Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,659 (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 ...

the main town of the municipality of the same name and the site of its municipal council. It is situated on the northwestern coast of the largest Danish island, Zealand (or Sjælland in Danish), on the opposite, eastern side of which lies the capital

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 ...

, away. Kalundborg is famous as the location of a large broadcasting facility, the Kalundborg Transmitter. The city was also home to the largest

coal-fired power station A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...

in Denmark, the Asnæs Power Station, which started its transition to biomass in 2017. Kalundborg is mainly a trading and industrial town, but is also well known for its five-spired Church of Our Lady, which is closely associated with King Valdemar I and the Archbishop Absalon. The church itself is said to have been built by Absalon's brother, Esbern Snare. Kalundborg is also the traditional seat of the aristocratic Lerche family. Their stately home, Lerchenborg, the best example of

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

architecture in Denmark, can be seen in the town's outskirts.

Ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

connect Kalundborg westward to the island of

Samsø Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Denmark, Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is ...

Geography

Kalundborg is at latitude 55°41′N, longitude 11°6′E, about west of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand ( Sjaelland).

History

The Kalundborg area was first settled in 1170 at a natural harbour at the head of the narrow bay today known as Kalundborg Fjord. It became more urbanized during the nineteenth century and had grown into a major industrial centre by the mid-twentieth century. Kalundborg Municipality has approximately 20,000 inhabitants, and its network is the most published example of Industrial Symbiosis. The history of Kalundborg Industrial Symbiosis activities began in 1961 when a project was developed and implemented to use surface water from Lake Tisso for a new oil refinery, to save the limited supplies of ground water. The City of Kalundborg took the responsibility for building the pipeline while the refinery financed it. Starting from this initial collaboration, a number of other collaborative projects were subsequently introduced and the number of partners gradually increased. By the end of the 1980s, the partners realised that they had effectively "self-organised" into what is probably the best-known example of Industrial Symbiosis. The material exchanges in the Kalundborg region include: conservation of natural and financial resources; reduction in production, material, energy, insurance and treatment costs and liabilities; improved operating efficiency; quality control; improved health of the local population and public image; and realisation of potential income through the sale of by-products and waste materials.

Economy

Kalundborg Municipality is home to approximately 19,000 jobs of which 13,000 are in the private sector (December 2014).

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S ...

has extensive production facilities in Kalundborg with a total of more than 2,400 employees. Since 1999 they have invested more than DKK 7.5 billions in the complex. Pronova BioPharma Danmark, a bulk manufacturer of Omega-3 products which was acquired by BASF in 2014, also has a manufacturing plant in Kalundborg.

Port of Kalundborg

The port plays a central role in the town's economy. It is a municipal self-governing port with independent finances. Kalundborg Container Terminal is served by Unifeeder on a weekly basis. Schultz Shipping is a local shipping company. As of 2015, the port is being expanded with a new west harbor on the south side of the Asnæs peninsula. Statoil Refining Denmark operates Denmark's largest oil refinery on the harbor with a capacity of 6.6 million ton oil products per year. Haldor Topsøe is one of the companies that has facilities at Kalundborg Tank Terminal.

Transportation

Rail

The Northwest Line (1874) connects Kalundborg with

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,903 (1 January 2025).Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

and the rest of the Danish rail network. Kalundborg railway station is the principal railway station of the town and offers frequent direct regional train services to , and

operated by the national

railway company A rail transport company is a company active within the rail industry. It can be: * a manufacturing company, * a rail transport operations, railway undertaking providing services through operating rolling stock, * a railway infrastructure manager ...

DSB. The eastern part of the town is also served by the railway halt Kalundborg East.

Notable people

Public Service & public thinking

* Esbern Snare (1127–1204) a crusader; had built the Church of Our Lady, Kalundborg *

Christian II of Denmark A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

(1481–1559 in Kalundborg Castle) monarch under the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

* Jørgen Bjelke (1621–1696 in Kalundborg) an exiled Norwegian officer and nobleman * Sophie Amalie Lindenov (1649 in Kalundborg Castle–1688) noblewoman and landowner * Hans Hagerup Gyldenpalm (1717–1781) a Danish born, Norwegian jurist and civil servant * Arnoldus von Falkenskiold (1743–1819) a Danish military officer and landowner of ''Sæbygård'' * Henrik Steffens Hagerup (1806–1859) a Norwegian naval officer and politician who served as Minister of the Navy * Wilhelm Hellesen (1836–1892) inventor and industrialist; helped invent the

dry cell An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its nega ...

battery * Anne Elisabet Jensen (born 1951) a Danish politician and MEP * Professor Claus Manniche (born 1956) a Danish rheumatologist, consultant and academic * Sandra Skalvig (born 1990), a Danish MP

The Arts

* Johan Thomas Lundbye (1818–1848) a graphic artist and painter of animals and landscapes * Elisabeth Dons (1864 in Bjergsted–1942) operatic mezzo-soprano at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

* Johannes Holbek (1872 in Årby–1903) a Danish painter and graphic artist * Margrethe Lendrop (1873–1920) operatic soprano at the

* Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) a Norwegian novelist, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, emigrated to Norway aged 2 *

Viggo Rørup Viggo Julius Rørup (12 September 1903 – 14 January 1971) was a Danish artist who in the early 1930s joined the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters. Biography Born in Kalundborg, Rørup studied at the Roy ...

(1903–1971) a Danish artist, joined the artists' colony the Odsherred Painters * Thøger Birkeland (1922–2011) a teacher and writer, known for his children's books *

Søren Ulrik Thomsen Søren Ulrik Thomsen (born 8 May 1956) is a Danish poet. His debut was ''City Slang'', 1981. Life Søren Ulrik Thomsen was born in 1956 in Kalundborg. He grew up in Store Heddinge, Stevns, south of Copenhagen, where he went to school together ...

(born 1956) a Danish poet; his debut was ''City Slang'', 1981 * Frank Madsen (born 1962) a Danish author, illustrator and comics artist * Christian E. Christiansen (born 1972) is a Danish filmmaker * Jonas Poher Rasmussen, filmmaker

Sport

* Mogens Guldberg (born 1963) a middle-distance runner, competed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

* Claus Nielsen (born 1964) a former footballer, almost 200 club caps and 14 for

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 ...

* Henrik Djernis (born 1968 in Svebølle) a Danish cyclist * Thomas Damgaard (born 1971) a Danish former professional boxer * Anders Nielsen (born 1972) a Danish footballer, over 300 club caps * Susanne Meyerhoff (born 1974) a Danish sport shooter, competed at the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

* Thomas Frandsen (born 1976) a Danish former footballer, almost 300 club caps * Jesper Hansen (born 1980) a Danish sport shooter, competed at the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and finished 26th, 5th and 2nd in the Men's skeet. In 2013, he won the skeet shooting world championship.

Other

* Frida Schou (1891–1980), early businesswoman who ran the brick factory Knabstrup Teglværk from 1928

Notes

References

* Denmark detailed roadmap, webpage
Tele-DK-Danmark
* Ehrenfeld, J. and Gertler, N. (1997) 'Industrial Ecology in Practice: the evolution of interdependence at Kalundborg", Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 67–80

External links

*
Kalundborg municipality
{{Authority control Municipal seats of Region Zealand Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in Region Zealand Port cities and towns in Denmark Populated places in Kalundborg Municipality 1170 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 12th century