Vejle () is a city in

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 ...

, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark ( da, Region Syddanmark, ; german: Region Süddänemark, ; frr, Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which ab ...

. The city has a population of 60,231 () making it the ninth largest city in Denmark. Vejle Municipality has a population of 119,007 () making it the fifth largest municipality in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial compani ...

and

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, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in ...

and it is located 110 kilometres (68 miles) north of Germany. Vejle is most known for its forested hills, fjord, harbour, shopping, pedestrian mall, and windmill.

History

The word "Vejle" derives from the Old Danish word ''wæthel'', meaning " ford" or "wading place" due to its location at a busy crossing over Vejle River. During

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

times, the wetlands around Vejle had to be crossed at the Ravning Bridge, a nearly half-mile wooden boardwalk. The first recorded mention of the town is from 1256, and the first known merchant town privileges were issued by King Valdemar III in 1327. Archaeological digs near St. Nicolai Church in downtown Vejle have shown that there were residences in the area as far back as 1100. The king's castle, Castrum Wæthel, was located where Vejle Trafikcenter is today. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Vejle was important as a

market town A market town is a Human settlement, settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...

, and developed along those lines up to the mid-17th century, trading with cities such as

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

and Flensburg, in what is now

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Vejle's population was diminished as a consequence of plague and war. In 1796, though, Vejle was made the seat of the newly founded Vejle County, and the town expanded throughout the 19th century, benefiting from improvements such as a new harbour on the fjord, a railroad station, and modern utilities. From the mid-19th century into the 20th century, Vejle developed from a provincial market town into a busy industrial centre, eventually becoming known as the "

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

of Denmark" for its many

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

Geography

Downtown Vejle was built on an island of glacial till in Vejle River remaining from a hill formed during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. In a country where the highest natural elevation is only about 170 m (558 ft) above sea level, Vejle is known for the forested hills that rise to the north and south of the town and

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 ...

. The valleys of the two rivers that converge at Vejle are both unique in Denmark: Vejle River Valley (''Vejle Ådal'') is the longest tunnel valley in Denmark, and the Grejs Valley (''Grejsdalen'') is the largest

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Vejle Fjord, which connects Vejle by water through the Little Belt strait to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

, and through the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in S ...

and

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...

straits to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

Neighbourhoods

Many of Vejle's neighbourhoods began as separate towns or villages that merged with the city as it grew. Søndermarken, Nørremarken, and Grejsdalen, however, were all founded as extensions of the city onto the surrounding hillsides. Vejle's neighbourhoods include: *Vejle centre *Bredballe - east of downtown and north of Vejle Fjord; considered an affluent neighbourhood *Grejsdalen - northernmost part of the city, located in the long, narrow valley of the same name *Hover - west of Grejsdalen, closer to the centre *Lille Grundet - north of downtown in the northwest corner of Nørremarken, relatively new *Store Grundet - established in 2000, north of Lille Grundet *Mølholm - southeast of the centre *Nørremarken - northeast of the centre, including the North Woods (''Nørreskoven'') and Vejle Stadium *Petersminde - on top of Uhrhøj, west of Grejsdalen *Vestbyen (West Town) - western Vejle, including Skibet and Trædballe, and the scenic overlook of Himmelpind *Vinding - southeast, next to Mølholm *Søndermarken - to the southwest, located on land belonging to the former Petersholm manor

Economy

Vejle is the cultural and economic centre of Vejle Municipality and, as part of the unofficial Triangle Area (''Trekantområde''), is rich in industry, business, and the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector ( raw materials) and the sec ...

. Historically speaking, industry has been very important for the city's development, while today more weight is placed on business and service, as well as high-tech firms.

Industry

During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, Vejle was known as the "Manchester of Denmark" due to its extensive

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful go ...

s. The local rivers provided water power to mills, including the extensive facilities of De Danske Bomuldsspinderier (The Danish Cotton Mills). In the first half of the 20th century, Vejle was something of a behemoth within the Danish textile industry, with some 25% of the city's workers employed in the industry. Despite the decline in the industry in Denmark, the last cotton mill in Vejle remained open until 1993. Today, many of the old mill buildings are used for art studios, office space, and, more recently, apartments. Later on, newer industries took root in Vejle. The city is home to one of the largest chewing gum factories in the world, producing

Stimorol Stimorol is a brand of chewing gum originally produced by the Danish company Dandy. The privately owned company was founded by Holger Sørensen in 1915 in Vejle, Denmark as ''Vejle Caramel- og Tabletfabrik'', later renamed ''Dansk Tyggegummifabrik ...

brand chewing gum. The Tulip slaughterhouses were also an important employer in the city. Today, Tulip has closed its factory at the harbour, but still maintains production in northern Vejle. Today, Vejle's economy is shifting out of the industrial sector and into the high-tech sector, with a number of software companies operating out of the city.

