Vordingborg () is an old ferry town in

Vordingborg Municipality Vordingborg () is a municipality ('' kommune'') in the Sjælland Region, which is on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in south Denmark. It was established in 2007. The municipality covers an area of 621 km2. It ha ...

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

with around 18,000 inhabitants. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three satellite towns (former villages) have emerged around the town. Within the ring of estates, the town has 12,000 inhabitants, and 17,868 inhabitants when including the three satellite towns of Ørslev, Nyråd, and Stensved, situated 1, 3 and 5 kilometres, respectively, from the town of Vordingborg. Vordingborg Municipality (Kommune) has a population of 45,352. Long term head coach of the

Danish national football team The Denmark men's national football team ( da, Danmarks herre-fodboldlandshold or ''herrelandsholdet'') represents Denmark in men's international football competitions. It is controlled by the Danish Football Association (DBU), the governing bo ...

Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...

, was born in Vordingborg.

History

On 1 January 2007 the old Vordingborg municipality was, as the result of ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with

Langebæk Langebæk () is a town with a population of 248 (1 January 2022),BY3: Population 1. January, by urb ...

, Møn, and

Præstø Præstø () is a town with a population of 3,857 (1 January 2022) in Vordingborg Municipality in Region Sjælland on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland''). The islands of '' Maderne'', ''Storeholm'', and ''Lilleholm'' are part ...

municipalities to form an enlarged Vordingborg municipality.

Geography

Vordingborg is situated 37 km from

Nykøbing Falster Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a southern Danish city, seat of the Guldborgsund ''kommune''. It belongs to Region Sjælland. The city lies on Falster, connected by the Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund (''Guld ...

, roughly 50 km from

Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Sjælland region. It is the southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost point of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. The town ...

, and roughly 100 km from

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 ...

and

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

. The town is situated on the island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

and is linked to the island of Falster with

Farø Bridges The Farø Bridges ( da, Farøbroerne, ) are two road bridges that connect the islands of Falster and Zealand in Denmark by way of the small island of Farø which is approximately mid-way across the Storstrømmen sound. A smaller bridge from Far ...

and

Storstrøm Bridge The Storstrøm Bridge ( da, Storstrømsbroen, ) is a road and railway arch bridge that crosses Storstrømmen between the islands of Falster and Masnedø in Denmark. Together with Masnedsund Bridge it connects Falster and Zealand (''Sjælland''). ...

Economy

Vordingborg Municipality is home to 9,500 jobs. Companies headquartered in Vordingborg include Vordingborg Køkkener, a kitchen manufacturer. Udbetaling Danmark, a public institution under ARP, has one of its five regional centres in the town.

Attractions

The ruins of

Vordingborg Castle The Vordingborg Castle ruins (''Vordingborg Slotsruin'') are located in the town of Vordingborg, Denmark and are the town's most famous attraction. History The castle was built in 1175 by King Valdemar I of Denmark as a defensive fortress, and ...

, the old royal castle which was built around 1364, is the town's most famous attraction. The only fully remaining part of the castle, the 26 meter tall Goose Tower (''Gåsetårnet''), is the symbol of the city. It is the largest of King Valdemar Atterdag's nine main castle towers. The name comes from the golden goose perched on top of the tower's spire. Legend has it that Valdemar Atterdag used the symbol to taunt the Hanseatic League. The current goose was put there in 1871. It is not certain what was on top of the tower before 1871 and maybe it was just a

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

made of gold. The tower was transferred into the national trust on 24 December 1808 and is thus the first protected historic monument in Denmark. A historic garden is also located on the site of the ruin. Vordingborg is the home of the South Zealand Museum (''Sydsjællands Museum''). The city holds an annual festival, Vordingborg Fest Week (''Vordingborg Festuge'') in July. The Vordingborg Transmitter is one of the tallest towers in Denmark. The

Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structur ...

operates a barracks facility on the edge of town, known as '' Vordingborg Kaserne''.

Notable people

Anne Lykke Anne Lykke (30 April 1595 – 1641) was a Danish noblewoman and royal mistress of Christian, Prince Elect of Denmark. Early life Anne Henriksdatter Lykke was born into one of Denmark's more prosperous noble families. She was the daughter of the n ...

(1595 in Vordingborg Castle – 1641) a Danish noblewoman and royal mistress of

Christian, Prince Elect of Denmark Christian (10 April 16032 June 1647) was Prince-Elect of Denmark since 1610 and Heir Apparent to the Throne of the Kingdom of Norway since 1603. Dying in 1647, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Prince Frederik. Biography Early life ...

* Jacob Baden (1735 in Vordingborg – 1804) a philologist, pedagogue, critic and academic *

Peter Andreas Heiberg Peter Andreas Heiberg (16 November 1758 – 30 April 1841) was a Danish-Norwegian author and philologist. He was born in Vordingborg, Denmark-Norway. The Heiberg ancestry can be traced back to Norway, and has produced a long line of priests, he ...

