Nykøbing Falster is an old market town and the largest town on
Falster with 16,940 inhabitants (2020), incl. satellite cities
25,488 (2019). The town is via Frederik d. 9's Bro connected with
Sundby on the Lolland side as well as Tingsted on Falster and the
village Nagelsti on Lolland. Nykøbing Falster is the capital of
Guldborgsund Municipality, which belongs to Region Zealand. Today,
the town is an educational, commercial and industrial center for
Lolland-Falster with a sugar factory, shipping companies, fisheries,
several educational institutions and a large selection of shops.
Among the city's landmarks are Klosterkirken, which was
completed around the year 1500, and the city's water tower, which
was completed in 1908 as the country's first reinforced concrete
building. The city's biggest attraction is the experience and
experiment center The Medieval Center, which is located just north
of the satellite town of Sundby, and focuses on the Danish Middle
Ages around the year 1400. In addition, Nykøbing has a city museum
and several other smaller museums. The city also has many other
cultural offerings in the form of theaters, festivities and sports
associations. Nykøbing has a well-developed pedestrian network, and
Torvet can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
Nykøbing
Falster is a hub for public transport on Lolland-Falster, and there
is thus a train and bus connection to both Copenhagen, Germany and
surrounding cities.
Nykøbing Falster was founded at the
end of the 12th century in connection with the establishment of the
castle, which later came to be called Nykøbing Castle. The castle
was located on the narrowest point by Guldborg Sound and was to
protect the area from Wendish pirates. Gradually, a city grew up
around the castle.
The city was granted trade-like rights by
Valdemar Sejr (1170-1241), but did not become a real market town
until 1560. In 1253, troops from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck
attacked and the castle was captured and the city burned down. The
castle then served as a widow's seat for Margrete Sambiria with the
nickname Margrethe Sprænghest. After the nobleman Marsk Stig had
murdered Erik Klipping and had been made an outlaw and a fugitive,
he returned with an army to attack Danish port cities, including
Nykøbing Falster. Supported by the Norwegian king Erik Præstehader,
he burned down Nykøbing Castle in 1289 with soldiers from his army.
However, the castle was subsequently rebuilt and occupied by
Christoffer II in 1329, and after his death in 1332 it was mortgaged
for a number of years, after which Valdemar Atterdag redeemed it in
1365 and made peace with the Hanseatic cities.
After Erik of
Pomerania had founded a convent at St. Nicolai Chapel in 1419, a
Holy Spirit house was built in the city in around 1440, and this
building served as home and hospital for many sick and poor in
Nykøbing. The Gray Brothers held a chapter here in 1482. In 1486,
King Hans donated the church of the neighboring town, Idestrup
Church, to the hospital in exchange for him and the royal family
having jus patronatus for the Holy Spirit Chapel in the future,
which was fulfilled. The Gothic church, Klosterkirken, was built at
the turn of the century and was part of the Franciscan monastery
until 1532, when it became a parish church. In 1507, King Hans once
again made peace with the Hanseatic cities during the Peace of
Nykøbing, but two years later the peace was over.
Klosterkirken located by Klosterstræde and Rådhusstræde. It was
completed around the year 1500 and was originally a large extension
to a Franciscan monastery founded by Erik of Pomerania in 1419. The
monastery church functioned as a castle church under Queen Sophie
Amalie in the 17th century. A large part of the monastery is
preserved and is used today as a nursing home.
The Count's Feud broke out in 1534. During this civil war, Nykøbing chose to stand on Christian II's side, and the castle was then taken over by Frederik I's widow Sophie of Pomerania and later by Sophie of Mecklenburg, who married Frederik II on the castle in 1572. After the king's death in 1588, she ruled for many years over the whole of Lolland-Falster until her death in 1631. During this period, Nykøbing Castle had almost the status of a royal castle, as several royals, such as Christian IV, often stayed on the site due to the good hunting conditions on Falster. At the same time, it is believed that the moats and fortresses around Nykøbing city were built. These were further repaired and reinforced by Sweden's King Karl 10. Gustav during the Swedish Wars in 1659. A legend says that a local priest named Jesse Jessen prevented the Swedish king from burning down Nykøbing, which was to be initiated due to the city's non-payment of fire tax. During a sermon in the monastery church, he spoke loudly to the king, and he was so influenced by the priest's speech that he spared the city from bonfires and fires.
In 1667,
Charlotte Amalie married Christian V at the castle, and at the
king's death, the estate was once again the widow's seat. Queen
Charlotte Amalie owned Nykøbing Castle until her death in 1714, and
after the Russian Tsar known as Peter the Great had visited Nykøbing
in 1716 and preferred to eat at the inn (hereinafter referred to as
the Czar's House) in front of the castle, the estate was gone.
heyday. The square's bear statue is today a reminder of the tsar's
stay in the city. In 1767, the royal family's connection to Nykøbing
Castle was finally put up for auction, which was subsequently put up
for auction and sold. Citizens and tenant farmers then demolished
the castle, and its materials were recycled for the construction of
several manors in the area and also for buildings in Nykøbing
itself. At the end of Slotsgade there are a few ruins left of the
once mighty Renaissance castle.
The first time a city council
is mentioned is in 1678, where they are referred to as "the 12
brokers". In 1710, 12 men were appointed from the four roots of the
city.
