Middelfart is a town in central

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 a population of 16,277 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality on the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

( da, Fyn).

Etymology

The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in Valdemar's Census Book in 1231, consists of the old Danish word ''mæthal'' meaning 'middle' and ''far'' meaning 'way'. This name originally referred to the strait ''Snævringen'' ('the narrowing'), which is the narrowest part of the

Little Belt The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the North Sea and Atla ...

, and was subsequently applied to the settlement as well.

History

It is not known when the town was established but it certainly owes its existence to its location at the narrowest point across the

. The town was granted its first privileges at the end of the 13th century at a time when fishing played an important role in addition to its ferry link to Snoghøj in Jutland. From the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the town appears to have specialized in catching

harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

s. In the 16th century cattle export was also significant. Den_Gamle_Lillebæltsbro

After the Swedish Wars in the 17th century the town suffered from losing its foreign export privileges and from competition from

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

on the other side of the belt, which not only had a ferry link to

Strib :''Strib is also the nickname of the Minneapolis Star Tribune'' Strib is a town in Region of Southern Denmark, Denmark, with a population of 4,872 (1 January 2022).Little Belt Bridge The Little Belt Bridge ( da, Lillebæltsbroen), also known as the Old Little Belt Bridge ( da, Den gamle Lillebæltsbro), is a truss bridge over the Little Belt strait in Denmark. It spans from Snoghøj on the Jutland side to Middelfart on Fun ...

was completed in 1935 Middelfart became an important hub for traffic between Jutland and Funen. The population grew from 2,345 in 1880 to 11,056 in 1950 but in the second half of the 20th century the rate of growth declined. In 1970 a motorway bridge to Jutland was opened and in 2007 Middelfart became the seat of an expanded municipality, which included the former communes of Ejby and

Nørre Aaby Nørre Aaby is a town in central Denmark, located in Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen. Until ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007) it was the site of the municipal council of the now former Nørre Aaby Municip ...

Economy and transport

Middelfart Municipality had a population of 37,685 in January 2014. From the

until the end of the 19th century the local fishermen were also whale hunters in winter. The only whale common in Danish waters is the

(''Phocoena phocaena''). The whale hunters linked their boats across the rather narrow

and by beating the sea with sticks and branches they directed the migrating porpoises to low water areas where they could be slaughtered. As the whale blubber was used for lamps, indoors and outdoors, the arrival of electricity made whale hunting uneconomical. In the winter of 1854–55, 1742 whales were caught, but a normal winter's catch would be half that or even less. In the 20th century the hunt was resumed during the two world wars. Two memorial stones now stand where the hunters landed the whales and where blubber was prepared. Middelfart is served by the passenger rail service between

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

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. ''Gammel Havn'' (Old Harbour) dates from the 1830s. At the beginning of the 20th century it was extended and deepened to the east.

Landmarks

Middelfart Church, dedicated to St Nicholas, is located close to the harbour at the end of Algade. Built in several stages, it has a Late Romanesque

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. Ov ...

, a tower first constructed in the 14th century and a nave with aisles from the late 15th century. The richly carved altarpiece is from 1650. Henner Friiser Hus, a half-timbered house on Brogade dating from around 1575, is now part of Middelfart Museum and contains exhibitions related to the history of the town. Restoration work on the building was completed in March 2014. The ''Kulturøen'' (literally, "Culture Island") Cultural Centre contains the public library, a cinema, a restaurant, a café and the tourist office.

Sport

Middelfart is home to football team Middelfart G&BK. Middelfart played host to the 1998 UCI World Cyclocross championships.

Notable people

Frederik Julius Bech Frederik Julius Bech (August 4, 1758 – December 20, 1822) was a Danish-Norwegian theologian and politician. He took part in the Meeting of Notables in Eidsvoll on February 16, 1814, and he served as the bishop of the Diocese of Oslo from 1805 to ...

(1758 in Middelfart – 1822) was a Danish-Norwegian theologian and politician *

Frida Schmidt Frida Frederikke Caroline Christiane Schmidt (1849–1934) was a Danish teacher, suffragist and a pioneering activist for the Danish Women's Society on the island of Funen. She helped to establish the Odense branches of both the Women's Suffrag ...

(1849 in Middelfart – 1934) a Danish teacher, suffragist and a pioneering activist for the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Pea ...

Christian Schrøder Christian Schrøder (13 July 1869 – 10 December 1940) was a Danish film actor, screenwriter and director. He was also a captain in the reserve. He appeared in 30 films between 1912 and 1940, mostly farce and comedy. He was born in Midde ...

(1869 in Middelfart – 1940) a film actor, screenwriter and director *

John Wittig John Wittig (22 October 1921 – 23 October 1987) was a Danish film actor. He appeared in 30 films between 1950 and 1987. He was born and died in Denmark. Filmography References External links * * 1921 births 1987 deaths Danish ...

(1921 in Middelfart – 1987) a Danish film actor IMDb Database
Retrieved 8 May 2020 *

Poul Ove Jensen Poul Ove Jensen (born 10 March 1937) is a Danish architect. He is the director of the bridge department at Dissing+Weitling. He was responsible for the design of over 200 bridges in 30 countries. Biography Poul Ove Jensen was born on 10 March 1937 ...

(born 1937 in Kauslunde) a Danish architect, particularly of bridges *

Pernille Weiss Pernille Weiss (born 12 March 1968) is a Danish politician, and businesswoman who was elected as a Conservative People's Party (part of the EPP Group) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the 2019 European parliamentary election in Denma ...

(born 1968 in Gamborg, Middelfart) a Danish politician, and businesswoman; MEP and CEO of Archimed * Kristian Jensen (born 1971 in Middelfart) is a Danish politician and government Minister * Lonnie Kjer (born 1972 in Middelfart) a Danish singer, represented Denmark in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1990 The Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was the 35th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia, following the country's victory at the with the song " Rock Me" by Riva. It was the only time Yugoslavia ...

* Michael Eggert (born 1975 in Middelfart) an entrepreneur in the rental market * Else Schøtt (1895–1989), opera singer

Sport

Jan O. Pedersen Jan Osvald Pedersen (born 9 November 1962 in Middelfart, Denmark) is a former Speedway rider who became Speedway World Champion in 1991 after finishing runner-up in 1986 and in third place in 1988 behind fellow Danes Erik ...

(born 1962 in Middelfart) former speedway rider, 1991 World Champion * Søren Madsen (born 1976 in Middelfart) rower, bronze medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

* Rasmus Quist Hansen (born 1980 in Middelfart), a rower, gold and bronze Olympic medallist *

Christian Eriksen Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. He is renowned for his vision, technique, passing, and fre ...

(born 1992 in Middelfart) a footballer, 43 caps with Manchester United and 95 caps for

, the first Danish player to score 50 Premier League goals *

Rasmus Falk Rasmus Falk Jensen (born 15 January 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Copenhagen in the Danish Superliga. Club career Falk started his career at Middelfart G&BK and moved to Odense Boldklub (OB) alongside ...

(born 1992 in Middelfart) a footballer, with 260 club caps

Twin towns – sister cities

Middelfart is twinned with: *

Oskarshamn Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010. History Etymology Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chang ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Middelfart municipality
{{Authority control Municipal seats of the Region of Southern Denmark Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Middelfart Municipality Populated places in Funen