(1758 in Vordingborg - 1841) a Danish author and philologist * Frederik Christian Kielsen (1774-1850) a Danish schoolmaster, published copiously illustrated books on natural history; he lectured at the Latin School in Vordingborg from 1819 to 1833 *

N. F. S. Grundtvig Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (; 8 September 1783 – 2 September 1872), most often referred to as N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher and politician. He was one of the most influential pe ...

(1783 in Udby near Vordingborg – 1872) a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian and politician *

Martin Hammerich Martin Johannes Hammerich (4 December 1811 – 20 September 1881) was a Danish art historian, educator, author and translator. He was part of the National Liberal movement and a member of the 1848 Danish Constituent Assembly. He was headmaster of ...

(1811 - 1881 in Iselingen) an art historian, educator, author and translator. *

Meïr Aron Goldschmidt Meïr Aron Goldschmidt (October 26, 1819 – August 15, 1887) was a Danish publisher, journalist and novelist. He was the founding editor of the satirical and political magazine ''Corsaren''. Biography Goldschmidt was born in Vordingborg, ...

(1819 in Vordingborg – 1887) a publisher, journalist and novelist The Encyclopedia Americana, Goldschmidt, Meier Aaron
retrieved 14 June 2020 * Carl Lange (1834 in Vordingborg – 1900) a physician, worked on neurology, psychiatry and psychology * Julius Lange (1838 in Vordingborg – 1896) a Danish art historian and critic *

Astrid Stampe Feddersen Astrid Stampe Feddersen, usually known as Astrid Stampe, (1852–1930) was a Danish women's rights activist and author alongside her sister Rigmor Stampe Bendix. Stampe joined the women's movement early on and from 1883 to 1887, she was on the bo ...

(1852 in

Christinelund Christinelund, originally a farm under Nysø Manor, is located a few kilometres east of central Præstø, on the island of Zealand's Jungshoved peninsula, in Vordingborg Municipality in southeastern Denmark. It takes its name from the Salon (gathe ...

– 1930) a Danish women's rights activist *

Jacob Ellehammer Jacob Christian Hansen-Ellehammer (14 June 1871 – 20 May 1946) was a Danish watchmaker and inventor born in Bakkebølle, Denmark. He is remembered chiefly for his contributions to powered flight. Following the end of his apprenticeship as a ...

(1871 in Bakkebølle – 1946) a Danish watchmaker, inventor and contributor to powered flight *

Johannes Friis-Skotte Johannes Frederik Nicolai Friis-Skotte (1 December 1874 in Vordingborg – 15 December 1946 in Frederiksberg) was a Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark ...

(1874 in Vordingborg – 1946) a Danish politician and minister * Jesper Ewald (1893 in Vordingborg – 1969 in Copenhagen) an author, journalist and translator * Jesper Juul (born 1948 in Vordingborg) a family therapist and author on parenting *

Yenz Leonhardt Jens Arnsted (born 4 July 1961), more commonly known as Yenz Leonhardt or Yenz Cheyenne, is a Danish heavy metal musician. He has performed as a vocalist, guitarist and bassist throughout his career, focusing on the latter in recent years. Bio ...

(born 1961 in Vordingborg) a heavy metal musician * Anders

Trentemøller Anders Trentemøller (; born 16 October 1972) is a Danish indie/electronic music composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. History Trentemøller started music in the late 1990s with different indie rock projects. ...

(born 1974 in Vordingborg) an electronic music producer and multi-instrumentalist Morten Olsen 2012

Sport

Vagn Ingerslev Vagn Ingerslev (23 March 1885 – 28 December 1952) was a Danish tennis player. He competed in two events at the 1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olymp ...

(1885 in Vordingborg – 1952) a tennis player, competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics *

(born 1949) former footballer with 531 club caps and 102 for

with whom he was head coach from 2000 until 2015 *

Birger Pedersen Birger Lindberg Pedersen, known as Birger Pedersen, (born 29 June 1950) is a Danish former association footballer in the midfielder position, who played 183 games and scored 41 goals for Danish club Hvidovre IF. He played 14 matches for the Den ...

(born 1950 in Vordingborg) a Danish former footballer, 14 caps for

Steven Lustü Steven Lustü (born 13 April 1971) is a Danish former football player. He played as a central defender. He is currently the head coach of Viborg FF U17. From 2000 to 2005, Steven Lustü played nine games for the Danish national team. Biography ...

(born 1971 in Vordingborg) a Danish former footballer with 9 caps for

Twin towns

Vordingborg is twinned with: *

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specific ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

- since 1994.

References

External links

Official site of Vordingborg
{{Coord, 55.00000, N, 11.90000, E, region:DK-035_type:city(25500), display=title Municipal seats of Region Zealand Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in Region Zealand Vordingborg Municipality