In 1803, Lolland-Falster was separated from the Diocese
of Fyens under the independent Diocese of Lolland-Falster, with
headquarters in Maribo. Thus, the clerical administration came
significantly closer to Nykøbing.
Like many other places in Denmark, Nykøbing benefited from
industrialization in the 19th century. The population increased
steadily throughout the 19th century, and Nykøbing also developed as
a trading town. Around 1834, about one-fifth of the city's
population lived by trade. In 1840, 18,185 lived on Falster, and
about 10,000 applied to the merchants in Nykøbing. In 1840 the town
had only 9 merchant ships, and 12 years later there were 18 ships
and 239 merchant cargoes. In comparison, there were also 18 ships in
Stubbekøbing with 630 commercial cargoes and 34 in Nakskov with 491
commercial cargoes. The city thus increased its position as a
trading city, despite having significantly larger port cities
nearby.
The industry began to slowly increase in the first
half of the 19th century. In 1828, the first savings bank was
established in Nykøbing. In 1835 E. Nobel tobacco spinning company
of the same name in Nykøbing. Five years later they had 11
employees, in 1844 there were 40 men employed at his factory and in
1850 the number was up to 50. Tobacco products were produced here
for Nykøbing and the surrounding area, but also other parts of the
province. E. Nobel later merged with De Danske Cigar- &
Tobaksfabrikker to Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni. During these years,
up to several ships were also produced for customers in e.g.
Stubbekøbing and Copenhagen at various shipyards. In 1842, a
distillery with steam distillery was established, and an iron
foundry was also founded and this year is considered the actual
start of industrialization in Nykøbing Falster. The foundry could
already the following year produce plows, railings, ship and machine
work. In 1847, a cotton weaving mill, a cotton factory, a dyeing
mill and a lime factory were established. About 100 people were
employed in the industry in 1848.
All the way up through the
19th century, the harbor was expanded as the city developed. The
volume of merchant ships also increased considerably especially from
about 1840 onwards. The channel in the strait was deepened to allow
larger ships access to the harbor. Likewise, the city got a railway
connection with Gåbense around 1830 and in 1837 Nakskov and
Copenhagen.
The town received its first newspaper in 1835,
which was published under the name Stift-Tidende, after it was moved
from Maribo to Nykøbing. It was established as early as 1806 under
the somewhat longer name Kongelige allernaadigst privileged
Adresse-Contoir's Intelligence for the Diocese of Lolland-Falster.
In 1846, the civic corps was abolished, and an actual fire and
police corps was established in the city instead. At the outbreak of
the Three Years' War, several young men traveled from the city to
participate and defend the homeland. A number of townhouses were
built during this period, including Staldgården built as a working -
class neighborhood in the early 1800s and Købmandsgården from 1860.
The same applies to several houses in Slotsgade.
At the
beginning of 1853, it was decided that an actual hospital should be
built in Nykøbing, which had been financed by a loan. It was still
under construction in Jernbanegade when a cholera epidemic came to
the city in June with sailors from Copenhagen. Several sick people
were placed in magazines at the harbor, made available by local
merchants, and the free school in the town was used as the hospital.
D.G. Monrad, who had been appointed bishop of the Diocese of
Lolland-Falster in 1849, visited the sick almost daily. A total of
87 died of cholera, corresponding to about 3% of the city's
population. The hospital was opened in January 1854 with five
hospitals.
The trade was given
free rein when the city got a new business law, which was approved
in 1857. As a result, the old city unions ceased to be protected in
the city, and all citizens could therefore sell, for example,
carpentry work without being a member of the carpenters' union. The
craftsmen's guilds complained, but it still came into force at the
beginning of 1862. This meant that all the town's craftsmen's guilds
were abolished quite soon after, and the tailors' guilds were closed
down as the last in April this year.
The city's street
network changed a lot when the area around the old castle began to
be included. Around 1860, this entire area was bridged or built on.
As early as 1820, the moat had been filled up. During the Second
Schleswig War, money was collected and sent, among other things.
bandage for the victims of the war. Many young men left to support
the war effort, but Nykøbing was not as hard hit by the defeat as
elsewhere in the country.
In 1865, the city got a gasworks, which i.a. improved the street
lighting considerably, as the city's street lamp had hitherto been
very sparse. City gas was first phased out again in the 1960s.
After many years of discussions, a pontoon bridge was built in
1867 with the road Christian d. 9´s Bridge over Guldborg Sound to
Lolland, which at the inauguration was the longest in Denmark.
Previously, the crossing had taken place by boat, which had become
more and more cumbersome as more and larger quantities of goods were
brought in and out of the city. In 1875, a railway bridge was built
so that the railway lines on Lolland could reach Nykøbing. Both the
pontoon bridge and the railway bridge had a swing section in the
middle that could open for passing ships. These two bridges existed
- with several rebuilds - until 1963, when the current bridge was
opened, which was located somewhat further south than the two
original bridges. Suddenly, Nykøbing's catchment area had become
twice as large. When the cultivation of sugar beet on
Lolland-Falster had begun at the same time, a sugar factory was
established by landowner Edward Tesdorpf in 1884. The number of
beets at the factory increased steadily, and was thus expanded as
early as 1890.
