Fredericia (formerly also Frederiksodde) by the Little Belt is a
larger city in South Jutland with 40,981 inhabitants (2020). It is
the capital of Fredericia Municipality and is located in the Region
of Southern Denmark. Fredericia was founded as a fortress. It can be
seen today: the streets are perpendicular to each other (north-south
and east-west), and the center of Fredericia is surrounded by one of
Northern Europe's best-preserved ramparts from the 17th century,
which can only be compared to Fredrikstad in Norway.
The city
is one of Denmark's most important traffic hubs, where railways and
the E45 and E20 motorways meet. The city's deepwater port is
Denmark's largest in terms of freight volume (2014), and Fredericia
station is one of the country's largest. Taulov railway station has
an important function for freight transport.
Fredericia is
centrally located in the Triangle area and has a strong business
community with some of Denmark's largest companies. The Fredericia
area houses headquarters for e.g. Ørsted, Energinet.dk and Monjasa.
Fredericia also stands out in the food area with a large Carlsberg
brewery, and Arla operates one of Europe's largest cheese dairies in
Taulov.
The fortress in Fredericia has had great significance
in Danish history. The most famous is the outcome from Fredericia in
1849, which was a great military victory for Denmark. Every year,
July 6 is celebrated to commemorate the victory. The military is
still connected to the city, as the Telegraph Regiment is based in
Fredericia. Fredericia's city coat of arms shows a crowned lion
holding a sword in one forepaw and a palm branch in the other.
On December 15, 1650, the king put his signature on the document that gave the city its first privileges. In 1651, the new fortress town of Frederiksodde was named after the king, and on 22 April 1664, it received its current Latinized name, Fredericia.
Fredericia is one of the country's younger cities. Its
plan alone and its location in a place where no city would have
grown by itself show that it arose from a language of power: the
king, taught by previous wars, would secure North Jutland by a
fortress of hostile invasion and tie the connection between the
peninsula and Funen. Christian IV had already thought of such a
fortification, but further south at Snoghøj.
It was Frederik
III who immediately at his accession to the throne chose the place
on Bersodde, which from that time was called Frederiksodde (the
outermost tip of the headland was called Skanseodde). The
construction of the fortress and the associated town probably began
in 1649 at the earliest. and 10. money and for 10 years for all
taxes, duties and excise as well as for the next 20 years for half
of duties and excise. To make room for the town, the former Ullerup
Parish was closed, its church as well as the towns Ullerup, Hyby and
Hannerup demolished and the fields added to the town, and the
residents were forced to move within the ramparts (letters of 13
April and 17 April 1662), and their parish priest became the first
parish priest in the new town. In order to strengthen the
fortification and completely block the belt, the king also began to
fortify it just opposite Stribs Odde, which after the queen was to
be named Sophieodde (the fortress: Amaliaborg), but the plan was
soon abandoned.
The Renaissance
Fredericia fortress has
begun at the same time as the city's construction and probably to
about the same extent as it later got, but it was not completed when
it already in the Swedish War came to stand its first test; however,
it was so strong that the Swedish king would not storm it when he
arrived in front of it on 23 August 1657, to which Marshal Anders
Bille had withdrawn with 6,000 men. Wrangel began to fire at the
town, but only after Erik Dahlbergh had personally spied out how
weak the fortress was, did the Swedes dare to storm on October 24,
as Dalberg with the cavalry from the north penetrated along the
beach and took it after a hard fight with the Jutlanders dragons;
during the battle a total of about 1,500 Danes fell, while 3,000,
including the mortally wounded Anders Bille, were taken prisoner; a
large booty fell into the hands of the enemy, including much that
had been brought there from the surrounding area in confidence in
the strength of the fortress. The Swedes remained in the partially
burnt city when the war began again shortly after the peace in
Roskilde, but as they were not strong enough to keep the large
fortification occupied, they demolished some of the works and
confined themselves to the outer tip of the headland, where they
fortified themselves until they were expelled from here in May 1659
by the Danes' allies: the Brandenburgs and the Poles. On June 29, it
was occupied by the Danes. The city was a bit awful, and you could
start all over again, so to speak.
The fortifications were repaired and more or less completed,
among other things by the construction of the castle on the
decoration in the year 1664, when the city by royal command got its
current name. But the city lay there with its great frame, laid out
as it was, to become a great city, yes perhaps the king has even
dreamed that it should be the new capital and royal residence, now
that the place after the loss of the Scanian provinces saw that say
had come to lie in the middle of the kingdom. But the state was
impoverished and could only do little for the city, although the
government sought to help it by large favors on paper. Frederik III
gave it new privileges on November 9, 1661 and made it a stacking
town, but what could it help, it had no port and got none until the
19th century. Nor did the great favors granted to it to provide that
approach by the people benefit much. In 1672 it had 1,591
inhabitants. On March 11, 1682, the free religious exercise for all
sects, which, however, far from brought the approach that had been
expected, yes even jus asyli, that is, all the fallen and all
foreign murderers could seek refuge here for 10 years when they paid
1 rigsdaler annually to the magistrate; in particular, the last
provision, which was first repealed in 1821, did not help to bring
it into good standing. In short, the city would not take to, just as
the fortress never got the meaning intended for it. Only in the
Great Nordic War was it put in a fairly good defensive position in
the years 1709-10, when 5,000 men and a number of peasants from
Koldinghus County worked on it, but after the war it fell into
disrepair more and more. For its maintenance, only the convicts in
the present Stockholm were used, and when it was closed down in the
18th century, nothing was done at all.
