Skælskør () is a town in

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is th ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

. It is located in

Slagelse Municipality Slagelse Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in Region Zealand on the west coast of the island of Zealand (Danish: ''Sjælland'') in Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 571 km². The municipality borders Kalundborg ...

. Until 2007 Skælskør was the seat of Skælskør Municipality. The town is located 17 km southwest of

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 k ...

and 12 km southeast of

Korsør Korsør is a town on Zealand, Denmark. It is located in Slagelse Municipality. Until 2007 Korsør was the seat of Korsør Municipality. The town is located west of Slagelse, north-west of Skælskør and connects to Nyborg through the Great B ...

. Skælskør is home to one of Denmark's largest breweries, the Harboe Brewery.

History

Historically Skælskør was a harbour for traffic between Zealand and

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as o ...

, but

took over when the harbour there was settled. Skælskør

Fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

is difficult to navigate, and was one of the last waters in Denmark that legally required a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

on recreational boats.

Saint Nicholas Church

Saint Nicholas Church (Danish: ''Sankt Nicolai Kirke''), also known as Skælskør Church, is located centrally in Skælskør. The earliest parts of the church were built in the beginning of the 1200s, with later extensions all built before the 1500s. The altarpiece is from 1475. The altarpiece depicts the

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

and Jesus' crucifixion. The chalice is from 1729. The baptismal font is from around 1300. The baptismal font lid is from the 1700s. The pulpit is from 1630-1631, and includes figures of Jesus' birth, baptism, walk to Calvary, crucifixion and ascension. The figures are separated by

caryatid A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...

s. There are three church bells. They are from 1516, 1520 and 1562. The turret clock is in iron and made by Hans Boesen in 1770.Danmarkskirker.natmus.dk
"Skælskør Kirke" Retrieved 6 September 2020

Notable residents

* Andreas Bjørn (1703–1750), merchant and shipbuilder * Conrad Christian Hornung (1801–1873), piano maker * Vilhelm Topsøe (1840–1881), author * Haldor Topsøe (1842–1935), chemist *

Bertel Bruun Bertel Bruun (November 13, 1937 – September 21, 2011) was a naturalist, international conservationist and neurologist. Bruun wrote many books and was the co-author of The Golden Field Guide to Birds of North America first published in 1966. H ...

(1937–2011), conservationist * Henrik Brodersen (born 1964), politician and MF * Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 1970), singer * Karsten Nielsen (born 1973), rower *

Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil (born 17 January 1977 in Skælskør) is a Danish politician, who is a member of the Folketing for the Social Democrats political party. From 2019 to 2022, she has served as Minister of Children and Education. She was ...

(born 1977), politician and MF

References

Cities and towns in Region Zealand Slagelse Municipality {{ZealandDK-stub