Skanderborg is a town in

Skanderborg municipality Skanderborg Municipality is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark, just southwest of Aarhus. It has an area of 429.17 km², and has a population of 61,974 (1 January 2019). ...

, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj Sø and the swampy

boglands A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

of Eskebæk Mose. Just north of the town on the other side of Expressway E45, is the archaeologically important

Illerup Ådal Illerup Ådal (English: ''Illerup River-valley'') is a river valley and archeological site located near Skanderborg in East Jutland, Denmark. Archaeological discoveries According to Forte, Oram, and Pedersen, "The Illerup Ådal site is one of ...

. Over time, the town has grown into a suburb of

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

to the north east, connected by the urban areas of

Stilling Stilling is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Benedict Stilling (1810–1879), German anatomist and surgeon *Harald Conrad Stilling (1815–1891), Danish architect *Jakob Stilling (1842–1915), German ophthalmologist See also * ...

Hørning :''not to be confused with the village of Hørning in Randers municipality'' Hørning is a town in central Denmark with a population of 8,395 (1 January 2022),

and

Hasselager Hasselager is a small suburban area in the south-western part of Aarhus in Denmark. It is about 8 km from the city center and has approximately 7.437 (2018) residents, mostly of Danish heritage. Hasselager has largely merged with neighbouring ...

. Skanderborg is home to a population of 19,963 (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 ...

. out of Skanderborg municipality's total population of 61,974 (2019).

History

Skanderborg is an old town and the area have revealed traces of human settlements, dating from the earliest

Nordic Stone Age The Nordic Stone Age refers to the Stone Age of Scandinavia. During the Weichselian glaciation (115,000 – 11,700 years ago), almost all of Scandinavia was buried beneath a thick permanent ice cover, thus, the Stone Age came rather late to thi ...

. A seasonal camp from the Ertebølle culture, was found here in the 1930s for example, near the former Ringkloster (English: ''Ring Abbey'') on the southern brinks of Skanderborg Lake. The town sprawled around the former Skanderborg Castle, founded at some point during the early Middle Ages and in 1583 Skanderborg was granted a municipal charter.Skanderborg Castle Chapel
The National Museum of Denmark. Danish text with English summary available (p.6263).

Religious orders

The town of Skanderborg has attracted several religious communities over the years, especially in the early Middle Ages. The long gone

Ring Abbey Ring Abbey (''Ringkloster'') was a Benedictine nunnery in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It was in operation from the 12th-century until the Danish Reformation. It was a large landowner and functioned as a girl school for daughters of the no ...

founded by Benedictine nuns in the 12th century, was once situated on the southeastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake. The last buildings burned down in 1715 and now there is a mansion at the site. There also used to be a Dominican monastery on the small islet of Kalvø in the middle of the lake.Skanderborg Lake
Danish Agency for Culture. The monastery was founded by the

Black Friar The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

Order in the first half of the 12th century, along with a small harbour, but in 1168 there were only two monks left and the Cistercian Order took over. The Cistercians came here after they had failed in founding a proper monastery at several nearby locations since 1165. In that year, they embarked on a mission from

Vitskøl Abbey Vitskøl Abbey ( da, Vitskøl Kloster; la, Vitae Schola, meaning "school of life") is a former Cistercian monastery near Ranum in Himmerland in Region Nordjylland, Denmark, active from mid 12th-century until 1563, and one of the oldest existing m ...

Himmerland Himmerland is a peninsula in northeastern Jutland, Denmark. It is delimited to the north and the west by the Limfjord, to the east by the Kattegat, and to the south by the Mariager Fjord. The largest city is Aalborg; smaller towns include Hobro, A ...

, to found a daughter community in the diocese of Aarhus and tried at

Sabro Sabro is a suburb of Aarhus in Denmark. Its population is 3,330 (1 January 2022).Silkeborg (

Sminge Abbey Veng Abbey (''Veng Kloster'') was one of Denmark's earliest Benedictine monasteries. It was located in the village of Veng near Skanderborg, Region of Southern Denmark. Veng Church, the former abbey church, is still in use as a parish church and ...

), and then near the village of Veng (

Veng Abbey Veng Abbey (''Veng Kloster'') was one of Denmark's earliest Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine monasteries. It was located in the village of Veng (Denmark), Veng near Skanderborg, Region of Southern Denmark. Veng Church, the former abbey church, is s ...

