Hjørring () is a town on the island of

Vendsyssel-Thy The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden'') is the northernmost part of continental Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts of Ve ...

at the top of the

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

peninsula in northern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. It is the main town and the administrative seat of

Hjørring Municipality Hjørring Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region on the west coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , making it ...

in the

North Jutland Region The North Jutland Region (), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an Regions of Denmark, administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, 2007 Danish municipal refor ...

. The population is 25,908 (according to an official census carried on 1 January 2025).BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density
The Mobile Statbank from

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark () is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing, reporting to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating statistics on the Danish society ...

It is also one of Denmark's oldest towns, having celebrated its 750th anniversary as a market town in 1993. Hjørring is centrally located in a sparsely populated area and serves as an urban center for large parts of especially the western and central

Vendsyssel Vendsyssel () is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island which also comprises the areas Hanherred and Thy. Vendsy ...

History

Middle Ages

Although archaeological discoveries show that the area was already populated 10,000 years ago, it cannot be determined exactly when an actual urban community arose. However, the town is undoubtedly Vendsyssel's oldest

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

, and has been significant throughout the

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

. Around 1147–1150, coins were minted in the town. A found

bracteate A bracteate (from the Latin ''bractea'', a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold medal worn as jewelry that was produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age (including the Ven ...

bears the inscription ''Heringa'', which is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name for Hjørring. Throughout the Middle Ages, the

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

(assembly) for the

syssel A syssel is a historical type of country subdivision in Denmark and elsewhere in Scandinavia. The mediaeval Danish ''sysler'' may be compared to the '' fylker'' of Norway, the '' landskap'' of Sweden and Finland, the shires of England and Scotland, ...

met in Hjørring. The town also became a meeting place for the clergy, and there are many indications that the bishop of Vendsyssel resided in the town at least in the 12th century. Already in the early Middle Ages, three churches were established in the town: Saint Hans', Saint Olaf's and Saint Catherine's. The oldest known

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

granting the city status as a

were issued by King

Eric IV of Denmark Eric IV ( – 10 August 1250), also known as Eric Ploughpenny or Eric Plowpenny (), was King of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. His reign was marked by conflict and civil wars against his brothers. Early life Eric was the son of Val ...

on 31 March 1243. The status was confirmed by new chartes issued on 19 April 1484, 30 October 1505 and 23 September 1514. The charter of 1505 gives an impression of the extent of the city: the medieval urban settlement was still located around the three churches at the top of the hill on which central Hjørring lies. The sysselting and assemblies of the clergy have at periods brought many people to the town and thus provided trade to the town's merchants and artisans.

Early modern period

The 16th century was a period of decline for Hjørring. The activities of the Sysselting ceased sometime in the 1520s. Also the

Count's Feud The Count's Feud (), sometimes referred to as the Count's War, was a Danish war of succession occurring from 1534 to 1536, which gave rise to the Reformation in Denmark. In the broader international context, it was a part of the European wars of ...

, a

war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...

that raged in Denmark from 1534 to 1536 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark-Norway became expensive for Hjørring, as it forced the citizens to pay heavy ransoms and compensations. As a consequence of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

the nearby rich monasteries of

Børglum Abbey Børglum Abbey was an important Premonstratensian abbey of medieval Denmark, located in Børglum parish, in the commune of Hjørring, approximately five kilometers east of Løkken in north central Jutland (Region Nordjylland) from the 12th cent ...

and Vrejlev Priory disappeared which undoubtedly had business relations with the town. A comparison of

tax levies A tax levy under United States federal law is an administrative action by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under statutory authority, generally without going to court, to seize property to satisfy a tax liability. The levy "includes the power ...

from the towns in Vendsyssel shows that both

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

and

Sæby Sæby () is a town and seaport located on the east coast of the historical region of Vendsyssel on the North Jutlandic Island in northern Denmark. The town is located in Frederikshavn municipality in Region Nordjylland. It has a population of 8,9 ...

in this period were richer and larger than Hjørring. In 1548–53, Hjørring was once again the bishop's residence, and in 1549, the town had its own Latin school. Around 1570, a fierce fire probably ravaged the city. In 1602 the town was hit by the plague, and during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, imperial troops were housed in the town in 1627–29. In 1644, during the

Torstenson War The Torstenson War was fought between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645. The name derives from Swedish general Lennart Torstenson. Denmark-Norway had withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War in the 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. After its vic ...