At Stormfloden 1872, Nykøbing Falster, like a
large part of southern Denmark, was hit by major floods. However,
the town was not hit as hard as the rest of Lolland-Falster, and
despite major floods, as far as is known, there were no deaths in
Nykøbing.
The first cooperative slaughterhouse on
Lolland-Falster was established in Nykøbing in 1889. There was
already a pig slaughterhouse in Maribo at this time, but this was
owned by shares.
In the 20th century, Nykøbing's
industrialization gained further momentum with the establishment of
a margarine factory, a steam mill, a cooperative pig slaughterhouse
and other industrial plants. Although Maribo owned the area's
cathedral and had given its name to Maribo County, it was in
Nykøbing that the bishop and the county governor lived. The city was
by far the largest and most important administrative and industrial
city in Falster and eastern Lolland. In addition, it was the only
port in Guldborg Sound.
From the beginning of the 20th
century, the city also began to expand to the north, in the new
district called Nørrebro and to the east Østerbro. Especially in the
1920s and 1930s, the house was built and new roads established here.
In 1907, Lollands Handels- og Landbrugsbank was established in
Nykøbing. Especially after the First World War, the bank entered a
recovery. In 1908 a new water tower was built for the city. The new
Nykøbing Water Tower became the city's largest at a total of 43
meters and was the country's first reinforced concrete building.
Until 1976, it provided the city's water supply.
In 1912, the
Danish rowing four with helmsman won gold. The five men came from
Nykøbing Falster Roklub and the helmsman Poul Hartmann, was himself
born in Nykøbing. In previous years, this team had also won several
medals. Several sports clubs were established during these years,
including B1901 and B1921, both of which did well nationally.
In the interwar period, Nykøbing's population grew: in 1921 12,970,
in 1925 13,541, in 1930 13,919, in 1935 14,801, in 1940 15,147
inhabitants. But at the same time there was growth in the suburbs of
Kraghave and Bangsebro in Tingsted Parish, where a number of people with
jobs in Nykøbing settled.
At the census in 1930, Nykøbing had
13,919 inhabitants, of which 954 supported themselves by non-material
activities, 6,416 by crafts and industry, 2,406 by trade etc., 1,322 by
transport, 388 by agriculture, forestry and fishing, 1,103 by housework,
1,194 were out of business, and 136 had not stated the source of income.
The price of sugar rose during the 1920s boom, which the sugar
factory benefited from. In 1928, 300 were employed in the factory, as
well as 30 women in the office during the beet campaign, when the
workload was greatest. When the stock market crashed in New York in
1929, the recession during the Depression caused a drop in food prices,
including sugar. This was of great importance to the town, as the sugar
factory was among the largest employers. However, they recovered and in
1950 there were approx. 400 workers in the campaign which lasted 3-4
months.
After the Second World War, Nykøbing continued its population growth.
In 1945 there were 16,097 inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 17,192
inhabitants, in 1955 17,789 inhabitants, in 1960 17,850 inhabitants and
in 1965 17,880 inhabitants. In addition to the former suburbs, Øster
Toreby station town developed into a suburb, as did Nagelsti Brohuse and
Sundby, all in Toreby Municipality, and Hasselø Plantage in Veggerløse
Municipality.
In 1953, the factory in Nykøbing even took over the
Copenhagen Sugar Refinery, with which it had previously collaborated. In
1963, Frederik d. 9's Bridge was completed. It was a combined railway
and 4-track road bridge, which replaced the two previous bridges that
had been built in the 1800s.
Urban development led to the
establishment of an urban development committee, which drew up an urban
development plan for the Nykøbing Falster area, including both the
market town, the suburban municipality and several rural municipalities.
Nykøbing fell into a period of decline at the end of the 20th
century. The port lost its importance as an industrial center, and
several factories and companies closed in the city. In the year 2000,
DSB decided to close down the Copenhagen-Berlin train connection, which
was a more direct connection between the two capitals than EuroCity's
current one. With this, for the first time in centuries, Nykøbing was
not a significant place for traffic between Scandinavia and central
Europe.
In the early 2000s, however, things started to move
forward again for the city. Nykøbing bets on tourism, not least at the
resort Marielyst, which is less than 15 kilometers from the city.
Gradually, a number of new schools and educational institutions have
also been added, and after the municipal reform in 2007, the town has
become an important administrative center for Guldborgsund Municipality.
In connection with the relocation of government workplaces in 2015,
62 positions in the Danish Palaces and Culture Agency and 25 positions
from the Danish Business Authority were moved to Nykøbing Falster.
During the relocation of government workplaces in 2018, 56 workplaces
from the Danish Business Authority and 13 from the Digital Agency were
moved to Nykøbing. In addition, the education as a production
technologist was moved from the Zealand Business Academy in Køge to the
city.
Nykøbing Falster is a harbor town next to Guldborg Sund roughly in
the middle of Falster's western coast. From Nykøbing it is 23 kilometers
to Gedser, just under 27 to Maribo, just over 31 to Vordingborg, 41 to
Rødbyhavn, just under 52 to Nakskov and 123 to Copenhagen.
