Roskilde is a Danish town on East Zealand next to the
southeastern part of Roskilde Fjord. It is one of the country's
oldest cities and is the capital of Roskilde Municipality between
Copenhagen, Ringsted, Holbæk and Denmark's 10th largest city with
51,262 inhabitants (2020). The city belongs to Region Zealand.
The town is located at the end of Roskilde Fjord in a hilly
terrain, so the Cathedral can be seen from large parts of Northeast
Zealand. The city was a large and important city already from the
Middle Ages, as it had a cathedral and several monasteries were
established. The bishop of Roskilde was one of the most powerful
people in the country, and changing kings also prioritized the city.
After the Reformation, the city's importance diminished, and the
black death and large city fires further did their part to reduce
the population up through the Renaissance and during the autocracy,
where Copenhagen and the Øresund region grew strongly. During
industrialization, the population grew steadily, as it did in most
of the country.
With its infrastructure, the city is a
regional hub and has been at least since the 18th century with the
construction of Roskildevej 1770-76, the inauguration of Vestbanen
in 1847, as the country's first railway, and most recently the
construction of Holbækmotorvejen in the 1960s and Roskilde Airport.
in the 1970s. In terms of trade, the city is also an important
center with a large catchment area, where RO's Torv and the
pedestrian streets in the center of the city attract people.
Roskilde is a large educational city with i.a. vocational college,
technical school, several high schools and Roskilde University.
The annual Roskilde Festival is visited by over 100,000 people
from all over the world, and Roskilde is during this period the
country's fourth largest city. Roskilde Cathedral is on UNESCO's
World Heritage List, and the well-preserved Viking ships, called the
Skuldelev ships, which are exhibited at the Viking Ship Museum, also
attract many tourists. In addition, there are i.a. The Museum of
Contemporary Art, Roskilde Museum and Museum Ragnarock.
Museums
The Viking Ship Museum
The Viking Ship Museum has five
original Viking ships found in Roskilde Fjord in the early 1960s called
Skuldelev 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 (what was first thought to be Skuldelev 4
turned out to be parts of Skuldelev 2). The museum has also
reconstructed a number of ships and boats, five of them from the
Skuldelev ships. The largest is the Sea Stallion from Glendalough, which
sailed to Dublin in 2007. In 2016, the Viking Ship Museum was visited by
over 155,000 guests.
Ragnarok
Museum Ragnarock - The museum
for pop, rock and youth culture. (formerly Danmarks Rockmuseum) is a
museum of pop, rock and youth culture that opened on 29 April 2016.
The museum is located in the district Musicon in Roskilde on the
main street Rabalderstræde 16. The museum is a combination of a "music
experimentarium" called the "sound laboratory" and a museum exhibition
about youth culture. The museum is part of Roskilde Museum and the
museum group ROMU. In the first five months after opening, the museum
had over 50,000 visitors, and a very large proportion of people under
18. In 2018, the museum was named one of the world's best museums by
National Geographic
Other museums
The Museum of Contemporary
Art in "Det Gule Palæ" next to the Cathedral
Roskilde Museum, which
in addition to the collections in the museum handles, among other
things, the following collections
The craftsman's museum with timber
merchant Børge Dahl's collections
Roskilde Cathedral Museum
The
palace collections in "Det Gule Palæ" which illuminate parts of
Roskilde's bourgeois culture
Roskilde Museums Købmandsgård –
Lützhøfts Købmandsgård in Ringstedgade
Roskilde Mini City, an outdoor
model of the city as it looked in the year 1400, set up on Sankt Ibs vej
Roskilde Butcher Museum, housed in a former butcher shop
Squares,
squares and parks
Stændertorvet is a large central square that lies
between the pedestrian street and the cathedral. It was established
after the Reformation. At the station is Hestetorvet.