, the city was occupied by Swedish troops, and after the war, Danish soldiers were housed. In 1647 another violent fire broke out, destroying 17 farms, and in 1657–58, during the

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

, the town was again occupied by enemy troops, who starved the population through discharges and lodging. A major fire burned down much of the town in 1819.

Industrialization

Economic growth really took off around 1850, and by 1900 the population had more than quadrupled. The street network was expanded, and on 15 August 1871, the

Vendsyssel railway line The Vendsyssel railway line () is an long standard gauge single track (rail), single track railway line in Denmark which runs through the historical region of Vendsyssel between Aalborg and Frederikshavn in North Jutland Region, North Jutland. I ...

between

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

and

Frederikshavn Frederikshavn () is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland, on the northeast coast on the North Jutlandic Island in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbor". It was originally named Fladstrand. The ...

was opened, after which exports went over this city. New iron foundries and machine factories were set up in addition to spinning mills and garment factories. In 1883 the Vendia Brewery began, in 1890 a tobacco factory was opened, and in 1891 the

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

was established. A power plant opened in 1896.

Post-war period

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Hjørring continued its population growth. At the same time, there was further growth in the suburban settlements outside the city. Thorough urban redevelopment in the 1960s led to a complete demolition of the neighborhood around Fiskerbakken and Bassingade south of Sankt Olai Church in favor of parking spaces. As a consequence of the state's regional development policy, the Army Materiel Command moved to the city in 1971. On the eastern outskirts of the city, a large industrial area emerged, which for the most part is characterized by the metal industry.

21st century

With the opening of the motorway between Hjørring and Brønderslev in 2002, the city was connected to the rest of the European motorway network.

Geography

Cityscape

Hjørring has been changing in recent years, with new shops and franchises opening mainly outside the city center. The most recent addition to Hjørring is the new city shopping centre, Metropol, which has led to a change in the city centre as one of Hjørring's main streets, Østergade, has been closed to vehicular traffic and is now open only for pedestrians and bicycles. Metropol which was inaugurated in March 2008, is located on Østergade and also houses the city's public library.

Arts and culture

Museums

Hjørring holds the headquarters of the regional museum of Vendsyssel Historical Museum. It is located in the city center in Museumsgade. Apart from the exhibitions and museum itself, there is a small, publicly accessible park and garden area, that facilitates

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

Vendsyssel Art Museum is the main art museum in the province, located in a former textile factory in the city center. It has a considerable collection of artists influenced by the landscapes and surroundings of Northern Denmark, but also presents changing exhibitions of mostly contemporary art.

Performing arts

The town is home for the Hjørring Revue (''Hjørring revyen''), a summer

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

that has been a part of Hjørring's entertainment life since the 1920s and one more revue, the Lundergaard Revue (''Lundergaard Revyen''). The latter revue celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2008. The revue has about 5000 guests a summer over.

Festivals and events

Dana Cup, one of the world's largest

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

tournaments, takes place in Hjørring at the end of July, with 20,000 footballers from all around the world. The tournament celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006.

Football clubs

Vendsyssel FF Vendsyssel Forenede Fodboldklubber is a professional football club based in Hjørring, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system. The club plays home matches at Nord Energi Arena ...

* Hjørring IF *

Fortuna Hjørring Fortuna Hjørring is a women's association football team from Hjørring, Denmark. The club was formed in 1966 and play in green and white. Their biggest achievement in European football was reaching the 2002–03 UEFA Women's Cup final where the ...

* AIK FREM Hjørring * Bagterp IF * LIUF * Skibsby-Højene IF * Hjørring Futsal Klub

Education

There are good educational opportunities in the town including a gymnasium (the Danish equivalent of a high school or pre-college), a business and technical college and a nursing school. One of the two branches of Profession School University College North Jutland (Danish: Professionshøjskolen University College Nordjylland) can be found in Hjørring. See also EUC Nord.

Transportation

Rail

Hjørring railway station is the principal railway station of the town. It is located on the

between Aalborg and Frederikshavn and is the

terminus Terminus may refer to: Ancient Rome *Terminus (god), a Roman deity who protected boundary markers Transport *Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination *Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end des ...

of the Hirtshals railway line. It offers direct

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

services to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

regional train Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

services to

and

local train Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

services to

Hirtshals Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has a ...

. The town is also served by the

railway halt A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such a ...

s , , , , and .