). The Cistercians eventually felt too isolated on the small isle of Kalvø, often cut off from the mainland for days and weeks even when the weather was harsh, and after just four years, they gave up here, too, and moved to Rye between

Mossø Mossø is Denmark's third largest freshwater lake and Jutland's largest, as measured by surface area. The lake is located just west of the city of Skanderborg in east Jutland, but is part of both Skanderborg Municipality and Horsens Municipality. ...

and Gudensø, a few kilometres west of Skanderborg. Here they founded

Øm Abbey Øm Abbey (''Øm Kloster'') was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1172 in the Diocese of Aarhus near the town of Rye, between the lakes of Mossø and Gudensø in central Jutland, Denmark. It is one of many former monasteries and abbeys in the hi ...

in 1172.

Buildings and structures

Skanderborg Castle

The royal residence of Skanderborg Castle was arguably the most important and influential building in the history of Skanderborg, but it was demolished stone by stone during the 18th century. Founded at some point in the early Middle Ages around 1200, King Frederik II had the old medieval castle radically rebuilt and expanded around 1570. His project was grandiose in scale. An entirely new large Renaissance palace was erected and the deer park of Skanderbrog Dyrehave was constructed nearby, amongst other undertakings. Stones from the demolished

west of Skanderborg were used as construction materials. Many of the original structures survived the project and were incorporated into the new buildings, amongst these the old castle chapel. In the 12th-16th centuries, Skanderborg Castle functioned as the traditional hunting retreat of the Danish kings.

Demolition

In the years of 1717–22, King

Frederik IV Frederick IV (Danish: ''Frederik''; 11 October 1671 – 12 October 1730) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his wife Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel. Early life ...

began demolishing the old original medieval structures and replaced the former fortifications with

terraced gardens In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. A raised terrace keeps a house dry and provides a transition between the hardscape and the softscape. History ;Persia Since a level si ...

. Only the bell tower of the still existing castle church remained. In turn however, Skanderborg Castle saw a decline in popularity and attention by the royal family, and in 1767, the castle with associated gardens was sold at auction.

Commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

Hans Lauritzen bought the royal property for the sum of 3004 Rigsdaler, while the castle church with furnishings and bells was granted to the town of Skanderborg. In April 1768, the demolishing of Skanderborg Castle began and nothing remains of it today, except the old castle church.

Present buildings and structures

The town of Skanderborg has a total of three churches, and Skanderborg Castle Church used to be part of the former Skanderborg Castle. The cultural centre of Kulturhuset, located in Byparken (the city park) in the center of Skanderborg, was designed by native architectural firm Kjær & Richter and built in 1998. It houses the former library of the town, theatre and concert halls, a cinema, a three-story foyer with changing exhibitions and a café. Surrounding the buildings, are a Greek theatre with 500 seats, a playground and a

beach volley Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

field, amongst other facilities, as the city park itself is perceived as part of the cultural centre. The square of Højvangens Torv, in the northeastern parts of the town, is the center of the educational

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

known as Campus Højvangen. The campus is the site of educational institutions such as a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

, a business college (an HHX institution), technical college (an HTX institution under Aarhus Tech), an adult educational centre, Skanderborg Gymnasium etc., situated in a sculpture park. The gymnasium was designed by architectural firm Friis & Moltke and built in 1973. The Village of Sølund is an accommodation facility and home for people with extensive physical and mental handicaps. It is located within the park of Skanderborg Dyrehave near the pond of Lillesø, close to town. The main buildings were erected in 1935 and designed by architectural firm

C. F. Møller Architects Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, internationally also known as C. F. Møller Architects, is an architectural firm based in Århus, Denmark. Founded in 1924 by C. F. Møller, it is today the largest architectural firm in Denmark based on number of em ...

. Skanderborg Museum has their headquarters at Adelgade 5, a former

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

(Danish: ''foged'') house from the mid 18th century. The buildings are located in the oldest parts of the town, next to the pond of Lillesø. The Museum functions as an umbrella organisation for several museums in and around the town of Skanderborg, including Museet på Adelgade, Øm Kloster Museum, Museet på Gammel Rye Mølle, Ferskvandsmuseet and Skanderborg Bunkerne. Skanderborg Bunkerne is a World War II museum, fitted out in the abandoned German bunkers in Skanderborg Dyrehave. The German Luftwaffe built their Danish headquarters here and one of the bunkers later found use as the

command centre A command center (often called a war room) is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses. ...

for the civil defence agency during the

cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era. Øm Kloster Museum is located outside the town, at the old ruins of

on the northern brink of lake

. Skanderborg Museum is the responsible organisation for archaeology and archiving of the cultural history within the municipality.