Shopping

Vejle is known regionally as a vibrant shopping town with a wide and varied offering of both chain and specialty shops, primarily located along the city's central pedestrian mall. Recently, in an effort to maintain its position as a premiere shopping destination, the town has invested in several public works projects to improve the city's appearance, including lengthening the pedestrian mall, developing new public art and architecture, and uncovering and beautifying Grejs River, which until recently ran in a culvert underneath downtown. In addition to the shopping experiences in the city, Vejle also has its own shopping centre, Bryggen, located in the center of the city. The shopping centre contains 38 stores and two restaurants and lies within the pedestrian mall. Street food concepts can also be experience at the Paladspassagen Social Dining at the former Mary's Shoppingcenter.

Politics

Ever since

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

Christian Jacobsen became Vejle's first elected mayor in 1919, the town has been a stronghold for the Social Democrats and trade unions. The longest serving Social Democratic mayor was Willy Sørensen, a union leader who joined the city council in 1937 and held the mayor's post for 31 years, from 1946 until his death in 1978. In 1993, the Social Democratic dynasty was broken, when a candidate from a coalition of opposition parties, Flemming Christiansen, became mayor. In 2009, the Social Democrats were out of power again when Liberal candidate Arne Sigtenbjerggaard won the elections. Several natives of Vejle have also made a career in national politics, including former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Liberal), the former Minister of the Treasury Troels Lund Poulsen (Liberal), former Minister of Health Torben Lund (Social Democrat), and former Minister of Transportation Flemming Hansen (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Infrastructure

Historically speaking, Vejle's development has been guided by the city's central location in the country and its location on Vejle Fjord. Vejle's pedestrian mall today runs along the same course as some of the earliest paths through town – glass panels set into Torvegade allow pedestrians to see the historical market road a few meters under the current street surface. Highway E45 passes close to downtown Vejle on the Vejle Fjord Bridge. Vejle is also located on Primary Route 28, and the Mid-Jutland Highway (''Midjyske Motorvej'', Primary Route 18) from

Herning Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)Vejle station Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the ...

, also known as Vejle Transit Centre (''Vejle Trafikcenter''), provides nine

city bus A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

lines to various neighbourhoods, as well as national and international coach and

train services In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

. Vejle Station first opened in 1868, and is today a central station in the Danish train network. However, the station is currently the subject of political debate, due to a desire on the part of some politicians to reduce train travel time between Odense and Århus to one hour. This may mean that a second bridge will be built over Vejle Fjord, bypassing Vejle Station. Musikteatret i Vejle

Vejle Harbour, in its current location, was inaugurated in 1827. In the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, it grew to become the second largest port in

after the Port of Copenhagen. Up until 1932, the steamboats Hvidbjerg (named after a local seaside community) and Jeppe Jensen (named after the harbour's founder) plied the waters between Vejle Harbour and Munkebjerg, Tirsbæk, Ulbækhus, and Fakkegrav. The harbour is currently profitable, although there are plans to convert the northern section of the harbour into a park and residential area, which would reconnect the town with the fjord. The fjord is also the site of the modern wave-shaped apartment complex known as The Wave (''Bølgen''). Vejle Municipality is part-owner of Denmark's second-largest airport, Billund Airport, located near the

Lego Group Lego A/S ( trade name: The Lego Group) is a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks arou ...

's headquarters some from the centre of Vejle. Airport buses run regularly to Billund Airport from Vejle Transit Centre. Vejle - Den Gamle Guldsmedie

Environment

A central point of Vejle's environmental policy since 1985 has been the sorting of garbage into non-compostable and compostable waste, which is then composted in the city dump. To this end, residents must place all household trash into either black or green bags. Vejle Municipality has also begun a range of nature restoration projects. The most ambitious of these has been the restoration of the Kongens Kær

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

around the Vejle River just outside the city limits. The city has also undertaken a project to establish two new public beaches for swimming, Albuen and Tirsbæk Strand.

Education

Vejle is home to the headquarters of University College Lillebælt, which is a merger of several educational institutions in East Jutland and Funen. Adult and professional education is available in Vejle through the

, the Folkeuniversitet (Adult Education Centre), the

Vejle Idrætshøjskole Vejle Idrætshøjskole is a Danish Folk high school, which mainly teaches sport. It was founded by Svend Aage Thomsen Svend Aage Thomsen (20 February 1911 – 26 March 1961) was a Danish hurdling, hurdler. He competed in the Athletics a ...