Roskilde
contains several green areas and parks. In the center of the city are
both Folkeparken and Byparken. In addition, there is Roskilde Ring Park
in the southern part of the city, which was established where the
Roskilde Ring motorsport track was previously located.
Roskilde
Cathedral
The city's biggest attraction is Roskilde Cathedral, which
was the only cathedral in Zealand until the 20th century. The cathedral,
which dates from the early Middle Ages and is in Gothic style, is the
burial place for a long line of Danish kings and queens. A number of
royal funeral chapels have therefore been added to the building and have
thus changed the appearance of the building.
It was added to
UNESCO's World Heritage List in December 1995. The reasons were, among
other things, that the National Museum had drawn up an application
several hundred pages long. It contained a statement that all criteria
for being declared a world-class monument were met. Including the
following:
Excellent architecture and artistic decoration.
Historical significance not only for Denmark, but the entire Baltic Sea
region.
High degree of authenticity despite several fires and
sometimes rough restorations.
The significance as a "landmark" of the
city and its surroundings.
Nice interaction between the Cathedral and
the immediate surroundings.
Good protection through Danish
legislation.
In 2016, the cathedral was visited by over 144,000
guests.
Music
The regional venue Gimle organizes different
concerts every year, including a number of free concerts in Byparken.
Roskilde festival
Every year since 1971, Roskilde Festival has
been held in the town. With over 100,000 guests, the festival is
Northern Europe's largest music festival. Roskilde Festival relies
heavily on volunteers, and it is estimated that every year there are
between 20-25,000 volunteers who help out. Every year, the festival
donates its profits to humanitarian and cultural causes worldwide.
Due to the festival's importance within Danish music, it has been
decided to build Denmark's Rock Museum in the city.
Other sights
Sankt Laurentii Kirkeruin under Stændertorvet
Sankt Ibs Church, nave
from an old frosted stone church
Roskilde Monastery, the first noble
virgin monastery in Denmark
The Roskilde Jars, three giant jars made
by Peter Brandes and placed on Hestetorvet in front of Roskilde Station
Equestrian statue of Queen Margrethe 1. erected on Københavnsvej next to
RO's Torv
Roskilde Dyrskue is visited by around 80,000 people.
Sport
The city has a large number of sports clubs and
associations, including Roskilde Boldklub af 1906, KFUM's Boldklub
Roskilde, Roskilde Crocket Club, FC Roskilde, Roskilde Vikings Rugby
Klub and the cycling team Team Giant-Castelli.
Roskilde Sports
Park is the home ground for FC Roskilde, and has room for around 6,000
spectators.
On 2 July 2022, Roskilde was the starting city for
the 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2022.
As early as the 10th century, the town was a port, which gained in
importance when Harald Blåtand built a royal estate west of the
cathedral and on the north side of the street "Bondetinget", and that it
was then chosen as the bishop's site. According to Saxo Grammaticus'
story, Svend Tveskæg expanded the city considerably. The considerable
cathedral and the large gifts of land that the kings bestowed on it also
contributed to the rise of the city.
In the 12th and 13th
centuries, Roskilde had its most brilliant period and was then, perhaps
after Schleswig and Ribe, Denmark's most important city. At the
beginning of the 12th century, Harald Kesja built the permanent castle
Haraldsborg close to the north of Roskilde and in front of the town's
harbor on a bank by the fjord, of which there are only faint traces of
the ramparts by the road. This castle was probably soon destroyed when
Erik Emune attacked his brother Harald Kesja there in 1133 and burned it
down, but it was later rebuilt, although probably not before the
beginning of the 15th century, and the name was then commonly
"Harritsborg". Only in the middle of the 12th century was the city
itself fortified by Svend Grathe. The city rampart (Burghæ Diget) has
followed the later Smedegade, Blegstræde (Blegdamsstræde, Borgdiget),
Blaagaards Vænge and has gone somewhat north of the later Provstestræde
and Klosterhusstræde. The city gates were St. Butolphi church gate to
the west and Rødeport to the east. The square at Skt. Laurentii Church,
the later town hall square, has formed approximately the center of the
city. At this time (around 1151)) during the civil war between Svend and
Knud, it was that Vetheman formed a company of privateers
("Roskildebrødrene") to fight the Vendian pirates, and on August 11,
1157, Svend's attack on his co-king Knud Magnusson took place in the
royal court and Valdemar Knudssøn. The numerous churches and monasteries
that are mentioned in old documents and historical writings as located
in Roskilde, but which have later disappeared, date from the city's
period of greatness. In the Middle Ages there were 12 parish churches in
addition to the cathedral, namely All Saints, Saint Budolfi, Saint
Dionysii, Saint Hans, Saint Laurentii, Saint Michael, Saint Mortens,
Saint Nicolai, Saint Olai, Saint Paul, Saint Peter and Our Lady.