The
city is divided by Primary Route 9 which runs from north to south. The
centre, which is the old part of the city, is surrounded by primary
route 9 to the east and Engboulevarden to the north-east, as well as
Guldborg Sund to the west. The district of Østerport lies east of the
center on the other side of the main route and, with the exception of a
small area in the southernmost part of the district, is primarily a
residential area with terraced houses, detached houses and apartment
buildings. Nørrebro is located north of the city center and has a lot of
housing in the form of residential areas and apartment buildings.
At the outlet of Tingsted Å, where Nykøbing Castle was located, a
newly built area called Slotsbryggen has been established with several
large apartments overlooking Guldborg Sound and the marina.
North
of the city was the former village of Kraghave, which today has grown
together with the northern district, Nordbyen, which primarily has
detached houses. In the north-eastern part of the city lies an
industrial district.
Just west of Guldborg Sund is the satellite
town of Sundby, and a little further west of this is Øster Toreby.
The whole of Guldborg Sund is a Natura 2000 area. Natura 2000 area
no. 173, Smålandsfarvandet and Guldborgsund with shores cover four areas
with bird protection and a total of 79,069 ha. Access is prohibited on
several of the islands near Nykøbing Falster because they are breeding
areas. The Norwegian Nature Agency manages the Natura 2000 areas, as
well as two forest areas east and north-east of Nykøbing.
Tingsted Å runs from the east across the city, a little north of the old
centre, with its outlet at Slotsbryggen and Guldborg Sund.
Because Nykøbing is very south of the country, and right next to a strait, the average temperature is generally slightly above the national average. Especially in summer, it is around 1 °C above the national average. The amount of precipitation is below the national average.
Harbor
Nykøbing Falster Harbor is a commercial port with a total
of 1.2 km of quay and an area of around 100,000 m2. The harbor is 6.1 m
deep. The harbor was expanded several times throughout the 19th century
as cattle and sugar production in the area increased. The largest ships
that can sail there are 129 m long and 20 m wide. There are several
cranes for loading and unloading goods.
There is also a marina at
Slotsbryggen and a smaller marina called Lergravens Sejl- og
Fiskeriklub, located south of Frederik d. 9's Bro towards the outskirts
of the city. There are a total of 550 berths in the harbour, but around
300 of these belong to various sailing and fishing clubs.
Collective transport
The current Nykøbing F Station, which was built
in connection with the Fugleflugtslinjen, is operated by DSB. It is the
terminus for regional trains from Copenhagen via Ringsted and a stop for
trains to Rødby. International trains from Copenhagen to Hamburg (via
ferry Rødby-Puttgarden) also stop in Nykøbing. The Lollandsbanen local
train, which runs via Maribo to Nakskov, has a terminus in Nykøbing. The
latter is operated by Lokaltog.
In the past, the Gedserbanen also
ran through the town, but this train operation ceased in 2010. The town
was also a station on the Stubbekøbing-Nykøbing-Nysted Line, which was
closed on two rounds. First in 1961, when the operation from Nysted to
Nykøbing was discontinued, and later in 1966, when the operation from
Stubbekøbing ceased.
In May 2013, the Ministry of Transport
announced that Nykøbing Falster must also be part of the hourly model,
which will reduce the travel time between the largest cities in Denmark
to one hour.
The city is served by several bus lines that run
both as city buses and to destinations outside the city, and which are
operated by Movia. City bus lines 701 and 702 run twice an hour during
the day, and 12 of the total of 16 local bus routes in Guldborgsund
Municipality start in Nykøbing. The following bus routes start at
Nykøbing F Station:
701 Nørrebro - Nykøbing F Station - Østerbro
702 Nordbyen - Nykøbing F Station - Sundby - Middelaldercentret
730
Nykøbing F Station - Nysted - Holeby
732 Nykøbing F Station -
Sakskøbing Station
736 Nykøbing F Station - Stubbekøbing - Nørre
Alslev Station
737 Nykøbing F Station - Horbelev - Stubbekøbing
Harbour
740 Nykøbing F Station - Væggerløse - Skelby - Gedser
741
Nykøbing F Station - Idestrup - Marielyst - Bøtø
742 Nykøbing F
Station - Hasselø - Væggerløse - Marielyst
744N Nykøbing F Station -
Væggerløse - Marielyst
703E Nykøbing F Station - CELF
750E
Nykøbing F Station - Faro - Damme - Stege
In addition, "Route 800"
departs from Nykøbing Falster to Odense via Spodsbjerg-Tårs and several
bus companies that run from Copenhagen to Berlin also stop at the
railway station.
The nearest motorway is the southern motorway, from which the E55
goes straight through the town via the Skovalleen. Primary route 9 runs
from Nykøbing Falster via Maribo and across Funen to Odense. Frederik d.
9's Bro, which is part of Primary Route 9, connects Nykøbing with
Lolland. The bridge is a girder and folding bridge that allows large
ships and yachtsmen with sailing ships where the mast cannot be lowered
to gain access to the harbour. Gaabensevej, which crosses into
Engboulevarden and Vesterskovvej to end in Gedser Landevej, is one of
the largest roads in the city and runs from north to south and is
connected to the E55 at both ends. Prinsholmvej goes around the southern
part of the city. Another major road is Østerbrogade, which runs from
the center east out of the city. It takes about an hour and a half by
car to Copenhagen.