The provisions on
religious freedom attracted Jews and later French Huguenots and a
number of Mennonites. The Huguenots, who were called Reformed here,
were specialists in the cultivation of tobacco, and in general
agriculture was the most important occupation in Fredericia well
into the 1800s. Most houses and buildings were located around the
current Danmarksgade and Gothersgade, whereas the areas east of
Købmagergade and south of Sjællandsgade well into the 1800s were
largely undeveloped and were used for agricultural purposes.
The efforts of Frederik IV to help the city also ran aground in
part, with the exception that in 1719 he convened a number of
reformers. By a plan of 1728, a whole network of canals was set
aside to serve as a port and extend far up into the city, yes, there
was even space set aside for a castle, but neither one nor the other
came to fruition. After the middle of the 18th century, the
condition of both the city and the fortress is portrayed as
deplorable as possible: the city is poor, the high taxes are far
from sufficient to keep the city, especially the garrison and the
large office, trade and crafts lie down: "here is of all Estates,
though far more of Tære- than of Nærestanden ". It is said of the
fortress, "that it can serve nothing but retreat in a few days, in
case an entire army should be defeated in the open field," "it is,
however, shown that such a large fortress needed a crew of 15,000
men. , if it should be able to defend itself ", and that" an enemy,
in case he fell into the country, would appreciate more at Fr.
Fæstning than ourselves; for when it was taken, the whole of
Jutland, Schleswig and Funen was soon taken. with". In 1769 the town
had 2,528 inhabitants, with the garrison.
Only in the Schleswig war was the city and fortress to attract
the attention of the whole country. At the outbreak of war in 1848,
the fortress was in such poor condition that no thought was given to
defending it, and the enemy occupied it without resistance in early
May. In the following days, the castle and the fortress were shelled
by the Danes, causing damage to the clothing house, among other
things, and when the enemy was soon forced to flee North Jutland by
Russia's threats, Fredericia was again occupied by the Danes. During
the Armistice, however, the dilapidated fortress was restored. Work
began in February 1849, and Colonel Lunding became its commander. On
14 April the fortress was declared a state of siege, and after the
encounter at Gudsø on 7 May, General Bülow withdrew with the main
army back to Fredericia and from there over to Funen, and the
fortress was enclosed by the Schleswig-Holsteins under General
Bonin, who bombed the 16th. to 19 May, without, however, adding the
great damage, and also sought to shell the ship's bridge, which was
built on the eastern front, and by which the Danes were connected
with Funen, as the crew, which consisted of 5 battalions, was at
certain times replaced from the headquarters in Funen. However, the
enemy's plan to destroy the bridge was thwarted by an energetic
outburst made by Lunding on June 30, and finally Bülow found the
opportune moment to have come to make a major attack on the enemy.
Part of the Mezas from Als and Olaf Ryes from Nørrejylland joined
Schleppegrell's and Moltke's brigades, which were on Funen, and in
the first days of July all the troops were shipped to Fredericia
(the last ones arrived on the evening of 5 July), viz. 3rd, 4th, 5th
and 6th Brigade, a total of 19,000 men and 48 guns, in addition to
4,000 man occupation troops. Friday morning at On July 6, the battle
began, with the avant-garde under the Meza moving out of the King's
Gate and an exit gate close to the west of it, followed by
Schleppegrell's brigade, while the right wing under Rye and Moltke
also moved out of the King's Gate, but walked along the beach. Bülow
led the entire battle as chief general. After a few hours of fierce
fighting, during which the position of the avant-garde was at first
very critical, the enemies were driven out from all their
strongholds, and at. 3 1/2 gave Bonin, who had tried in vain a
counterattack, order to retreat. The battle continued, however, for
a few more hours with the pursuit of the enemy. In addition to some
guns and ammunition, the Danes had taken about 1,600 prisoners, but
the victory was also costly: 33 officers, including Rye, and 479 men
were killed, and 42 officers and 1,302 men wounded, a loss that was
no less than the enemies.