Around 1150, Svend Grathe built Sankt Jørgensbjerg Church and Sankt Ibs
Church, outside the city walls.
No less than five monasteries
were founded in Roskilde, and of these the three, consecrated to Our
Lady, St. Clare and St. Agnete, to the country's largest and most
respected city monasteries. The oldest, from around 1158, was Our Lady
or St. Marie Kloster, on the southern edge of the city. North of
Birkealleen and west of Strandalleen lay Skt. Klare Monastery for nuns
of St. Clare or St. Order of Damiani. It is probably already mentioned
in 1243, when Erik Plovpenning wrote to the citizens of Roskilde that he
had awarded it a farm in the town. But it only came to fruition in 1255,
when King Christoffer requested the Pope's permission for Countess
Ingerd of Regenstein to set up a Poor Clare convent in Roskilde. Ingerd
let nuns come from Strasburg, and in 1256 she gave the monastery a large
number of properties in North Zealand. Thereby, as well as with some
land in Flakkebjerg Herred, which Archbishop Jakob Erlandsen donated to
the monastery in 1259, laid the foundation for its great wealth. Later,
it was increased considerably, among other things by gifts from women
who surrendered to the monastery. Erik Menved's queen Ingeborg seems to
have had a special interest in it; after the death of her last child,
she devoted herself there and died here in 1319. Some years before, in
1302, the monastery had burned down, but four bishops granted the nuns
letters of indulgence with absolution for all who helped to rebuild the
buildings. The monastery was managed by an abbess, the worldly affairs
by a superior (usually a nobleman). The number of nuns (they were mostly
nobles) was very large: in 1437 there were thus 39. The monastery was
not abolished with the Reformation; as late as 1559 there were nuns. The
university received it and most of its property in 1561 in exchange for
Knardrup Kloster, but does not seem to have needed its vast buildings.
It therefore wanted to rent out or sell the monastery in 1570, but when
it did not succeed, it was decided in 1571 to demolish it and sell the
stones. Jakob Ulfeldt to Selsø thus bought ½ million. stone, probably
for a new main building on Selsø. Close to the east of Skt. Ib's Church
was St. Agnete Monastery for nuns of the Dominican order. It was started
by Erik Plovpenning's daughter Agnes, who in 1264, through Bishop Tyge
of Aarhus, received papal permission to found it. However, the
construction of it had apparently already begun the year before. Agnes
immediately became prioress, but was replaced a few years later by her
older sister Jutta, who had entered the monastery in 1266. However, the
two royal daughters soon became bored with the rule-bound life, in 1272
they went away and took back all the goods they had given to the
monastery. Only after prolonged strife did it return there. At the
beginning of the 14th century, the monastery seems to have been
impoverished, in 1335 the Bishop of Roskilde ordered all the priests in
his diocese once a year to have a tablet carried in their churches for
St. Agnete Kloster, which suffered a great shortage. In 1475, in
addition to the prioress, the monastery had 24 nuns (also mostly noble)
and in 1502: 22. The monastery's grounds were large; according to a land
register from 1508–14, it had properties in around 70 Zealand villages.