In 2012, the construction of Nykøbing Falster
Omfartsvej began, which will direct traffic around the city and
especially relieve the central road network in Nykøbing for ferry
traffic to Gedser Harbour. The road was inaugurated in November 2014.
The city's many pedestrian streets connect central Nykøbing in the
form of Torvet, the area around the water tower and the monastery
church.
Airports
The nearest airport is Lolland-Falster
Airport at Holeby on Lolland, which is actually an airfield without
fixed airlines with departures to and from the airport. Copenhagen
Airport, the largest in Scandinavia, is just under an hour and a half's
drive from Nykøbing.
In addition, there is Flughafen
Rostock-Laage in Rostock, Germany, which is a regional airport.
Until 1976, Nykøbing Water Tower provided the city's water supply.
From 2010, Guldborgsund Municipality has transferred the supply of
water, district heating and waste water to Guldborgsund Forsyning, which
is however owned by Guldborgsund Municipality. The company I/S Refa owns
the district heating plant in the city, which uses wood chips for fuel.
The plant also supplies parts of the area around Nykøbing. SEAS-NVE has
a duty to supply electricity in the area, but like everywhere else there
is freedom to choose other suppliers. Another district heating plant is
located on the outskirts of Øster Toreby to the west of the city.
Nykøbing also has a waterworks that is part of Guldbordsund Vand. It
produces approx. 70,000 m3 of water per year, and the waterworks has
around 40 km of mains in Nykøbing and the surrounding area. Waste water
is also handled at the city's own waste water plant. There is also a
waterworks industrial park in Øster Toreby that supplies Øster Toreby,
Sundby and Nagelsti with water.
Nykøbing Falster has a recycling
site that is also run by Refa. It is located in Nordbyen just south of
the district heating plant.
The Franciscan monastery served as the city's hospital in the Middle
Ages. Today Nykøbing F. Hospital is the only hospital in the
municipality and thus covers eastern Lolland and the whole of Falster.
It has approx. 1,140 employees. The hospital has an emergency room,
anaesthesia, geriatrics, gynaecology, including delivery, cardiac
outpatient clinic and cardiology examination, radiology, wound
treatment, X-ray department, a children's and youth department and an
ear-nose-throat clinic. Region Zealand is the region that spends the
most money per population on the pre-hospital intervention.
There
are three medical centers in the city; one at Slotsbryggen, one at the
harbor close to Museum Lolland-Falster and one in the Østerbro district.
Falck's branch in the city is the headquarters of Guldborgsund
Municipality and is located on Østerbro. The vehicle fleet includes
several vehicles for fire and rescue, including two sprayer vehicles,
two tankers, four ambulances, a bed ambulance and several vehicles for
patient transport.
In Nordbyen there is Nykøbing F. Animal
Hospital, which specializes in small animal clinics, and by the harbor
is Guldborgsund Animal Hospital, which, among other things, performs CT
scans and binocular surgeries.
Nykøbing Falster local police is
part of Sydsjælland and Lolland-Falster Police and has an office in
Vestergade. In addition, the Court is located in Nykøbing Falster, whose
jurisdiction covers Lolland, Guldborgsund and Vordingborg Municipality.
Nykøbing Falster is the commercial and industrial center of Falster and a large part of Lolland. A considerable part of the city's economy is based on tourism, and there are 7,750 holiday homes in the municipality.
The city has many small and medium-sized companies, and a number of
larger companies from Denmark have branches in the city. This applies,
among other things, to the advisory company NIRAS, the auditing and
consulting company Deloitte, the laboratory analysis company Eurofins,
the legal form Advodan, the car dealer Ejner Hessel A/S, and the
Dantaxis branch that covers the Guldborgsund area. The price comparison
website PriceRunner has its Danish office in the city. The estate agent
chain homes service center, which covers Zealand South, is located in
Jernbanegade.
A large part of the city's business is located in
the industrial area in the district of Nordbyen, which i.a. includes
several car dealers, car rental companies, workshops and auto paint
shops, Dagrofa S-Engros, STARK and IDEmøbler. Scandinavian Tobacco
Group's production department of cigarillos in Denmark is also located
in this area. Around 160 are employed here, and they produce approx. 250
million cigarillos per year. The factory was established as early as
1835 as E. Nobel. In September 2016, it was announced that the company
intends to close the production facilities in Nykøbing.
For many
years, the Nykøbing Falster Sugar Factory was one of the most important
workplaces in the city. The original factory was built in 1884. Together
with Nakskov Sugar Factory, the factory is the only two still in use on
the island, and they are both owned by Nordic Sugar. The factory has
around 180 employees, and slightly more during the beet campaign, which
lasts from September to January. Raaco A/S, which produces storage
systems for individuals and businesses, is located just west of Nykøbing
in Øster Toreby. The company was established in 1956 and had 105
employees in 2014. Despite the fact that agriculture and forestry are
important occupations in the municipality, less than 10% of the
population is employed in these occupations, and in Nykøbing city the
figure is even lower .
Both the regional daily newspaper
Lolland-Falster's Folketidende and Radio SydhavsØerne have their
headquarters in the city. The nationwide humanitarian organization,
Dansk Folkehjælp, also has its head office in Nykøbing, after it was
moved from Holeby at the beginning of 2014. The clothing chain Deres was
founded in Nykøbing by Kai Ginsborg in 1939, and the chain today
consists of 67 stores throughout the country. It was originally founded
under the name Carlton and traded men's, women's and children's clothing
as well as home textiles.
