Nykøbing Falster (; originally named Nykøbing) is a city on the island of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

in southern

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 has a population of 16,682 (1 January 2025). Including the

satellite town A satellite city or satellite town is a smaller municipality or settlement that is part of (or on the edge of) a larger metropolitan area and serves as a regional population and employment center. It differs from mere suburbs, subdivisions a ...

Sundby on the Lolland side, with a population of 3,246, the total population is 19,928. Nykøbing Falster is the seat of the Guldborgsund ''kommune'' in Region Sjælland. The city lies on

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

, and is connected by the Frederick IX Bridge over the Guldborgsund (''Guldborg Strait'') waterway to the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the List of islands of Denmark#List of 100 largest Danish islands, fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sund area, it is part of Re ...

Overview

Nykøbing Falster is the largest city on the islands of Lolland and Falster, and is often called "Nykøbing F." to distinguish it from at least two other cities in Denmark with the name of Nykøbing. Nykøbing Falster is the seat of state and regional authorities. Additionally, a city in Sweden is called

Nyköping Nyköping () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden, with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the ...

, which means exactly the same thing ("new market") in the closely related language. There is a long commercial district, walking street (''gågade'') on the Falster side of the city with a wide selection of shops. At the end of the street is a large plaza where special events are arranged. These include popular late-night events, which are held several times a year. It has a large central library in the center of town. The town receives many visitors during the summer, especially from Germany.

History

Early history

Nykøbing Falster was founded around a 12th-century

medieval 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 World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle. At the end of the 12th century, fortifications were set up on a peninsula on Guldborgsund for protection against the

Wends Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...

, and these were later converted into Nykøbing Castle. The town of Nykøbing Falster grew up around these fortifications. After 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 castle was the residence of widowed Danish queens. As several queens of German descent resided here, many Germans came to the town. Situated on a headland, the castle was protected from all sides. In its early days, the castle belonged to the

royal house A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

. Medieval documents issued in this region reveal that the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

regularly visited the castle. This is the castle where Christopher II died (1332) and where Christian V was married (1667). Christian, Prince Elect of Denmark resided here. The castle was chartered in 1539
REF
The castle and the entire crown land on

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

were put up for sale in 1763 to help improve the poor state of government finances. The castle was sold for demolition, and only the modest ruin of one of the towers, Fars Hat (''Father’s Hat'' in Danish) is in existence today.

Recent history

From 1970 to 2006, Nykøbing was the administrative seat of the former county of Storstrøm as well as the Nykøbing Falster municipality. On 1 January 2007, the former Nykøbing Falster municipality merged with Nysted, Nørre Alslev,

Sakskøbing Sakskøbing (), previously spelled Sakskjøbing, is a town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. It has a population of 4,514 (1 January 2025).Stubbekøbing, and Sydfalster municipalities to form Guldborgsund municipality. This municipal reform, ''Kommunalreformen'', created a municipality with an area of and a total population of 63,533 (2005) and will belong to the new Region Sjælland ("Zealand Region"). The former Nykøbing Falster municipality covered an area of with a total population of 25,483 (2005).

Geography

Nykøbing Falster is a harbor town which is located roughly in the middle of the western coast of the island of Falster. It is located where the Tingsted Stream (Danish: Tingsted Å) empties into the Guldborgsund strait which divides the islands of Falster and

Main sights

The city has a few noteworthy buildings, including a wooden house from 1580 and '' Czarens Hus ("The Tsar's House")'', named in memory of Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

of Russia, who stayed there in 1716. The most noteworthy attraction is the city's old water tower, Nykøbing Vandtårn, which was built in 1909 and remains an icon of the city and the surrounding areas. Today, the water tower houses a small cultural center holding art exhibitions and cultural events. Other attractions include: * the

City Museum City Museum is a museum whose exhibits consist largely of Repurposing, repurposed architectural and industrial objects, housed in the former International Shoe building in the Washington Avenue Loft District of St. Louis, Missouri, United Stat ...