Air

The nearest airport with scheduled national and

international flight An international flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the Takeoff, departure and the arrival take place in different Country, countries. Regular international passenger air service began in August 1919 with a flight ...

s is

Aalborg Airport Aalborg Airport () is a dual-use (civilian/military) airport located in Nørresundby, Aalborg Municipality, Denmark, which is northwest of Aalborg. History Aalborg Airport was opened in 1938 as the second national airport. During World War II, ...

45 km south of Hjørring.

Healthcare

Hjørring also has a large hospital.

Notable people

Hans Gram Hans Gram may refer to: * Hans Christian Gram (1853–1938), Danish scientist who invented Gram staining * Hans Gram (composer) (1754-1804), Danish-American composer and musician * Hans Gram (historian) Hans Gram (28 October 1685 – 19 February ...

(1685 in Bjergby – 1748) a Danish academic and historian * Lauritz Smith (1830–1924) an early Latter-day Saint leader and co-founder of

Draper, Utah Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. state of Utah, about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. As of the 2020 census, the population is 51,017, up from 7,143 in 1990. Draper is part of two metropolitan area ...

, USA * Niels Peter Bornholdt (1842–1924) a Danish shipping agent and landowner *

Aksel Mikkelsen Aksel Mikkelsen (14 August 1849 – 19 October 1929 in Korsør) was a Danish educator who introduced the Swedish system of sloyd schools into Denmark. He organised schools and seminaries on the system, which teaches manual training as an a ...

(1849–1929) an educator, introduced the Swedish system of ''

sloyd Sloyd (Swedish ), also known as educational sloyd, is a system of handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865. The system was further refined and promoted worldwide, and was taught in the United States until the early 2 ...

'' schools to Denmark. * Charlotte Eilersgaard (1858–1922) a Danish writer and editor who wrote short stories, plays and novels, involved in the women's movement, especially women's voting rights * Benedicte Wrensted (1859–1949) a notable Danish-American photographer, emigrated to the US in 1894, photographed the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

native people in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

* Johan Kjær Hansen (1907–1944) a member of the Danish resistance executed by the German occupying power * Axel Borup-Jørgensen (1924–2012) a Danish composer * Knud Sørensen (born 1928) a Danish writer, poet and novelist * Hanne Kjærholm (1930–2009) a Danish architect, taught at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

* Poul Anker Bech (1942–2009) a Danish painter incorporating surrealistic elements *

Hanne-Vibeke Holst Hanne-Vibeke Holst (born 21 February 1959 in Hjørring, Denmark) is an author. She has an education as a journalist and has worked on the Danish newspapers ''Berlingske Tidende'' and ''Søndags B.T.'' She is the daughter of authors Knud Holst And ...

(born 1959) an author and journalist *

Ann Eleonora Jørgensen Ann Eleonora Jørgensen (born 16 October 1965) is a Danish film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her work in the TV series ''Taxa'' (1997–1999) and '' The Killing'' (2007), and for her film roles in '' Italian for Beginner ...

(born 1965) a Danish film, television and stage actor * Morten Middelfart (born 1970) a Danish entrepreneur, inventor and technologist; designed

TARGIT Business Intelligence TARGIT A/S is a Danish business intelligence (BI) and analytics software developer based in Aalborg, Denmark, with American subsidiary TARGIT US Inc., based in Tampa, as well as international offices. History TARGIT was founded in 1986 by ...

software *

Kasper Bai Kasper Bai (born 1974) is a Danish songwriter, composer, arranger and guitarist. He was born in Hjørring, studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, and now lives and works in Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most ...

(born 1974) a Danish songwriter, composer, arranger and guitarist

Sport

* Ellen Osiier (1890–1962) an Olympic fencing foil champion, gold medallist at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

* Robert Larsen (1898–1981) a Danish boxer who competed in the

Victor Jörgensen The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(1924–2001) a boxer, bronze medallist at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Mogens Krogh Mogens Krogh (; born 31 October 1963) is a Danish former professional football player who was most recently manager of Næstved BK. In his playing career, Krogh was the first choice goalkeeper of Ikast fS between 1981 and 1991 and of Brøndby ...

(born 1963) a Danish retired professional football goalkeeper, 654 pro appearances * Jannik Pohl (born 1996) a Danish football player for

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

Sister cities

Hjørring is twinned with:Twinning projects

Notes

References

Vores-Avis
– Avisen fra Hjørring, Nordjylland

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hjorring Municipal seats of the North Jutland Region Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the North Jutland Region Hjørring Municipality 19th-century fires in Europe 1819 fires Fires in Denmark