The Danish Palaces and Culture Agency
and the Danish Business Authority have both got branches in Nykøbing
Falster in connection with the relocation of government workplaces in
2015.
The majority of the city's retail trade is concentrated around
Torvet, the pedestrian streets around it and the north-south running
Slotsgade/Langgade/Frisegade, which is part of the medieval street
course. The stores include several large chains, including clothing and
shoe stores such as H&M, Paw Sko, Tøjeksperten, Vero Moda electronics
retailers such as TDC and Fona, the toy chains Fætter BR and Legekæden,
bookstores such as Arnold Busck and Bog & idé, as well as the hardware
store chains Imerco and Inspiration. Several restaurants, cafes and
pizzerias are also found in this area. Denmark's oldest wine shop,
Marius Mortensens Eftf., is located in Frisegade, and it was founded in
1866. There are also smaller shops and cafes at Slotsbryggen. In a
three-storey building, called Midtpunktet, on Jernbanegade is a small
shopping center which, among other things, contains shoe, toy and
clothing stores. In the Østerbro district is the Lindholm centre, which
also contains a small handful of daily and specialty shops.
Guldborgsundcentret, located just west of Frederik d. 9's Bro, contains
a large number of large shops and department stores, including Føtex,
hardware stores Harald Nyborg and jem & fix, JYSK, Thansen.dk and
Elgiganten.
The catchment includes Guldborgsund Municipality and
parts of both Lolland and Vordingborg Municipality.
The town has a hotel, a hostel and several bed and breakfasts. Hotel Falster is located in the northern part of the city, and is a family-run hotel with 68 rooms that was established in 1986. In June 2014, the hotel was ravaged by a violent fire, where the restaurant, reception and some meeting rooms burned down. However, Hotel Falster quickly got up and running again, but without the burned down facilities. Danhostel runs a hostel with 22 rooms on the eastern edge of the city, and a campsite next to SvømmeCenter Falster, also on the edge of Østerbro.
Nykøbing Falster is today the headquarters of Guldborgsund Municipality. Until the Municipal Reform 2007, Nykøbing Falster Municipality existed, which covered the city itself and part of the catchment area. The municipality has traditionally been a social democratic municipality, with several mayors from this party. Poul-Henrik Pedersen, who was a popular mayor through several election periods since 1990, managed to retain the title of mayor despite two party changes. Today, John Brædder from the local list Guldborgsundlisten is mayor, which he has been since the election in 2009.
As the largest city in Falster, and with a large catchment area
especially in the eastern part of Lolland, several educational
institutions are represented in Nykøbing Falster.
University
College Sjælland's "campus Storstrøm" is divided between Vordingborg and
Nykøbing Falster, with the nursing, leisure management, social worker
and pedagogue programs in Nykøbing. In 2015, UCSJ Nykøbing Falster
received 1154 applications, which was an increase of 21% compared to the
previous year and the sixth year in a row with an application record.
The town's, and Falster's, only public high school is Nykøbing
Katedralskole, which also offers HE. It was founded in 1498, and in 2006
passed into freehold ownership. In 2011, the grade point average was
6.61, which was slightly below the national average of 6.89. In 2015,
257 students started at STX and 55 at HF. CELF includes HTX, HHX, HG and
several vocational training courses. Among the vocational courses are,
among other things, vocational training such as mechanic, blacksmith,
plumbing fitter, bricklayer and carpenter, as well as landscape
gardener, animal sitter, IT supporter, baker and confectioner. CELF has
addresses in both Østerbro and Nørrebro. Katedralskolen and CELF both
draw young people from a large catchment area, as they are the only ones
offering youth education in Falster and a large part of Østlolland.
At Østerbro, VUC Storstrøm's branch is located in Nykøbing, where
you can take both HF and HF individual subjects. The production school
Multicenter Syd, is located just west of Nykøbing, and offers practical
teaching courses for young people between 16 and 25 years of age. The
school has workshops for e.g. wood, metal, cars and mopeds as well as
facilities for the kitchen and canteen. Around 20 teachers are employed,
and the school runs a café and gallery in Nykøbing Vandtårn, where
students exhibit art produced at the school.
The town has six
public schools[139] and two private schools. One of these, St. Joseph
Søstrenes Skole, is Catholic, but it is open to all faiths.
Just
east of the city in the small settlement Lynghuse is Falster Efterskole,
which has room for around 60 pupils. Nykøbing F. Evening Schools is
located in the central part of Nykøbing, and offers a wide range of
courses including IT, language, music, gymnastics, needlework and
photography. The evening school has existed since 1969, when several
evening schools and housework associations in Nykøbing Falster
Municipality were merged. In the center of the city is also the
Guldborgsund Music School, which offers music lessons for children and
young people aged 0-25 living in Guldborgsund Municipality. String
instruments, woodwind and brass instruments, percussion as well as
singing, ear training and dance are taught.
The municipality runs
a language and integration center in Kraghave, which is an extension of
Nordbyen, where foreigners in the municipality are offered Danish
lessons.