Several times it received royal letters of protection and episcopal
letters of indulgence, among other things in 1452 by the Roskilde bishop
Oluf Daa on the occasion of a recent fire, in which most of it was burnt
down. In 1508, prioress Birgitte Oxe, in connection with the Dominicans'
provincial lector, gave new rules for the convention. The monastery
lasted long after the Reformation; as late as 1568 a prioress is
mentioned. In 1571 the estate was placed under Roskildegaard, Kalundborg
and Tryggevælde. In 1579, the sheriff of Roskildegaard received a royal
letter stating that 4,000 stones had to be broken from St. Agnete
Kloster, and soon after it probably disappeared completely.
Of
the other monasteries, the Franciscan monastery, founded around 1237,
was probably the most respected. It was here that Erik Plovpenning
demanded to be buried, and several monks with a well-known name lived
here. Thus, at the end of the 13th century, Johannes Paaske, known as a
copyist of the Bible etc., was guardian. In 1496 Laurentius Brandere
died here as a simple monk, who had gradually introduced the stricter
rule of order, Observance, in 11 Danish monasteries, and among the
monastery's last monks was Petrus Olai, the historical writer and
collector. The history of the monastery itself is little known; in 1310
it burnt down completely, and in 1297 the monks had a stubborn dispute
with the Roskilde bishop, Jens Krag, who, among other things, had
deprived them of a small house in which they sat and begged in the rain.
In 1519, Queen Christine enriched the monastery's relic collection with
22 pieces; in total it comprised several hundred tracks. At the
Reformation, the monastery was abolished (around 1537), but the
buildings remained standing for another time. In 1561, Frederik II
donated them to Corfitz Ulfeldt, and in 1581 Jakob Ulfeldt built two
poorhouses in the monastery (demolished in 1749 as decrepit). From this
gift, however, the monastery church was exempted, which had been
designated as a parish church, but already in 1574–75 it was decided to
be demolished, when the parish was transferred to the cathedral. In
1592, however, a chapel was built in place of the church.
The
Dominican monastery, founded around 1232, was located in the grove north
of the later noble virgin monastery. Its history is little known.
Several times it is known to be intended for gifts in wills. In 1254,
the church was dedicated to St. Catherine. In 1532 the monastery had to
sell a farm in Slagelse due to its great poverty, and with the
introduction of the Reformation it was abolished. However, the buildings
remained standing until 1557, when it was ordered to demolish the
monastery and the church; later the stones were sold as building
material to Erik Krabbe (Aastrup), Anders Barby and Corfitz Ulfeldt
(both Selsø). In 1565, Mogens Godske at Hørbygaard got the vacant lot in
Roskilde on which the monastery had stood, and in 1584 Lave Beck at
Roskildegaard got the vacant land on which the monastery's barn had
stood.
In the Middle Ages, Roskilde also included three gentle
foundations, a holy spirit house, the Duebrødreklosteret and St. Jørgens
Gaard.
Heligåndshuset, founded in the first quarter of the 13th
century (it is mentioned for the first time in a will issued between
1211 and 1223), was originally located outside Roskilde, unknown where.
However, since this somewhat distant location from the city was an
obstacle to the establishment of the foundation, around 1253 it was
moved to the city with the help of Roskilde bishop Jakob Erlandsen and
erected on some small plots of land close to the northwest of St.
