Nørreballe is a village on the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

. With a population of 476 (1 January 2024), it is located northwest of

Maribo Maribo is a town in Lolland Municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It was the municipal seat of the former Maribo Municipality, until 1 January 2007, and then it became the seat of the current Lolland Muni ...

. The village of Østofte with its 14th-century Østofte Church is now part of Nørreballe.

Geography

Nørreballe is situated in central Lolland, northwest of

and east of

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the La ...

. It lies along Route 9 (also known as Vestre Landevej) which connects with

European route E47 European route E47 is a road (part of the United Nations international E-road network) connecting Lübeck in Germany to Helsingborg in Sweden via the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It is also known as the Vogelfluglinie and the Sydmotorvej. The roa ...

to the west of Maribo. The road leading north out of the village, Kokoitvej, connects to the port of

Bandholm Bandholm is a small port town and parish on the coast of northern Lolland, Region Zealand, Denmark. On 1 January 2022 it had a population of 476, and is located to the northwest of Knuthenborg Safari Park and Maribo. From Bandholm there is ferry s ...

, to the northeast. To the northeast of the village is the Merret Skov woodland and

Knuthenborg Safaripark Knuthenborg Safaripark is a safari park on the island of Lolland in the southeast of Denmark. It is located 7 km (on Rte 289) to the north of Maribo, near Bandholm. It is one of Lolland's major tourist attractions with over 250,000 visitors ...

. The settlements of Østofte to the south, Parup to the east, and Sørup to the west also form the local community. There are frequent bus services to Maribo and Nakskov. Tent camping is available at Lojet, which is situated between

Søllested Søllested was the administrative centre of the former Højreby Municipality in Denmark. Since 1 January 2007, it has been a part of the new Lolland Municipality. The town lies 9 km east of Nakskov. Søllested has a population of 1,345 (1 J ...

and Nørreballe, and is bounded by a forest. Similar to the surrounding villages of Håred, Erikstrup, Østofte, Sørup, Meltofte, and

Stokkemarke Stokkemarke is a village on the Danish island of Lolland located midway between Nakskov and Maribo. In January 2022 it had a population of 406. Stokkemarke Church, first documented in 1396, originally built in the Romanesque style, has Gothic ad ...

, Nørreballe has

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

s and farms.

Landmarks

Østofte Church with its Romanesque

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was expanded in 1656. The chancel is noted for some of the best-preserved medieval frescos on

. Østofte Windmill, a

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

from 1641 located just west of Nørreballe, was in use until 1943. Restored in the 1990s, it is still fully functional. Nørreballe was once a station on the Maribo-Torrig Railway which operated from 1916 to 1941. Østofte Forsamlingshus, an assembly building along Kokoitvej, was built in 1981 according to the exterior of the building. Hotel Lolland lies in the eastern part of the village; a modern hotel, it has 16 rooms.

The village today

Nørreballe is centred on a roundabout where the busy main road to Maribo crosses the road between Østofte and

. The only food store is located there, the last of the many shops which once prospered in the village. A number of garages and automobile sales outlets line the main road. In Østofte, there is a school (a branch of Maribo Landskole), a kindergarten, a sports hall and an open-air swimming pool. Clubs include a gymnastics association and a handball club. There are plans to develop the aesthetic setting of the town, improve and expand existing infrastructure facilities, resolve traffic problems particularly around the school, provide for fitness centers, and improve internet connectivity.

Local events

The popular local events held in the village are the annual neighborhood party, summer party, Christmas party and cycling competitions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norreballe Cities and towns in Region Zealand Lolland Municipality Lolland