Folkeuniversitetet has lectures in Nykøbing at the same
address as Teatret Masken. The nearest college is Højskolen Marielyst,
which is located in an old seaside hotel in the holiday town of
Marielyst, 12 km east of the city. It has existed since 1971 and has
recently had a concert hall built. The college offers lectures, concerts
and courses in creative subjects such as painting, sewing, glass, wood
and jewelery making.
Nykøbing Falster contains several museums, several theaters and has recurring cultural events.
The medieval center is the city's absolute biggest tourist
attraction, although it is actually located in Sundby on the Lolland
side of Guldborgsund. The center was founded in 1989, when the city
celebrated its 700th anniversary. The city museum was the first in the
world to reconstruct a medieval throwing machine called a blide, which
attracted up to 30,000 visitors during the three weeks the experiment
lasted. The museum has since been greatly expanded, and today consists
of a reconstructed section of a typical Danish market town around the
year 1400. It is visited by between 45,000 and 55,000 people annually,
and creates increased turnover in Nykøbing as one of the region's most
important tourist magnets.
Guldborgsund Zoo is the city's zoo,
and it contains around 80 different species. In addition, it also has a
large collection of flowers and rare cacti.
Museum
Lolland-Falster's department Falster's Minder is the city museum for
Nykøbing, and in addition the museum has The Old Merchant's Trade.
Falster's Minder contains the city's tourist information. In addition,
the Czar's House with restaurant is part of the museum. The museum has
administration in the city. There is also the Nykøbing Falster
Hairdressing Museum and the Fire Museum in the same building. Finally,
there is the Toy Museum at Ejegod Mølle.
Annually recurring cultural events include the Nykøbing F. Revyen,
which attracts many visitors to the city every year. In 2014, it was the
country's third most watched revue with over 33,200 tickets sold. It has
also won both Revyernes Revy and Charlies Revygalla, and the revue has a
positive effect on many of the city's restaurants and cafes, which offer
revue menus to guests.
A culture night is held on the Friday
before the autumn holidays, often combined with Late Night, where the
shops in the city stay open long. Both parts attract many guests, and
the latter is held several times a year.
Nykøbing Falster Festuge
is held every year in the last week of July or the first week of August,
and it attracts around 35,000 guests from the whole region every year.
During the festival week, a large number of concerts will be held,
including Kandis, Joey Moe, De Glade Sømænd and Infernal have played.
The festival week, like the Medieval Centre, was established in 1989 on
the occasion of the city's 700th anniversary. Today, both the culture
night, the festival week and Late Nights are organized by the City
association, where over 130 shops are members.
The city contains three different theatres; Nykøbing Falster Theatre, which has roots dating back to the 19th century, Teatret Masken, which was founded in 1978 and is located in Kulturforsyningen, as well as the amateur theater Sprujtehusteatret. Several concerts are held in Kulturfabrikken every year. In addition, the city has a cinema, Nordisk Film Biografer Nykøbing (formerly Scala Bio), which is one of the largest in the region, as well as an open studio with a group of artists. The cinema is located on Slotsbryggen and the only remnant of Nykøbing Castle can be found just outside the main entrance.
In the town there are several old houses; the most famous is the
Czar's House from 1716 in Langgade, which was originally the town's inn,
but which is now a town museum and restaurant. In the same street, there
are old townhouses in nos. 16 and 18, the latter of which is the market
town's oldest, built in 1580. The Ritmestergården, located on the corner
of Frisegade and Store Kirkestræde, is an old half-timbered farm from
1630, which was originally a haunt for itinerant craftsmen, as a place
called Naverhule, now used by the tavern Marinestuen. In Jernbanegade
there is a longer shop front whose architecture is inspired by Baltic
bazaars.
Since 1994, Nykøbing Vandtårn has functioned as a
viewing tower for the public and later also as an exhibition for various
artists. It has seven floors and 146 steps lead up to the viewing post
32 meters above the asphalt. The tower has an architectural design
reminiscent of the water towers in Nysted and Sakskøbing, also located
in Lolland-Falster. The city's oldest water tower is located next to the
city's monastery.
The city's library is the main library for
Guldborgsund Municipality.
There are a total of three churches in
Nykøbing Falster. The oldest and most famous is the Klosterkirken, which
was founded in 1419, but there are also Lindeskovkirken and Nordre
Kirke.
Green areas, squares and sculptures
Nykøbing Falster
has only a few large green areas available to the public. However, there
are many residential areas with gardens, and most multi-storey buildings
have green areas adjacent to the properties, and large parts of the
local area are forest, fields and meadows.
Along Tingsted Å at
Engboulevarden, several areas have been designated as green areas. This
includes e.g. an area in front of Nykøbing F. Hallen, where a lake has
been created, and on the other side of Engboulevarden there is also a
small park in connection with Nykøbing Falster Central Library.
Guldborgsund Zoo, or the folk park as it is sometimes referred to, is
another of the city's green areas.
The town has two cemeteries;
Nordre Kirkegård, located around Nordre Kirke in Nørrebro just south of
the industrial quarter, and Østre Kirkegård on Østerbro. They are
referred to under the common name Nykøbing F. Kirkegårde. Østre
Kirkegård was commissioned on 6 August 1883 and covers 3.5 ha. Here are,
among other things, Caspar Wegener, who was a Danish priest and bishop.