(Athletics Professional College), and Skolen for Gastronomi, Musik & Design (School for Gastronomy, Music, and Design). On the

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

level, Vejle offers several options: Vejle Handelsskole (Vejle Business School) offers business and professional programs; Vejle Tekniske Gymnasium (Vejle Technical School) offers vocational and technical education; and Rødkilde Gymnasium (on the fjord) and Rosborg Gymnasium offer academic programs with concentrations in language and science. On the primary level, Vejle has 11 regular primary schools (''folkeskoler''), 2 independent schools (''friskoler''), and 5 private schools (''privatskoler'') – one secular, one

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, one

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, one Islamic and one Waldorf-Steiner method school – as well as 2 schools for

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

students. Unique to Vejle is a special program for athletically talented students starting in late primary school and continuing through Vejle Handelsskole.

Sports

The city's traditional football club, Vejle Boldklub (Vejle Football Club), has won the Danish Superliga Championships five times and the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official " knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will qu ...

six times. Vejle Boldklub has trained many talented football players, among others one of Danish football history's few international stars: Allan Simonsen, who in 1977 became the first Danish player to win the European Footballer of the Year award. Today, Vejle Boldklub is in a ramping-up period, with the goal of bringing the club back to the top of Danish football. To this end, new

Vejle Stadium Vejle Stadium ( da, Vejle Stadion) is a fully enclosed, modern (built in 2008) football stadium in Vejle, Denmark and is home ground of Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 189 ...

was opened in spring 2008. Vejle's largest indoor sports facilities are mostly housed in the DGI-Huset recreational centre in western Vejle. In the past, the facility has housed several high-profile events, including the European Women's Handball Championship and the

Danish Open Danish Open may refer to: * Denmark Open a badminton tournament * Danish Open (golf) a defunct golf tournament * Danish Open (tennis) The Danish Open (sponsored as the e-Boks Open) was a professional women's tennis tournament played 2010–12 on in ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

. Former

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

cyclist

Tony Rominger Tony Rominger (born 27 March 1961 in Vejle, Denmark) is a Switzerland, Swiss former professional road racing cyclist who won the Vuelta a España in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the Giro d'Italia in 1995 Giro d'Italia, 1995. He began cycling late, all ...

was born in Vejle, and cyclist Bjarne Riis has a house in Vejle. Denmark's answer to the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

, Danmark Rundt, includes a stretch through Vejle which is known as the hardest stage in the race, including a loop that requires the riders to climb the hillsides of Vejle several times. The race's winner is usually determined in the Vejle stage. Stage 3 of the 2022 Tour de France started in Vejle.

Arts and attractions

In the arts, the most well-known personality from Vejle is composer Jacob Gade, who wrote the

Tango Jalousie ''Jalousie'' is a tango written by Danish composer Jacob Gade in 1925. Its full title is ''Jalousie "Tango Tzigane" '' (''Jealousy "Gypsy Tango"''). It soon became popular around the world and is today a classic in the modern songbook. Music Th ...

. Other artists include author

Ulrik Gräs Ulrik is a male name, a Scandinavian form of Ulrich. Ulrik may refer to: *Ulrik Frederik Christian Arneberg (1829–1911), Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party *Albert Ulrik Bååth (1853–1912), Swedish poet *Ulrik Balling (born 1975), ...

, priest and historial Anders Sørensen Vedel, author

Karl Bjarnhof Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

, poet

Inger Christensen Inger Christensen (16 January 1935 – 2 January 2009) was a Danish poet, novelist, essayist and editor. She is considered the foremost Danish poetic experimentalist of her generation. Life and work Born in the town of Vejle, on the eastern J ...

, artist

Albert Bertelsen Albert Bertelsen (17 November 1921 – 10 December 2019) was a Danish autodidact painter and graphic artist. Biography Bertelsen was born in Vejle. Bertelsen is primarily known for his landscape paintings and graphic works in green colours. His wo ...

, and actress Bodil Jørgensen. In the early and mid-20th century, Vejle had several popular cultural destinations such as Trædballehus in the western part of town and the Munkebjerg Casino south of the fjord. Trædballehus, an inn and music venue, which burned down in 1954, got its big breakthrough in the mid-1930s when it was featured on Danish National Radio in connection with the opening of the old Little Belt Bridge. 1933 Hotel Munkebjerg boasted

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

's longest wooden escalator, carrying guests from the fjord-side beach up to the hilltop

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

. Munkebjerg still exists as a hotel, casino and conference centre. Vejle Mill, located on top of the cliff at Søndermarken, is a well-known landmark because of its visibility, and is often used as a symbol of the city. The Old Jail House in Vejle, which is connected to the Town Hall, was rebuilt in 1984 and received a prize for beautification. Development of new architecture, art and alternative town spaces throughout the 1990s has made the city an attraction. Vejle was the first city in

, which had its own official architecture policy to set high standards for the urban development. Vejle's oldest extant building,

St. Nicolai Church St. Nicolai Church ( da, Sct. Nicolai Kirke) in Vejle, Denmark is a