Laurentii Church so that this church was assigned to the holy spirit
house. Unlike the old foundation outside the city, the one inside the
city was called "the new hospital". From the beginning, the holy spirit
house was only intended for 12 members, but by endowing it with
bishoprics in Voldborg, Ramsø and Horns Herreder, etc. Jakob Erlandsen
put it in a position to be able to take in more poor people, just as it
was also supposed to house 12 korpeblinge (chorister boys). Later, this
last provision seems to have partially lapsed; in a letter from 1517, by
which Bishop Lage Urne bestowed one of the Roskilde canons with the
house of the holy spirit, only four corpeblings are mentioned. With the
Reformation, things seem to have gone backwards for the hospital. 1537
the citizens of Roskilde demolished most of Skt. Laurentii Church, so
that only the tower remained, and in 1570 the holy spirit house was
abandoned
Dove Brothers Monastery. In 1573 the building is referred
to as very shabby; during the 17th or 18th century it probably
disappeared.
It is not known when Roskilde got its city right,
but it is certain that Erik Klipping confirmed it on 15 June 1268, and
that it was renewed several times, namely on 9 January 1440, 10 April
1445 and 15 July 1472, just as there more often the town is given
special privileges, such as when Queen Margrete in 1395 confirmed her
father, Valdemar Atterdags, privilege for Roskilde citizens of customs
freedom within all the kingdom's borders except for the Scanian markets,
again confirmed in 1419 by Erik of Pomerania. But from the 14th century,
things began to decline for the city. While the kings had often stayed
here in the past, this took off from the 14th century and it even
belonged to the rarities in the 15th century. Erik Menved died here on
13 November 1319. The major calamities that haunted it probably
contributed to the city's decline, such as the plague in 1350 and 1484
and the fires of 1234, 1282 (both of which destroyed the cathedral),
1310, during which five churches burned, and 14 , May 1443, when the
cathedral and the entire central part of the city also burned. The royal
court probably already disappeared earlier, perhaps under Eric of
Pomerania or before, and from that time it is Haraldsborg from which the
royal letters are issued: in 1445 Christopher of Bavaria gave the castle
as a gift to his queen Dorothea when the Kings were in Roskilde, until
also the disappeared when Count Christoffer was destroyed in the Count's
Feud.
The introduction of the Reformation meant that the episcopal
residence was moved to Copenhagen and the monasteries were gradually
closed down. The city dwindled more and more, and new misfortunes robbed
it of the character of a metropolis which it had to some extent still
preserved; The plague raged fiercely in 1592 and 1711, and violent fires
ravaged it, for example on 23 May 1523, in 1559 when the south-eastern
part burned, on 7 July 1647 when 160 farms and houses went up in flames,
after which it was ordered that the new houses had to be covered with
tiled roofs. It was here that Karl Gustav on 26 February 1658 forced
Denmark to the Peace of Roskilde.
Shipping in Roskilde was
insignificant during the Renaissance. When boatmen were to be drafted
for the navy on 6 February 1562, Roskilde had to provide only six men,
while, for example, Køge had to provide 15. It was only possible to sail
the city with bottom-going ships, and for example when timber had to be
brought to the city in In 1634, in connection with construction on the
cathedral, the timber had to be distributed in Køge and transported
overland to the city. It was possibly for the same reason that the same
year the town's citizens were given permission to ship grain from "our
bridge at Sundby", which had previously been prevented by the citizens
of the nearby market town of Slangerup.
The town burned again in 1731 and in 1735, when 86 farms were reduced
to ashes. In 1672 the town had 2,196 inhabitants, in 1753 only 1,550
inhabitants. During the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the town rose
somewhat, and in 1835 was chosen as the center of the Zealand Assembly
of Estates.
During the dictatorship, the conditions for shipping
were worse than ever. The common customs office for the entire
Isefjorden and Roskilde Fjord was at Rørvig near the mouth and was
shared by Nykøbing Sjælland, Holbæk, Frederikssund and Roskilde. In
1735, the customs house had only 4 vessels and 1 boat, and none of these
were based in Roskilde. However, foreign ships sailed to the city.
On the other hand, the town had a certain factory business, such as
a cat printing company and a paper mill.
1769-1776 the royal road
between Copenhagen and Roskilde was built. and in 1790 a stretch from
Roskilde to Elverdam's mill on the border between Roskilde and Holbæk
counties was completed.