At Østre Kirkegård, a monument has been erected for D.G. Monrad, former
bishop of Lolland-Falster, in the memorial grove for former bishops in
Lolland-Falster Diocese. Nordre Kirkegård was inaugurated in 1923 and
has an area of 6.5 ha. Here is Viggo Brodthagen's gravestone and the
polar explorer Peter Freuchen's family gravesite (Freuchen's own ashes,
however, were scattered at Thule). Both cemeteries are to some extent
used as parks.
The square is the largest and busiest square in
the city. On the square there is a fountain called "Bjørnebrønden" after
the bear that stands above the water. The statue was made by Mogens
Bøggild in 1939 and is carved in granite to commemorate Peter the Great
who visited the city in 1716. In addition, there is a fountain that is
popularly called "the cannon". The square is centrally located in the
center of the city and is connected to the pedestrian network. On the
square, concerts are also played during the festival week and square
days are held. Grønttorvet is a small square between Slotsgade and
Vesterborg Allé a little north of Torvet. Slotsgade ends in another
square called Vandmøllepladsen, which is named after the water mill that
has been in connection with Nykøbing Castle. Around the Nykøbing Water
Tower is Hollands Gård, which is mainly a parking lot, but which also
contains cafes with outdoor seating, and sculptures by Thomas Chr. Birch
Kadziola, in the same style as the somewhat larger figures that he
executed at Kragenæs in Vestlolland for the work Dodekalitte. In front
of the monastery church there is also a square with a large plane tree,
and where Rådshusstræde meets Østergågade, Jernbanegade and Nygade there
is also a small square with a sculpture made of steel and stone with
running water.
In Frisegade, there is a plaque in a house facade
commemorating that Freuchen was born here in 1886. In a roundabout on
Østerbro, there is a memorial to Edward Tesdorpf, who established the
Nykøbing Falster Sugar Factory in 1884.
On the bandegård square
there is a fountain shaped like a sugar beet. A little further south is
the Bird, a large iron sculpture that can be seen from Brovejen, which
runs past the railway station. On the south-eastern outskirts of the
city, a traffic light has been set up in a roundabout. Bliden was the
first that the Medieval Center produced in connection with the city's
700th anniversary. As it did not work as intended, it was instead set up
as a decoration in the roundabout and another was built which is in use
at the museum today.
In Nykøbing F. Hallen there are facilities for a large part of the
city's sports clubs, and it contains a total of three halls. Denmark's
largest karate club Okinawa Goju-Ryu, athletic field and soccer field.
In connection with the hall is the Nykøbing Falster Sports Park with
space for a total of 10,000 spectators, where Nykøbing FC (formerly the
Lolland-Falster Alliance) has its home ground. The club was founded in
1994 as an elite superstructure of the football clubs B 1901 and B 1921,
which for many years promoted in Danish division football and in the
Men's National Cup. The clubs have, among other things, fostered Michael
Hansen, who is among the four players with the most games in the Super
League.
The town's handball club is Nykøbing Falster Handball
Club, whose women's team secured entry to the Women's Handball League in
the 2013/2014 season. The club saw a significant increase in attendance
in 2015 at both away and home games this season. Most home matches were
completely sold out and the matches were watched by an average of 61,333
viewers on television, making it the highest number in both women's and
men's handball. The club was temporarily sponsored by PriceRunner, which
has a branch in the city. During this period, their home ground was
called PriceRunner Arena. Scandlines took over the sponsorship in 2014
and the hall is now called Scandlines Arena and it is also connected to
Nykøbing F. Hallen. The Attila basketball club is one of the country's
oldest. It was originally established as part of the athletics club
Attila in 1936, but was separated in 1979 as its own association.
Between the city's campsite and one of CELF's addresses is
SvømmeCenter Falster in the south-eastern end of the city. The swimming
pool has several different pools and a water park. There are also
several football pitches on which the city's football clubs train, as
well as an indoor tennis hall.
Nykøbing F. Travbane is a trotting
track a little south of the city, which was founded in 1966. In 2014, it
was threatened with closure when the Folketinget decided to reduce the
support from the tip funds for equestrian sport by 5 million. DKK in
2015. There is also a golf club with an associated golf course on the
eastern outskirts of the city.
The city is home to Denmark's
largest wrestling club BK Thor, where, among other things, Mark O.
Madsen comes from Madsen won medals at several world championships in
wrestling, and represented Denmark at the 2012 Olympics. The club has
won 223 Danish championships in 95 years. In addition, there is the
badminton club NBK and a motor sports club which, as the only one in
Lolland-Falster, organizes club rallies, rallies and DM rallies and
several other sports clubs.
Nykøbing F. Bueskyttelaug was founded
in 1954, and the double world champion in compound archery from 2015,
Stephan Hansen originates from this club. In 2012, the club hosted the
youth EC in archery, where Hansen won gold in the individual shooting,
as well as the club won gold in the Cadet Mixed Team.
In June
2017, the race Vegvisir was held for the first time, which started at
Slotsbryggen in Nykøbing Falster. In 2018, the DM in road cycling was
held in Guldborgsund Municipality. The two individual starters, ladies
and gentlemen, had their start and finish in Nykøbing Falster. They were
won by respectively Martin Toft Madsen and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.