(''Bymuseet'') * the Middle Ages Center ('' Middelaldercentret''), located in Sundby * Ejegod Windmill with its toy museum * The abbey church founded in 1419. * Guldborgsund Zoo."Guldborgsund Zoo"
Zoos.dk. Retrieved 21 December 2012. (formerly "The People's Park") *The fire fighting museum
Brandmuseet

Transportation

Nykøbing Falster has a railway station operated by Danish State Railways. It is the terminus for regular local passenger-train services from

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 ...

via

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately from Copenhagen. History Ringsted was the site of ''Sjællands Landsting'' (lit. ''Z ...

and

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 ...

. International trains operating between Copenhagen and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

called at the station until 2019, and are now re-routed via

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

. The Lollandsbanen also operates a rail service to Nakskov.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Nykøbing Falster is twinned with: *

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, Poland

Notable residents

Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (''Sophia''; 4 September 1557 – 4 October 1631) was List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark and List of Norwegian royal consorts, Norway by marriage to Frederick II of Denmark. She was the mother of King ...

(1557–1631 in Nykøbing Falster), Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...

, mother of King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

Anne Palles Anne Palles (1619 – 4 April 1693) was an alleged Danish witch. She was the last woman to be legally executed for sorcery in Denmark. Background In 1692, the cunning woman Karen Gregers Madsens from Lommelev was accused of poisoning. She wa ...

(1619–executed for sorcery in 1693), an alleged witch, hired in Nykøbing Falster by a woman to drug and murder her abusive and violent husband * Ludvig Grundtvig (1836–1901), a Danish photographer and portrait painter * Ingeborg Tolderlund (1848–1935), a Danish women's rights activist and suffragist * Christian Blangstrup (1857–1926), a Danish

encyclopedist An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

* Peter Freuchen (1886–1957), a Danish Arctic explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist * Vagn J. Brøndegaard (1919–2014), a Danish ethnobotanist * Gert Petersen (1927–2009), a journalist and politician who helped found the Socialist People's Party *

Claus Meyer Claus Meyer (born 27 December 1963) is a Danish entrepreneur, cook and television host. He is often accredited as the founder of the New Nordic Cuisine philosophy. Projects Claus Meyer has been engaged in a plethora of projects and has been ...

(born 1963), a culinary entrepreneur, food activist, cookbook author and TV host * Martin Geertsen (born 1970), Venstre party politician * Pilgrimz (1998–2013), a local rock band

Sport

* Carl Andersen (1879–1967), a gymnast at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

and later an architect * Henrik Danielsen (born 1966), a Danish-Icelandic chess grandmaster and Icelandic Chess Champion in 2009 * Jørgen Nielsen (born 1971), a Danish former football goalkeeper, 340 club caps * Michael Hansen (born 1971), a Danish former professional football player, over 460 club caps * Claus Jensen (born 1977), a former footballer, 310 club caps and 47 for

* Esben Hansen (born 1981), a Danish former football midfielder, 230 club caps * Anders Due (born 1982), a Danish footballer, 270 club caps * Johanna Rasmussen (born 1983), a Danish professional footballer, 152 caps for

* Sara Petersen (born 1987), a Danish hurdler, silver medallist at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

* Mikkel Rygaard Jensen (born 1990), a Danish footballer with over 300 club caps * Mikkel Mac (born 1992), a Danish racing driver * Mikkel Michelsen (born 1994), a Danish speedway rider * Rikke Sevecke (born 1996), a Danish women's football defender

References

* Municipal statistics
NetBorger Kommunefakta
delivered fro
KMD
aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data) * Municipal mergers and neighbors
Eniro new municipalities map

External links

*
Nykøbing Falster Tourist Information website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nykobing Falster Municipal seats of Region Zealand Municipal seats of Denmark Former municipalities of Denmark Cities and towns in Guldborgsund Municipality Port cities and towns in Denmark Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Falster

Overview

History

Early history

Recent history

Geography

Main sights

Transportation

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Notable residents

Sport

See also

References

External links