Humlebæk is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

within the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Fredensborg Fredensborg () is a railway town located in Fredensborg Municipality, North Zealand, some 30 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is most known for Fredensborg Palace, one of the official residences of the Danish royal family. As of 1 Janua ...

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand (), refers to the northeastern part of the Danish island of Zealand. The Danish tourist authorities have recently introduced the term Danish Riviera to cover the area in view of its increasing importance for to ...

in Denmark, approximately 35 km north of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. Humlebæk is located at the shore to

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

and has a population of 9,742 (2025).BY3: Population 1. January by rural and urban areas, area and population density
Database of

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark () is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing, reporting to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating statistics on the Danish society ...

with updated information on population The

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, also known as the Louisiana, is an art museum located north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Attracting over 700,000 guests annually, the Louisiana is Scandinavia's most visited museum for Modern art, modern and contempor ...

is located in Humlebæk.

History

The history of Humlebæk traces back to the

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

where the

urbarium An urbarium (, English: ''urbarium'', also ''rental'' or ''rent-roll'', , , , ), is a register of fief ownership and includes the rights and benefits that the fief holder has over his serfs and peasants. It is an important economic and legal sourc ...

for Kronborg and Frederiksborg

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

mentions a

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

in 1582–1583 with seven fishermen in the settlement. On 24 July 1700 ( O.S.) Swedish forces invaded Denmark at the

landing at Humlebæk The Landing at Humlebæk took place on August 4, 1700, in the Swedish invasion of Denmark during the Great Northern War, Great Northern War 1700–1721. It was the first offensive during the war by the Swedish army, and it was directly led by Cha ...

during the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. In 1740 the

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

Humlebæk Kro received royal privilege and in 1792 a school was established. Krogerup 02

The dominating property was Krogerup. Krogerup was originally a farm house mentioned the first time in 1577 but over time the property was expanded because of privileges given to the owners of Krogerup as rewards for loyalty to the King during the wars against Sweden. A manor house was built at Krogerup from 1772 to 1777. Krogerup was acquired by the Danish government in 1942 and the land distributed as part of land reforms. During the Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 the construction of a fortified harbour in Humlebæk was initiated. The harbour was intended to be base of

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

warships and

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s. The fortified harbour was never finished as the war against the British ended before the finalisation of the constructions. A few years later, in 1810, Humlebæk Harbour was established. During the second half of the 19th century Humlebæk became a popular resort for the population of Copenhagen during summertime. The Danish steamship company Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab (''The United Steamship Company'') opened a ferry line with steamboats sailing up along the coast of Øresund from Copenhagen with a stop in Humlebæk. In 1897, the railway line the " Coast Line" from Copenhagen to

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

was opened. The railway line had a stop in the newly established

Humlebæk railway station Humlebæk Station is a railway station serving the suburb of Humlebæk in North Zealand, Denmark, 35 km north of central Copenhagen, as well as the nearby Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. The station is located on the Coast Line between Hel ...

. The opening resulted in a major boost of Humlebæk and its surroundings. The train station was placed a bit outside the old village of Humlebæk, the fishing village Sletten and the nearby village Toelt. Over time the different settlements grew together. A new settlement grew from the train station to the coast (New Humlebæk, south of the Old Humlebæk next to Humlebæk Harbour). Until 1950 the three areas Humlebæk (New Humlebæk and the Old Humlebæk at the coast), Sletten and Torpen were considered separate settlements. The development of the population of the three settlements appears from below : The old villages Dageløkke, Torpen (Upper Torp and Lower Torp), Toelt, Nybo are today considered part of Humlebæk.

Infrastructure and transport

Trains and buses

Humlebæk has train connections to Copenhagen and Helsingør by

Humlebæk Station Humlebæk is a town within the Municipalities of Denmark, municipality of Fredensborg Municipality, Fredensborg in North Zealand in Denmark, approximately 35 km north of Copenhagen. Humlebæk is located at the shore to Øresund and has a popu ...

at The Coast Line. Trains depart every 20 minutes in each direction. In rush hours trains are more frequent. The trains are part of the

Øresundståg Øresundståg (, ) is a passenger train network operated by Transdev in the transnational Øresund Region of Denmark and Sweden. The name is a hybrid of the Danish ''Øresundstog'' and the Swedish ''Öresundståg'', both meaning "Øresund train ...

-system and the trains for Copenhagen continues to

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup (, ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as the wider Øresund Region, including Zealand and the southern Sweden, Swedish province of Scania. In 2023 it was the largest ai ...

and to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Bus no. 388 in a north–south route between Helsingør and Lyngby station has several stops in Humlebæk at road no. 152 (Strandvejen). Bus no. 353 runs north–south further inland between Helsingør and Kokkedal station. It passes the western part of Humlebæk on Hørsholmvej. Bus no. 370 in an east–west route connects Humlebæk with

Harbours

At the coast to

, Humlebæk has two harbours, Humlebæk Harbour and Sletten Harbour. The harbours are primarily

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") 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 or cargo ...

s but a few minor

fishing boats A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to fishing, catch fish and other valuable nektonic aquatic animals (e.g. shrimps/prawns, krills, coleoids, etc.) in the sea, lake or river. Humans have used different kinds of surface vessels in commercial ...

are based in the harbours. Sletten Harbour has previously had ferry connections to

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

in Sweden and to the island

Ven Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It comprises an area of , and its popul ...

in the middle of Øresund.

Culture and education

In 1938 a cinema Humle Bio opened in Humlebæk. The cinema is still active and was renovated in 2023 with new chairs. Humlebæk is home of

. The museum opened in 1958 and has today approximately 600,000 yearly visitors. In 2018 Louisiana was number 7 on the list of most visited tourist attractions in Denmark.List of most visited tourist attractions, visitdenmark.dk
/ref> Humlebæk has three

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s, Langebjergskolen, Humlebæk Skole, and Humlebæk Lille Skole. A fourth school Baunebjergskolen was merged with Humlebæk Skole in 2011 but still uses the old buildings. A

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

, Krogerup Højskole, is today located at Krogerup.

Economy

The shopping mall Humlebæk Center opened just west of the station in 1977. There are also shops on Strandvejen a little east of the station. The multinational health care company Coloplast has its headquarters in west Humlebæk. Many small companies are located in the nearby industrial quarter on Bakkegårdsvej.

Notable people

* Ole Kielberg (1911 in Humlebæk – 1985) a Danish painter who joined the Odsherred Painters *

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

(1865–1931) wrote the first movement of his Symphony No. 5 in Humlebæk in the winter and spring of 1921 * Niels Peter Louis-Hansen (born 1947) a Danish billionaire businessman, lives in Humlebæk * Poul Erik Tøjner (born 1959) director of the

in Humlebæk * Mette Thomsen (born 1970 in Humlebæk) a Danish novelist, belonging to the culture of ''" zappers"''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humlebaek Cities and towns in the Capital Region of Denmark Fredensborg Municipality