In August 1807, the town was occupied by
the English.
In 1847, Denmark's second railway opened from Roskilde to Copenhagen
(the first was Altona-Kiel). On 26 June of the same year, the first
Danish train made its maiden voyage from Roskilde to Copenhagen.
Roskilde's population was increasing in the late 1800s and early 1900s:
3,805 in 1850, 4,338 in 1855, 4,6517 in 1860, 5,221 in 1870, 5,893 in
1880, 6,974 in 1890, 8,368 in 1901, 8. 820 in 1906 and 9,696 in 1911.
According to means of livelihood, the population in 1890 was divided
into the following groups, including both breadwinners and dependents:
1,060 lived from intangible activities, 2,560 from crafts and industry,
1,482 from trade and turnover, 8 from shipping, 223 from agriculture, 27
from horticulture, none from fishing while 801 were distributed among
other occupations (of which 678 lived from various day laborers), 635
lived from their means, 158 enjoyed alms and 20 were in prison.
According to a census in 1906, the population was 8,820, of which 714
supported themselves by non-material activities, 528 by agriculture,
forestry and dairying, 5 by fishing, 3,943 by crafts and industry, 1,517
by trade and more, 909 by transport, 581 were salespeople, 230 lived on
public support and 393 on other or unspecified business.
Of
industrial facilities, the market town had around the turn of the
century: 1 paper factory, 3 tobacco factories, 2 iron foundries and
machine factories, 1 machine factory, 1 wagon factory, 2 mineral water
factories (one of which Aktieselskabet Maglekilde and Frederiksberg
Brøndanstalts Mineralvandsfabrik), 1 wool spinning mill, 2 steam
bakeries, 3 dyeworks, 3 tanneries , 1 field preparation and glue
factory, 1 pottery factory, 1 straw goods factory, 1 cooperative
slaughterhouse, 1 roofing felt and asphalt factory, 1 spirits factory,
belonging to Aktieselskabet "de danske Spritfabrikker", and 3 printing
houses, from which 3 newspapers were issued: "Roskilde Avis", "Roskilde
Dagblad " and "Roskilde Tidende".
Seven annual markets were held
in Roskilde, with the so-called pear market (horse market) in September
being the most important. Market day with live cattle was every 1st
Monday of every month.
Throughout the interwar period, Roskilde's population was growing: in 1921 12,815. in 1925 13,540, in 1930 14,149, in 1935 16,104, in 1940 21,699 inhabitants. But at the same time, there was growth in suburbs in Roskilde's rural district, in Himmelev Municipality and more widely in Sankt Jørgensbjerg Municipality, where a number of people with work in Roskilde settled. On 1 April 1933, Roskilde market town's rural district was incorporated into Roskilde, and on 1 April 1938, Skt. Jørgensbjerg Municipality incorporated into the market town.
After the Second World War, Roskilde continued its population growth.
In 1945 there were 23,497 inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 26,355
inhabitants, in 1955 28,878 inhabitants, in 1960 31,928 inhabitants and
in 1965 37,102 inhabitants. In Himmelev Municipality, a new suburb, Ny
Himmelev, grew up and in Reerslev-Vindinge Municipality the suburb of
Vindinge Lillevang.
Urban development led to the establishment of
an urban development committee, which drew up an urban development plan
for the Roskilde area, including both the market town, the suburban
municipality and several rural municipalities.
In 1955, the
Roskilde Ring motorsport track opened, which gathered many motorsport
events for the 85 events that managed to be held before the track had to
close due to noise nuisance in 1968. Twice events were held in the most
prestigious category Formula 1, and the track was a center for
track-based motorsport on Zealand. The Viking Ship Museum opened in 1969
and was greatly expanded in 1997.