Nature

The deer park

In the southern part of the town is the deer park of Skanderborg Dyrehave, located within Skanderborg Forest. The deer park was established around 1580 by King Frederik II to facilitate his interest in hunting. The park area was fenced and roe deer, red deer, wild boars and

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s were released. Pheasants,

gray partridge The grey partridge (''Perdix perdix''), also known as the gray-legged partridge, English partridge, Hungarian partridge, or hun, is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. The scientific name i ...

and turkeys were raised and pools and fishing ponds were dug.

The lake

Skanderborg Sø (English: ''Skanderborg Lake'') was created during the last ice age and formed from a melting block of ice left behind; a so-called kettle hole. The lake has an irregular shape divided into two larger lake-areas known as Hylke and Store Sø respectively, with a total surface area of 8.6 square kilometers. The lake has an average depth of 8 meters and up to 18.8 meters at the deepest spot. It holds approximately 49.3 million cubic meters of freshwater 23.5 meters above sea level and empties into

, by the short stream of Tåning Å in the west. There are a number of small isles in the lake; Kalvø, Æbelø, Sct. Thomas and Sct. Helene.

Transportation

Rail

Skanderborg is served by Skanderborg railway station. It is located on the Fredericia-Aarhus and Skanderborg-Skjern railway lines and offers direct InterCity services to Copenhagen,

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

and Frederikshavn and regional train services to

, Fredericia,

Herning Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)Silkeborg and Skjern.

Events

Since 1980, the

Skanderborg Festival Smukfest (also known as the Skanderborg Festival) is an annual music festival, held during the second weekend of August in Denmark. Its location, in a beech forest in the vicinity of Skanderborg, has given rise to the slogan "Denmarks' Most Beautif ...

, an annual

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

, has been held in August in Skanderborg Dyrehave. Every summer in June, Skanderborg also hosts a musical festival targeted specifically for people suffering from arrested development. Organised by the institution of Sølund, it claims to be the largest festival in the world of its kind.

Notable people from Skanderborg

Public service and public thinking

Morten Børup Morten Børup (1446–1526) was a Danish educator, cathedral cantor and Latin poet. Early life and education Born in Skanderborg, he first worked as a farm labourer, suffering considerable abuse. When he was 27 he fled to Aarhus, where he manage ...

(1446 in Skanderborg – 1526) an educator, cathedral cantor and Latin poet. * Anne of Denmark (1574 in Skanderborg Castle – 1619 in Hampton Court Palace) daughter of King

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1559 until his death. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Frederick began his personal rule of Denmark-Norway at the age of ...

and Queen consort by marriage to King James VI and I. *

Carl Andreas Koefoed Carl Andreas Koefoed (known in Russian as , ''Andrey Andreyevich Kofod''; 16 October 1855, Skanderborg, Denmark – 7 February 1948, Copenhagen) was a Danish agronomist active in the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. He was the brother o ...

(1855 in Skanderborg – 1948) an agronomist active in Russia * C. F. Møller (1898 in Skanderborg – 1988) an architect and academic at

Aarhus School of Architecture The Aarhus School of Architecture (Arkitektskolen Aarhus) was founded in 1965 in Aarhus, Denmark. Along with the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen, it is responsible for the education of architects in Denmar ...

Peder Tuborgh Peder Tuborgh (born 22 April 1963), also referred to as Peder Tuborgh, is the Chief Executive of the partly Danish multi-national dairy processing company Arla Foods. Early life He was born in Skanderborg. He grew up in Rynkeby in the Faaborg-Midt ...

(born 1963 in Skanderborg) the Chief Executive of Arla Foods.

The arts

Alma Fahlstrøm Alma Isabella Fahlstrøm (née Bosse; 23 November 1863 – 29 May 1946) was a well known Norwegian stage actress, director and theatre manager. Alma Isabella Bosse was born in Skanderborg, Denmark. She was the daughter of Johan Heinrich Boss ...

(1863 in Skanderborg – 1946) a Norwegian stage actress and theatre manager * Holger Blom (Danish Wiki) (1905 in Skanderborg - 1965), fashion designer. *

Ole Lund Kirkegaard Ole Lund Kirkegaard (29 July 1940, in Aarhus – 24 March 1979) was a Danish writer of children's and youth literature, as well as a teacher. He mainly wrote about the interactions between adults and children. The main character in his books is us ...

