Store Heddinge is located in East Zealand and is a town with
3,430 inhabitants (2020) located on the peninsula Stevns. It
originated in the 13th century, and was given the title of market
town in 1441. The town is located in Stevns Municipality and belongs
to Region Zealand.
Store Heddinge is Stevns' capital and at
the same time a trading center for a larger catchment area. It has a
railway station and is via Movia's railway company Lokaltog
connected to Hårlev to the west and Rødvig to the south. Secondary
route 261 passes west of the city and goes in a northwesterly
direction towards Køge. A few kilometers to the east are Stevns
Klint and the Baltic Sea.
From Store Heddinge there are
approx. 6 kilometers to Højerup, 13 to Hårlev, 22 to Faxe, 22 to
Køge and just over 30 kilometers to Haslev.
The courthouse in Store Heddinge was
built around 1838 on the then newly built Nytorv as a council,
courthouse and detention center by the architect J.H. Koch, who was
director of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
St.
Catherine's Church dates from 1190 and was built of limestone.
The city gate-like water tower from 1911 (built of chalk stone from
Stevns Klint and red monk stones)
At Kirketorvet 7 there is an
old rectory with a vestibule from 1750.
There was a Latin school
in the town in 1620 which was closed in 1739, in addition the town
got a riding school in 1722.
Store Heddinge's original place name was Heddinge, which comes from
the Old Danish hadd meaning "head hair". "long plant hairs". The place
name should thus mean "The place with the long-haired plant growth". The
town is mentioned in King Valdemar's Land Book in the so-called "market
town list" as Hæddyng. The town therefore has market town rights around
1240. In 1261 it is called a Hedingemagle, when the name Lille Heddinge
arose. In the 16th century, the town was certainly called "Heddinge".
Middle Ages
It is not known when it became a market town: In
1441, Christopher of Bavaria renewed its privileges, later confirmed,
among others, by Frederik II in 1563 - however with the reservation that
the king had the right to revise them in accordance with the interests
of the kingdom - and by Christian IV 1598. In the Middle Ages, the town
had two guilds, one of St. Olai and one of St. Knuds - the latter's
charter is written in 1256. However, it has had no monastery.
The
Renaissance
After the Reformation it had a Latin school, whose
headmaster was also a clerk, and which had only one class, so that it
could not graduate to the university; it was closed down in the 18th
century. The city has never had greater importance or played any role in
Danish history. In 1672 it had 362, 1769 514 and 1787 569 inhabitants
(in the latter year the number of citizens was about 90, "who are,
however, rather to be considered agriculturists than citizens", as the
town fields were registered for 300 barrels of hard grain). Next to
agriculture, the most important industry was the distilling of brandy (a
lot of which went beyond the surrounding forests). The trade has never
been significant, as the town's two shipping points, Rødvig and Gjorslev
Bøgeskov, were approximately 3/4 mile away. Molbech described the city
in Ungdomsvandringer 1811 as follows: "Most of the houses are attached
to the street and look like farmhouses on the outside; you sometimes
don't know whether you are in a village or a market town."
The
early industrialization
In the 19th century, a little more growth
came to Store Heddinge due to the establishment of a railway connection
and an associated station. It brought various smaller industries and
craftsmen to the city, although agriculture remained the all-dominant
occupation of the area. The same was true in the 1900s.
Store
Heddinge's population was increasing in the late 1800s and early 1900s:
1,076 in 1850, 1,231 in 1855, 1,291 in 1860, 1,406 in 1870, 1,549 in
1880, 1,681 in 1890, 1,816 in 1901, 1. 843 in 1906 and 2,047 in 1911.
According to occupation, the population in 1890 was divided into the
following groups, including both breadwinners and dependents: 246 lived
by immaterial activity, 584 by craft and industry, 326 by trade and
turnover, 356 by agriculture, while 87 were distributed among other
professions, 66 lived by their means , 13 enjoyed alms, and 3 were in
prison. According to a census in 1906, the number of inhabitants was
1,843, of which 164 supported themselves by non-material activities, 377
by agriculture, forestry and dairying, 1 by fishing, 655 by crafts and
industry, 393 by trade and more, 91 by transport, 108 were shopkeepers,
42 lived on public support and 12 on other or unspecified business.
In terms of factories, in 1855 the city had 11 brandy distilleries.
In 1872, the town had factories and industrial facilities: 1 printing
house, 1 lime kiln, 1 tobacco factory, 2 tanneries and 2 beer breweries.
At the turn of the century, the town had factories and industrial
facilities: 2 white beer breweries, 1 mineral water factory, 2 iron
foundries, 2 tanneries, 1 lime kiln, several mills and 1 printing house.
In Store Heddinge, 1 newspaper, "Stevns Avis", was published.
The interwar period
Throughout the interwar period, Store
Heddinge's population was almost stagnant: in 1916 2,154, in 1921 2,272,
in 1925 2,450, in 1930 2,442, in 1935 2,228, in 1940 2,037 inhabitants.
But at the same time there was growth in the suburb of Bjælkerup in
Store Heddinge County, where a number of people with work in Store
Heddinge settled.
At the census in 1930, Store Heddinge had 2,442
inhabitants, of which 179 supported themselves by non-material
activities, 766 by craft and industry, 377 by trade etc., 113 by
transport, 522 by agriculture, forestry and fishing, 198 by housework,
231 were out of business and 56 had not stated the source of income.
The post-war period
After the Second World War, Store Heddinge
continued its stagnant population development. In 1945 there were 2,140
inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 2,230 inhabitants, in 1955 2,213
inhabitants, in 1960 2,082 inhabitants and in 1965 2,153 inhabitants.
Bjælkerup grew in the country parish.
A prominent company in the
town was Berg & Friis' Tannery and Belt Factory which grew in the middle
of the 20th century and employed half a hundred workers.
Gradually, the service industries slowly took over in Store Heddinge
and, at the beginning of the 21st century, played an increasingly large
role in the city's overall business life.