At the beginning of the 1970s,
the city was greatly expanded as a city of culture: In 1971, the first
Roskilde Festival was held, and in the same year Roskilde Amtgymnasium
was inaugurated as a supplement to the already existing Roskilde
Cathedral School. Roskilde University (RUC) was founded in 1972, in 1973
the airport opened and most recently the Ro's Torv shopping center
opened in 2003.
Most of the city and local area's buses depart from Roskilde Station.
Several train connections have stops in Roskilde, including InterCity
between Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup and Frederikshavn, Østerport and
Esbjerg, regional trains between Østerport and Rødby Havn, Kalundborg
and Ringsted, and international trains from Copenhagen to Basel and
Amsterdam.
Roskilde Airport is located about 6 km south-east of
the city and primarily serves taxi, school and private flights.
The Holbæk motorway runs from Vigerslev around Roskilde and on to
Holbæk. Primary route 6 runs from Solrød Strand to Roskilde and further
north to Fredensborg. Primary route 14 runs from Roskilde south via
Ringsted to Næstved.
Roskilde Forsyning is responsible for water
and district heating for the municipality's citizens. Roskilde Water
Tower supplied water to the city in the period 1960-2009.
Zealand's University Hospital in Roskilde was founded as Roskilde
Hospital in 1855. It is a 24/7 staffed emergency room. There is also
Sygehusapotheket Roskilde.
Roskilde Court and Arrest House was
designed by Vilhelm Petersen and was inaugurated in 1878. It is still
used as a court and detention center with room for 25 inmates.
With the city's location by the fjord, Roskilde has always been a
natural hub for trade dating back to the Viking Age. Later, the city has
functioned as a collection point for goods from the rural areas of West
Zealand. With the railway, the production and processing of raw
materials as well as the slaughter of cattle could take place in
Roskilde, after which the finished product could be transported directly
to the customers in Copenhagen. This founded a large part of the city's
current food industry.
Roskilde Bank existed from 1884 to 2008,
when it went bankrupt during the financial crisis.
Adax A/S,
which makes bags and wallets, has its headquarters in Roskilde. In
addition, there are e.g. Gourmet Brewery and Maglekilde Maskinfabrik
The Stryhns Group has its headquarters and factory in Himmelev in
the northern part of the city. The factory was founded in 1956, and it
is today the world's largest postej factory.
An association of
the city's retail stores, called Stjernebutikkerne, works to maintain
Roskilde's status as a primary trading city for the entire region. There
is a pedestrian area in the center from the station down past the
Cathedral where a large part of the daily trade takes place. There is
also RO's Torv, which is a shopping center east of the city centre.
Roskilde is a city that is largely characterized by being a
university and education city. A wide range of subjects can be studied
at Roskilde University (RUC), which is located in the district of
Trekroner in the eastern part of the city. In 2016, there were a total
of 36 bachelor's and master's courses and 10 master's and diploma
courses. In addition, University College Sjælland offers several
professional bachelor's degrees in nursing, physiotherapy, pedagogy and
the teaching professions. In 2012, the new University College Sjælland,
designed by the architect Henning Larsen, was completed. The new campus
is also located in the district of Trekroner.
The city contains
several high schools; Roskilde Trade School, Roskilde Technical High
School, Roskilde High School, Cathedral School, Himmelev High School and
Roskilde Technical School.
In addition to the academic
programmes, there is a large selection of technical and vocational
schools in Roskilde:
Roskilde Technical School educates within
construction, electronics, media and forestry/agriculture.
Roskilde
Airport is home to a number of flight schools that train future
commercial pilots.
Commercial drivers can get courses in all kinds of
vehicle categories through the city's driving schools. From taxi to bus
and lorry driving license and truck licence. The FDM Sjællandsringen has
facilities for smooth driving and a maneuvering track for both cars,
buses and trucks, and is used by students from all over Zealand as well
as private driving technical courses.
