (born 20 April 1959) is a Danish computer scientist who has contributed in particular to functional programming and the Standard ML programming language. Education Tofte was born in Lyngby, Denmark and grew up in Holbæk, Denmark. H ...

(born 1959) a Danish computer scientist, brought up in Holbæk *

Claus Bjørn Larsen Claus Bjørn Larsen (born 1963) is a Danish press photographer, now working as a freelance. He gained special recognition in 2000 when he won the World Press Photo of the Year competition for his work in Kosovo. Early life Born in 1963 in Holbæk ...

(born 1963) award-winning Danish press photographer Søren Reiff

The Arts

Paula Trock Paula Trock (1889–1979) was a Danish weaver who began producing her own fabrics at the Troba workshop in Sønderborg in the early 1930s. In 1945, she established Spindegården near Vejen in the south of Jutland which she headed until 1969. There ...

(1889–1979) a Danish weaver of curtains in distinguished places * Agnete Hoy (1914–2000) British/Danish potter; expertise in glazing and firing *

Aage Stentoft Aage Stentoft (1 May 1914 – 8 July 1990) was a Danish composer, film score composer and theatre director. He composed over 700 melodies during his lifetime. Biography Stentoft was born in Holbæk, where he graduated from the Stenhus Kostsko ...

(1914–1990) composer, film score composer and theatre director * Dan Sterup-Hansen (1918–1995) painter and illustrator * Niels Bernhart (1946–2008) a Danish pianist, composer and lecturer *

Inga Nielsen Inga Nielsen (2 June 1946 – 10 February 2008) was a Danish soprano who had an active international opera career from 1971 to 2006. A child prodigy, Nielsen performed on American radio during the 1950s, beginning at the age of six, and also re ...

(1946–2008) soprano opera singer * Søren Reiff (born 1962) guitarist, producer, composer and author *

Cutfather Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...

(born 1968) stage name of ''Mich Hedin Hansen'', a Danish music producer *

Jim Lyngvild Jim Lyngvild (born 27 December 1978) is a Danish designer, writer, photographer, fashion columnist and television personality. Career Lyngvild grew up in Albertslund and was educated at Fashion Design Akademiet in Copenhagen in 2000–2002. H ...

(born 1978) a Danish designer, writer, fashion columnist and TV personality *

Mikael Brandrup Mikael Brandrup, also known as Mikael B or "KETS", is a Danish visual artist, graphic designer, and entrepreneur who lives in Los Angeles. Mikael B has exhibited at galleries in Europe and the United States such as Taglialatella Galleries, Gregori ...

(born 1984) a Danish visual artist and graphic designer in the USA Mads Mensah Larsen 5-20160110

Sport

* Niels Tune-Hansen (born 1953) footballer, 220 club caps and 15 for

Susanne Augustesen Susanne "Susy" Augustesen (born 10 May 1956) is a Danish former international footballer who played club football for many years in Italy. Club career In a professional career spanning some 20 years, Augustesen scored over 600 goals in Italy's to ...

(born 1956) a Danish former international footballer *

Christian Poulsen Christian Bjørnshøj Poulsen (born 28 February 1980) is a Danish former footballer. After starting his career with Holbæk, he played for a number of European clubs as a defensive midfielder, winning the Danish Superliga championship with F. ...

(born 1981) footballer, over 452 club caps and 92 for

Mads Pieler Kolding Mads Pieler Kolding (born 27 January 1988) is a Danish badminton player who specializes in doubles. He won the gold medal at the 2016 European Championships in the men's doubles event partnered with Mads Conrad-Petersen. He was also a part of th ...

(born 1988) male badminton player who specializes in doubles *

Mads Mensah Larsen Mads Mensah Larsen (born 12 August 1991) is a Danish handball player for SG Flensburg-Handewitt and the Denmark national team. He previously played for the clubs AG København, Nordsjælland Håndbold and Aalborg Håndbold. He studied Humanist ...

(born 1991) handball player * Simone Boye Sørensen (born 1992) a Danish footballer, plays for Bayern Munich *

Frederik Colberg Frederik Colberg (born 31 March 1993) is a Danish badminton player from Holbæk. He won his first international title at the 2010 Iceland International tournament in the mixed doubles event partnered with Mette Poulsen. Colberg was part of the Da ...

(born 1993) a Danish badminton player * Nick Sörensen (born 1994) a Danish-born Swedish professional ice hockey player *

John Axelsen John Paul Pultz Pinnerup Axelsen (born 23 January 1998) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He was a member of the Danish team that won the Eisenhower Trophy in 2018. He has won four times on the Nordic Golf League as ...

(born 1998) a Danish amateur golfer

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Holbæk is twinned with: *

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. resulted from a shared interest in community plays. Groups of actors from the two towns each took part in the other's community play in the early 1990s and this resulted in the formal twinning in 1992.http://www.dorchester-tc.gov.uk/Services/Twinning/Holbæk *

Botevgrad Botevgrad ( bg, Ботевград ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from Sofia. History and name The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) until ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Sources

City History

NetBorger.dk
Statistics
Statistikbanken
Statistics

Notes

External links

*
Official website of Holbæk municipality

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbaek Municipal seats of Region Zealand Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in Region Zealand Holbæk Municipality