Virum is a mostly residential, suburban neighbourhood in
Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality
Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality (occasionally spelled Lyngby-Tårbæk) is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in the Capital Region of Denmark near Copenhagen on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjælland''). It is part of the ...
, located on both sides of
Lyngby Kongevej
Secondary route 201 (Danish language, Danish: Sekundærrute 201) is a numbered road in North Zealand to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark, consisting of Lyngby Omfartsvej, a bypass (road), motorway bypass avoiding Lyngby Hovedgade (Lyngby Main Stree ...
, approximately 15 km north of central
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 ...
,
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
...
. The neighbourhood is bordered by
Lake Furesø to the west,
Holte
Holte is a suburban district in Rudersdal Municipality on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The local town centre is centred on Holte station and is surrounded by extensive areas of single-family, detached homes as well as several ...
in
Rudersdal Municipality to the north,
Brede to the east and
Kongens Lyngby
Kongens Lyngby (, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping street and the site of ...
and
Sorgenfri
Sorgenfri (lit. "free of sorrow", like Sans Souci) is a neighbourhood in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in Greater Copenhagen lying just north of Kongens Lyngby.
The neighbourhood is enclosed between the landmarks of a forest with Lyngby Åmose, M ...
to the south.
History
The village of Virum is first mentioned in a papal letter from 1186 but is no doubt considerably older. The name "an open place which is easy to defend" ('' vigi'': "easily defendable place" and -rum: open place). In the letter, Pope Clement III gives the Virum as well as many other villages in the area tio to
Bishop Absalon. Absalon soon ceded the villages to the
Bishopric of Roskilde.
The Bishop of Roskilde constructed the small castle Hjortholm at the site in circa 1250. The castle was destroyed during the
Count's Feud
The Count's Feud ( da, Grevens Fejde), also called the Count's War, was a war of succession that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. In the international context, it was part of the European wars of relig ...
in 1535.
Frederick III took over the estate in 1668. He renamed it
Frederiksdal
Narsarmijit, formerly Narsaq Kujalleq and Frederiksdal, is a settlement in southern Greenland. It is located in the Kujalleq municipality near Cape Thorvaldsen. Its population was 66 in 2020. There has been a slow but steady pattern of emigration ...
and constructed a small hunting lodge at the site.
The village of Virum was located where Virumgade is today. It belonged to the parish of Lyngby. The land was divided into three areas called "Geelsvang", "Mellemvang" and "Høftevang" which were subdivided into fields and crops were rotated in accordance with the
three-field system
The three-field system is a regime of crop rotation in which a field is planted with one set of crops one year, a different set in the second year, and left fallow in the third year. A set of crops is ''rotated'' from one field to another. The tec ...
. The marchy land down towards Furesøen was grazed by livestock. In 1682, it consisted of 13 farms, three houses with land and 14 houses without land.
The modern suburb
The modern suburb was planned in connection with the conversion of the
North Line into an
S-train
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...
line.
Virum station opened in 1936. The ambition was to create a healthy, well-functioning suburb with a population the size of a medium large Danish provincial town. The centre of the new suburb was Virum Torv, a mixed-use development centred on a roundabout next to the station. It contained retail space, service functions and apartments. Its northeastern corner was completed in 1939, its southeastern corner in 1943 and its southwestern corner less than a year later. A cinema, Virum Bio, was from the beginning located in the building on the southeastern corner. The same building also contained an
Irma supermarket.
Sights
Frederiksdal Castle is located in Virum. Its main building was built from 1744–45 and was used as a summer residence for Foreign Affairs, Privy Councilor Johan Sigismund Schulin. The Schulin Family still owns the estate.
Transport
Virum station is located on the
Hillerød radial of the
S-train
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...
network and is served by the
B trains. Brede Station in the eastern outskirts of Virum is served by the
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 201 ...
service on the
Nærum Line
Nærumbanen is a short railway line in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen which serves mainly local neighborhoods in Kongens Lyngby in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality and Nærum in Rudersdal municipality. It is currently operated by the railway c ...
between
Jægersborg
Jægersborg is a suburban neighbourhood in Gentofte Municipality, some 12 km north of central Copenhagen, Denmark.
History
The whole area was from at least 1401 a royal estate known as Ibstrup (the earliest sources refer to it as Jepstor ...
in the south and
Nærum
Nærum () is a suburban district in Rudersdal Municipality in the north outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Quartered by the Helsingør Motorway running north–south and Skodsborgvej running east–west, Nærum is bounded by Jægersborg Hegn on ...
to the north.
Notable residents
*
Jan Popiel
Jan Popiel (born October 9, 1947) is a Danish-Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 296 games in the World Hockey Association. He played for the Chicago Cougars, Denver Spurs, Houston Aeros and Phoenix Roadrunners. He is t ...
(born 1947), ice hockey player
*
Kirsten Ortwed
Kirsten Møller Ortwed (born 28 May 1948) is a Danish artist, now based in Cologne, Germany. She is noted for her striking sculptures in public spaces and her sometimes surprising combinations of traditional and unconventional materials.
Early li ...
(born 1948), artist and sculptor
*
Marianne Halfdan-Nielsen (born 1956), sailor
*
Klaus Berggreen
Klaus Berggreen (born 3 February 1958) is a Danish former footballer who played as a midfielder, most prominently for Italian clubs Pisa and A.S. Roma. He played 46 matches and scored five goals for the Danish national team, and he represented ...
(born 1958), footballer
*
John Helt (born 1959), footballer
*
Stine Bosse (born 1960), businesswoman
*
Morten Wedendahl (born 1961), composer
*
Torsten Stiig Jansen (born 1963), journalist and diplomat
*
Henrik Sass Larsen
Henrik Sass Larsen (born 29 May 1966 in Virum) is a Danish politician. He is a former member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats political party. He sat in parliament from 2000 to 2019. He was the Danish Minister of Business Affairs and Gr ...
(born 1966), former MF and minister
*
Morten Egeblad Christoffersen (born 1968), windsurfer
*
Berit Christoffersen
Berit Christoffersen (born 3 May 1973, in Virum) is a Danish rower. Along with Lene Andersson she finished 5th in the women's lightweight double sculls at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of th ...
(born 1973), rower
*
Jakob Piil
Jakob Storm Piil (born 9 March 1973) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, where he later lived many years in Odense. He is an all-round rider, known for his aggressive style of riding, whose speciality is to pick the right breakaway ...
(born 1973, bicycle racer
*
Sofia Osmani (born 1979), politician and mayor
*
Mikkel Beckmann (born 1983), footballer
*
Thomas Kristensen
Thomas Fauerskov Kristensen (born 17 April 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently working as a transition coach at Lyngby BK and as an assistant coach for the Danish U-18 national team.
Kri ...
(born 1983), footballer
*
Mikkel Basse
Mikkel Fossum Basse (born 31 August 1996) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish 1st Division club Fremad Amager.
Career FC Helsingør
Before joining FC Helsingør, Basse spent his youth career with Lyngby Boldkl ...
(born 1996), footballer
Gallery
Image:Frederiksdal (Virum).jpg, Frederiksdal Castle
Image:Hjortholm_voldsted.jpg, The remains of the ramparts of Hjortholm castle
Image:Virum Kirke 2007.jpg, Virum church
File:DK Lyngby-Taarbæk Virum IMG 5687.jpg, Virum village
References
External links
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in the Capital Region of Denmark
Copenhagen metropolitan area
Neighbourhoods in Denmark
Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality