Hørsholm () is an

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

on the

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 ...

coast approximately 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 ...

, Denmark. It covers most of Hørsholm Municipality and straddles the borders neighbouring Fredensborg Municipality and Rudersdal Municipality. Hørsholm proper is developed around

Hirschholm Palace Hirschholm Palace, also known as Hørsholm Palace, was a royal palace located in present-day Hørsholm, Hørsholm municipality just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was rebuilt in the Baroque architecture, Baroque style in the 1740s and, one of the ...

, which was constructed in the 1730s, but the town has later absorbed several of the nearby communities that are of much older origins.

History

Palace and market town

Hørsholm was founded in connection with the construction of

. Niels Eigtved created a plan for a residence town in 1737 and to stimulate its growth, it was given status as

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in 1739. However, it never came to serve as a market town and was still only a small settlement when the palace was demolished between 1810 and 1816. Over the following decades it grew as a garrison town and a local centre for trade.

Industrialization

A textile factory, later known as the Royal Military Textile Factory, had already been established in Usserød in the 1790s (closed 1981). It was later joined by other industrial enterprises, such as Hørsholm Textile Factory (1885–1975), Hørsholm Tobakspakkeri og Hørsholm Iron Foundry (1900–1965).

20th-century growth

In the 20th century, Hørsholm gradually grew together with the neighbouring communities Usserød, Rungsted and Smidstrup. Most recently, Hørsholm has grown together with Kokkedal in Fredensborg-Humlebæk Municipality and Trørød, Vedbæk and Gammel Holte in Rudersdal Municipality.

Nature, parks and open spaces

Hørsholm Slotshave, the former gardens of Hirschholm Palace, is the largest public park in Hørsholm. A little to the east of it lies Hørsholm Arboretum, part of the

University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science The Faculty of Science () at the University of Copenhagen houses 12 departments, including the Natural History Museum of Denmark. The faculty also encompasses several national and international research centres, and has a number of field stations ...

. Hørsholm Cemetery is Hørsholm's largest cemetery. Rungsted Beach is Hørsholm's most popular beach but bathing is also possible at Mikkelborg and from several other localities along the coast. Hørsholm is surrounded by a number of small woodlands. They include Rungsted Hegn–Folehave Skov. Kokkedal Skov, Elleskoven and Stasevang Skov. The larger Jægersborg Hegn, which separates Hørsholm from Skodsborg to the south, adjoins the extensive UNESCO-LISTED deer park Jægersborg Dyrehave.

Culture and attractions

Trommen ("The Drum") is Hørsholm's principal cultural centre and also home to its main library. Hørsholm is home to several museums. Rungstedlund is the former home of the author

Karen Blixen Baroness Karen Christentze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countries; Ta ...

and is now home to the Karen Blixen Museum. The Danish Museum of Hunting and Forestry was based in the few surviving buildings from Hirschholm Palace, but i now moved to

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Jægersborg Dyrehave and Store Dyrehave and some from

Gribskov Gribskov (Grib Forest) is Denmark's fourth largest forest, comprising c. 5,600 ha of woodland situated in northern Zealand, west and south of Lake Esrum. The forest is owned and administered by Directorate of State Forestry (Denmark), the State of ...

, all three included in the recently UNESCO-listed Par force hunting landscape in North Zealand developed by King Christian V in the late 17th century for hunting deer with hounds. The adjacent Hørsholm Local History Museum contains a Struense exhibition. Gammel Holtegård plays host to temporary art exhibitions as well as a permanent archeological exhibition. The small Fuglsangshus is also used as a venue for changing art exhibitions.

Economy

Hørsholm is linked to engineering consultancy and information technology. DTU science park, a science park now part of the Technical University of Denmark, is home to many technological start-ups. Hørsholm Hospital used to be a major employer but has now closed. The Danish roof window and skylight manufacturer VELUX has its company headquarters in Hørsholm.

Transport

* Rungsted Kyst railway station and Kokkedal railway station on the coast are located on Kystbanen and served by the Oresundtrains which continue 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 across the

Øresund Bridge The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined List of road–rail bridges, railway and motorway cable-stayed bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the second longest bridge in Europe and combines both roadway and r ...

to Sweden. The Hørsholm Highway (now Helsingør Highway) is Denmark's oldest highway and connects Hørsholm to Copenhagen to the south and

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 ...

to the north.

Notable people

Nobility

Princess Louise Augusta by Anton Graff 1791

* Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark (1771 in

– 1843) very close to her older brother, Crown Prince Frederick * Wilhelmine Schröder (1839–1924) a Swedish telegraphist, writer and journalist and confidant and royal mistress of King

Charles XV Charles XV or Carl (''Carl Ludvig Eugen''; Swedish language, Swedish and Norwegian language, Norwegian officially: ''Karl''; 3 May 1826 – 18 September 1872) was King of Sweden and List of Norwegian monarchs, Norway, there often referred to as C ...

of Sweden

The Arts

* Johannes Ewald (1743–1781) a Danish national dramatist and poet, lived in the municipality * Harald Conrad Stilling (1815–1891) an architect of the Late Classical period * Claus Bjørn (1944–2005), author, historian and broadcaster * Sir Stig Fogh Andersen (born 1950) a Danish operatic tenor, a Wagner-tenor *

Jesper Kyd Jesper Kyd Jakobson (; ; born 3 February 1972) is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the ''Hitman (franchise), Hitman'' series, ''Assassin's ...

(born 1972) a Danish composer and

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

* Alex Vargas (born 1988) a Danish singer, songwriter and record producer

Science, Business & Public Service

* Rogert Møller (1844–1918) a Danish architect, credit union manager and local politician * Mary Westenholz (1857–1947 in Hørsholm) a Danish Unitarian, women's rights activist, writer and editor; aunt and supporter of

* Holger Scheuermann (1877–1960) a surgeon, eponym for Scheuermann's disease * Gunnar Dyrberg (1921 – 2012 in Hørsholm) a member of the Danish resistance during WWII * Henrik Stiesdal (born 1957) an inventor and businessman in the modern

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

industry * Karen Ellemann (born 1969) politician and former teacher, lives in Hørsholm * Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (born 1973) a Danish politician, former Army officer and lawyer * Sofie Carsten Nielsen (born 1975) politician and former Higher Education Minister * Anja Cetti Andersen (born 1965) an astronomer and astrophysicist

Sport

* Charles Buchwald (1880 – 1951 in Hørsholm) a Danish amateur footballer, played seven games for

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and team silver medallist at the 1908 and

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

* Susanne Slotsager (born 1966) a Danish female curler * Anisette Torp-Lind (born 1971) a former figure skater, competed at the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

* Tommy Løvenkrands (born 1974) a former footballer, 157 club caps * Louise Hansen (born 1975) a retired footballer, Denmark's most successful woman footballer, she played 98 games for

from 1995 to 2007 * Tine Baun (born 1979) a former badminton player, won the women's All England Open Badminton Championships three times in 2008, 2010 and 2013 * Peter Løvenkrands (born 1980) a former footballer, 313 club caps and 22 for

* Per Holten Møller (born 1952) a Danish former ice hockey player * Christina Nielsen (born 1992) a Danish auto racing driver * Rasmus Højlund (born 2003), footballer with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

, grew up in Hørsholm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsholm Municipal seats in the Capital Region of Denmark Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Capital Region of Denmark Hørsholm Municipality