Hårlev is a

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated, or was expanded, as a result of a railway line being constructed there. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporary, ...

with a population of 2,905 (1 January 2025) in

Stevns Municipality Stevns Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in the Region Sjælland on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand in south Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 23,612 (1 January 2025). The municipality covers most ...

on the southeastern part of the Danish island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

about 12 kilometres south of

Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a Danish seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland (Zealand), Denmark. In 2025, the ...

Overview

Hårlev was located in the former Bjæverskov

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

(Danish: "Herred") Until 1 January 2007 Hårlev was the municipal seat of the former Vallø Municipality.

Geography

In spite of being a part of Stevns Municipality Hårlev is not geographical located on the

Stevns Peninsula Stevns Peninsula is a peninsula on Zealand in Denmark. It is separated from Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size ...

. The town is located just west of the so-called Tryggevælde River Valley (Danish: ''Tryggevælde Ådal'') which marks the northern half of the boundary between the peninsula and the rest of

. Actually it is not a real valley but a wide natural deepening along the banks of Tryggevælde River (''Tryggevælde Å'').

Hårlev Church

Hårlev Church was built between 1175-1275 and is the largest and best preserved of the younger chalk's churches in Stevns Municipality. The

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

is the site of Hother's Mound. We know nothing about Hother, but because the mound has a flat top and is close to the church, it's probably from

late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

- in Denmark early

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

- long before the church was built. It is said that the

Tryggevælde Runestone Tryggevælde Runestone, designated as DR 230 under Rundata, is a runestone housed in the National Museum of Denmark, in Copenhagen. It is classified as being carved in runestone style RAK, and is dated to about 900 CE. Description In 1555, the ...

originally stood here.Hårlev Church
vikingeskibsmuseet.dk

Transportation

Hårlev is served by Hårlev railway station. The station is located where the railroad Østbanen from Køge divides into two lines, a southeastern line to

Store Heddinge Store Heddinge is a Danish town in Region Sjælland. It is the administrative seat of Stevns Municipality, and has a population of 3,633 (1 January 2025).Rødvig Rødvig is a town and fishing harbour, with a population of 1,844 (1 January 2025),Faxe Ladeplads Faxe Ladeplads or Fakse Ladeplads is a coastal town in Denmark with a population of 2,501 (1 January 2025), located in Zealand and lying 5 kilometers south-east from Faxe. It is mainly a harbour town, with a working harbour and a marina. The town ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harlev Populated places in Stevns Municipality Cities and towns in Region Zealand