MadX is a new initiative
associated with Roskilde University, which has its headquarters in
Roskilde and a department in Hirtshals. It is a food experimentarium
that will develop the Danish food industry, both within products,
technology and marketing. Roskilde was chosen i.a. based on the fact
that there are already a number of food education programs in the city
such as the Butcher School.
Roskilde Municipality has 18 primary
schools, two special schools and a 10th grade center (TCR). There are
also three independent schools in the municipality.
Before the structural reform in 2007, the three former municipalities
– Gundsø, Ramsø and Roskilde – had a total of 11 sister cities. Contact
with some of the cities was very rare, and in several cases the
professional benefit was limited. Following a decision by the city
council on 23 May 2007, the formal cooperation with eight of the twin
cities has ended. This applies to Frei (Norway), Tjörn (Sweden),
Linköping (Sweden), Joensuu (Finland), Tønsberg (Norway), Ísafjörður
(Iceland) and Gniezno (Poland) and Wreznia (Poland).
Vara, Sweden
Vara has been Ramsø Municipality's twin city since the 1970s. The
activities include mutual inspiration visits for politicians,
administrations and institutions, and there have been several joint EU
projects. The libraries in Vara and Roskilde are currently participating
in an EU project on Lifelong Learning. In 2010, Roskilde was visited by
politicians and officials from Kujalleq, Vara and Paslalys.
Nanortalik
Nanortalik has been Roskilde Municipality's twin city
since 1966. One of the municipality's main activities is exchange stays
for school students from Nanortalik and Roskilde, and Roskilde delivers
a Christmas tree to Nanortalik every year.
On a private
initiative, the Roskilde-Nanortalik Friendship Association was founded
in 1984 with the aim of expanding contact between people and groups from
the towns. The association is very active with e.g. lectures, exchange
visits and association house for stay in Nanortalik.
On 1 January
2009, the three municipalities of Nanortalik, Narsaq and Qaqortoq were
merged into the new large municipality of Kujalleq, which is Greenland's
most south-eastern municipality.
Pasvalys, Lithuania
Pasvalys
is a region in northern Lithuania, and the largest city in the region is
also called Pasvalys. This region had twinning cooperation with Gundsø
Municipality, i.a. project collaboration on elderly care, elderly center
and children affected by diabetes. There have been exchange visits for
politicians, associations etc.
The association Pasvalys Venner
arose after a cultural visit by the folk dance associations in
Gundsølille and Jyllinge in 1993. Despite cultural differences, the
participants experienced that they had a lot in common – namely song,
music and dance.
With activities such as folk dance playroom,
lotteries, bank games and flea markets, the association continuously
collects money for useful purposes in Lithuania, e.g. hospital
equipment, computer for a couple of schools, nice used clothes, toys for
children, money for diabetic children and renovation of a disability
center. Currently, the association is trying to create contact between
schools in Roskilde and Pasvalys.
Dublin, Ireland
The sea
stallion's trip to Ireland in 2007, the "wintering" at the National
Museum in Dublin and the trip back to Roskilde in 2008 are the result of
an extensive collaborative project. It has created many good contacts
between actors in the two cities, and ideas have arisen about new joint
projects.
Therefore, Dublin and Roskilde have entered into a
friendship agreement on joint activities and new collaborations. The
agreement is for three years and expires at the end of 2011. Concrete
collaborations within culture and sports are now being submitted.
Gustav Wied – author and social reformer
Halfdan E – composer and
arranger
Ib Michael – author
Jesper Christiansen – soccer player
Lis Frederiksen – former press manager for the royal house
Lise
Nørgaard – author
Louis Pio – founder of the Social Democracy
Peter Madsen – soccer player
Ruben Bagger – soccer player
Lasse
Schöne - soccer player
Simon Jul Jørgensen – comedian
Thure
Lindhardt – actor
Niels Nørløv Hansen – film director
Jason Watt –
racing driver
Jan Magnussen – racing driver
Kevin Magnussen –
racing driver