Middelfart is a town in central

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 ...

, with a population of 16,749 . The town is the municipal seat of

Middelfart Municipality Middelfart Municipality () is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Region of Southern Denmark, located on the west coast of the island of Funen in southern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 297 km² and has a total popula ...

on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

().

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 A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

''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, Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the Nor ...

, 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 Snoghøj is a southern suburb of Fredericia, Denmark (at 55.52°N and 9.72°E), between Erritsø and Middelfart that developed because of the Højskole (''folk high school'') that was built there. The town has a population of nearly 3,000 peopl ...

in Jutland. From 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 ...

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. 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 Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

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 5,280 (1 January 2025).rail link between Middelfart and Nyborg opened in 1865, bringing added prosperity despite the fact that it connected with the ferry from Strib rather than the one from Middelfart. By the beginning of the 20th century the iron foundry, with about a hundred workers, was the town's main industry. After the first

Little Belt Bridge The Little Belt Bridge (), also known as the Old Little Belt Bridge (), is a truss bridge over the Little Belt strait in Denmark. It spans from Snoghøj on the Jutland side to Middelfart on Funen. The bridge is owned by the Danish state, with ...

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.

Economy

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 Blubber is a thick layer of Blood vessel, vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. It was present in many marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosauria, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Description ...

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.

Transportation

Middelfart is served by

Middelfart railway station Middelfart railway station ( or ''Middelfart Banegård'') is a railway station serving the town of Middelfart on the western part of the island of Funen, Denmark. It is located in the centre of the town, on the southern edge of the historic town c ...

which is served by the passenger rail service between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It is located on the

Copenhagen–Fredericia/Taulov Line The Copenhagen–Fredericia/Taulov Line is the Danish railway line between the capital, Copenhagen, and the Jutland peninsula by way of the islands of Zealand and Funen. It is administered by Banedanmark and has a length of about . Being one of ...

which connects the Danish capital, Copenhagen, and the

peninsula by way of the islands 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 ...

and

. 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

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

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 ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

and

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

as well as

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

. ''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 (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, 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 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 ...

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 ...

(1758 in Middelfart – 1822) was a Danish-Norwegian theologian and politician * Frida Schmidt (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 () 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 Peace Prize laureate. The as ...

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 (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 193 ...

(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 Denmar ...

(born 1968 in Gamborg, Middelfart) a Danish politician, and businesswoman; MEP and CEO of Archimed *

Kristian Jensen Kristian Jensen (born 21 May 1971 in Middelfart) is a Danish politician who was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark from 2015 to 2016, Minister of Finance from 2016 to 2019 and Minister of Taxation from 2004 to 2010. Jensen is a member of ...

(born 1971 in Middelfart) is a Danish politician and government Minister *

Lonnie Kjer Denmark was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 with the song "", composed by John Hatting and Torben Lendager, with lyrics by Keld Heick, and performed by Lonnie Devantier. The Danish participating broadcaster, (DR), organised th ...

(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 Eurovision Song Contest, held on 5 May 1990 in the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. Organised by the European Broadcast ...

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

Sport

Christian Eriksen Christian Dannemann Eriksen (; born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Denmark national football team, ...

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

Rasmus Quist Hansen Rasmus Quist Hansen (born 5 April 1980 in Middelfart), also known as Rasmus Quist, is a Danish rower and double World Champion in the lightweight double sculls, with his partner Mads Rasmussen. Quist and Rasmussen placed first in ...

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

Søren Madsen Søren Madsen (born 31 May 1976 in Middelfart, Denmark) is a Danish rower who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics with the Gold Four. He was born in Middelfart Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 16, ...

(born 1976 in Middelfart) rower, bronze medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

* Jan O. Pedersen (born 1962 in Middelfart) former speedway rider, 1991 World Champion

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 chan ...

, 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