(1940—1979) a Danish a teacher and writer of children's and youth literature; grew up in Skanderborg, the home of many of his characters * Kirsten Lehfeldt, (Danish Wiki) (born Skanderborg 1952) award-winning actress, including the Robert Award and

Bodil Award The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are given ...

Christina Åstrand Christina Åstrand (born 6 June 1969) is a Danish violinist. When she was just 22, she became leader of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, a position she still holds today. Biography Born on 6 June 1969 in Skanderborg, Åstrand was the da ...

(born Skanderborg, 1969) a Danish violinist, became leader of the

Danish National Symphony Orchestra The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Danish: ''DR Symfoniorkestret''; English abbreviation "DNSO"), is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). The DRSO is based at th ...

aged 22 * Camille Jones (born 1973 in Skanderborg) a Danish pop singer, songwriter and record producer * Johannes Torpe (born 1973 in Skanderborg) a Danish designer, musician, producer and former creative director of Bang & Olufsen * Jøden (born 1974 in Skanderborg) stage name of ''Michael Mühlebach Christiansen'', a rapper *

Peter Sommer Peter Sommer Christensen (born 28 August 1974 in Skanderborg) is a Danish singer and songwriter. His lyrics are often characterized by interesting puns and word plays. Besides his solo career, he was in the duo Superjeg with Carsten Valentin L ...

(born 1974 in Skanderborg) a Danish singer and songwriter *

Monika Pedersen Monika Pedersen (21 December 1978) is a Danish singer of the band Sinphonia and former vocalist of "The World State" and the Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia, replacing Henriette Bordvik. She also contributed guest vocals to Mercenary, Effek ...

(born 1978 in Skanderborg) a Danish singer with ''Sinphonia'' and the Norwegian gothic metal band Sirenia * Johanne Louise Schmidt (born 1983 in Skanderborg) a Danish stage and film actress IMDb Database
retrieved 31 May 2020

Sport

* Otto Wegener (1881 in Skanderborg – 1938) a Danish sports shooter, competed at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

Jens Jørn Mortensen Jens Jørn Mortensen (23 February 1927 – 25 May 2023) was a Danish weightlifter. He competed in the men's middle heavyweight event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He died in Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until ...

(born 1927 in Skanderborg) a weightlifter, competed at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Willy Skibby Willy Skibby (born 20 February 1942) is a Danish former cyclist. Skibby was born in Copenhagen and his profession was a car mechanic. His sporting career began with D:C:R: Copenhagen. He competed in the individual road race event at the 1976 ...

(born 1942 in Skanderborg) a former cyclist, competed in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Amanda Sørensen Amanda Sørensen (born 18 November 1985) is a retired Danish amateur BMX cyclist. Having started her sporting career at the age of seven and been admitted to the Danish national cycling team since 2002, Sorensen has mounted numerous Nordic regio ...

(born 1985 in Skanderborg) a retired amateur BMX cyclist, competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

* Hanne Skak Jensen (born 1986 in Skanderborg) a Danish tennis player, currently Danish No. 2

Literature

* Peter Abildgaard: ''Orla Frøsnapper boede da i Skanderborg'' * Jens Andersen: ''Ole Lund Kirkegaard: en livshistorie''

References

Twin tower – twin cities

* Komádi, Hungary

Sources

Brian Patrick McGuire Brian Patrick McGuire (born 2 November 1946, in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American–Danish professor emeritus of history, lecturer and author. Family He is the son of sports journalist and publicity director of the San Francisco 49ers, Dan Fran ...

:
Conflict and Continuity at Øm Abbey
', Museum Tusculanum Press, 1976.
Skanderborg Castle Chapel
The National Museum of Denmark. Danish text with English summary available (p. 6263).
Kalvø Monastery
The National Museum of Denmark.
Ring Abbey
The National Museum of Denmark.

External links

Denmarks Cultural Heritage association (J. Kock 1999). A map of the Castle as it were in 1668.
Official municipality website

Official website of NySkanderborg
{{Authority control Skanderborg Municipality Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Central Denmark Region Municipal seats of the Central Denmark Region Prehistoric sites in Denmark 12th-century establishments in Denmark Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Benedictine nunneries in Denmark 18th-century disestablishments in Denmark Former castles in Denmark