After the war there was often talk
of renovating the fortress, but only from 1861 was anything done,
especially began on the construction of a so-called fortified camp
to the north, but the workers were of no further importance, and
when Fredericia was ordered in defense 23 December 1863, again under
NC Lunding as commander, its condition was very poor. On March 8, it
was captured by the Prussians, to which a few days later the
Austrians joined. They bombed the city on 19-21. March, in which
some were killed and wounded, while 35 houses burned down and 93
were damaged. Following the Ministry of War's order of 25 April, the
fortress was evacuated, where after 29 April it was occupied by the
Austrians. Since that time, Fredericia as a fortress must be
considered disused, although it still consisted of name.
A
ceasefire was concluded in July, and after the peace negotiations
were over in October 1864, the border with Germany was now
immediately south of Kolding, just 50 km from Fredericia.
Although the fortress of Fredericia gradually lost its defensive significance, it was not officially closed until 1909 as part of a new defense law. This meant i.a. also that one could now build outside the ramparts, which the city desperately needed. It had gradually become crowded in Fredericia. Especially the area north of the ramparts up to the current Indre Ringvej was quickly built up, just as the harbor was greatly expanded. Large industrial companies such as a sulfuric acid and superphosphate factory as well as unloading facilities for oil companies were built at the port, which over the years gave the city the unfortunate predicate of being Denmark's most polluted city.
The railway had come to the city in 1866 with the opening of the
Fredericia-Vamdrup line, and two years later the railway connection
came to Aarhus. The first railway station in the city was a
so-called refurbishment station, ie where the trains did not run
through, but in and out from the same side. Incidentally, it still
exists today furnished with offices on Oldenborggade 1. From the
station there was a short walk to DSB's ferries with a crossing to
Strib, from where you could continue by train across Funen.
Fredericia's population was growing until World War I: the city had
4,141 inhabitants in 1834, 4,433 in 1840, 4,615 in 1845, 4,326 in
1850, 5,579 in 1855, 6,261 in 1860, 7,186 in 1870, 8,275 in 1880,
10,042 in 1890, 12,714 in 1901, 1,451 in 1906, 14228 in 1911 and
15,206 inhabitants in 1916 (of which 377 under non-urban
conditions). By population, it was then the 12th largest city in the
kingdom.
During the interwar period,
Fredericia's population was growing: in 1916 15,206, in 1921 17,240,
in 1925 18,454, in 1930 19,389, in 1935 21,463, in 1940 21,871
inhabitants.
At the census in 1930, Fredericia had 19,389
inhabitants, of which 1,254 subsisted on intangible activities,
8,210 on crafts and industry, 2,076 on trade etc., 3,891 on
transport, 717 on agriculture, forestry and fishing, 1,356 on
handicrafts, 1,702 were out of business and 183 had not stated
source of income.
As a result of growing train traffic and
not least freight traffic, the state decided to build the Little
Belt Bridge, which opened in 1935 together with new track areas and
a new railway station in Jernbanegade.
Fredericia, as well as the rest of the country, was occupied by the German occupation troops on April 9, 1940. There were few exchanges of fire before the government announced the surrender of the country. Until November 1942, there were still a few Danish soldiers left in Fredericia.
After World War
II, Fredericia's population growth continued. In 1945 there were
22,963 people living in the market town, in 1950 25,981, in 1955
27,910, in 1960 29,870 and in 1965 31,955 inhabitants. Gradually, a
suburban settlement of Sanddal and Erritsø town developed in Erritsø
Municipality.
The city quickly came over the occupation, and
there was progress in all areas. The large number of public
employees within DSB, the postal service and the army left their
mark on the city, which is believed to have been without a local
dialect for this very reason, as many were newcomers. The town grew
both to the north and west and gradually grew together with Erritsø
and Snoghøj, which was also merged with the market town during the
municipal reform in 1970.
Shell opened a large refinery north
of the city in the mid-1960s, and in 1984 the new pipeline that
carries crude oil from the North Sea oil fields to the refinery was
inaugurated. In addition, in the 1980s, the City Council became more
focused on the problem of pollution, and many new initiatives were
launched. In 1996, the city was widely recognized for its
significant efforts in the field of the environment.
In 2004,
Kemira (formerly Superfos) closed its production at the port, which
also meant a closure of the ammonia port near the New Little Belt
Bridge. In the following years, the large buildings collapsed. In
order for it to be possible to utilize the land for e.g. business,
housing and cultural purposes, Fredericia Shipyard was terminated by
a unanimous city council in 2008 from its lease on the harbor, and
in early 2011 the yard moved its activities to the Lindø shipyard on
Funen. The case of moving the shipyard and its workplaces created a
great deal of debate in Fredericia, and in the local elections in
2009 the former Social Democratic stronghold fell, after which the
city got a new, young mayor from the Liberal Party. In the local
elections in 2013, the mayoral post went back to the Social
Democrats.
The former industrial area at
the harbor is today part of a large urban development project called
FredericiaC, which is marketed as "The Channel City by the Little
Belt". The first canal is being established and will open in the
summer of 2015, and the first residential and commercial buildings
in the area have been decided.
A.P. In 2013, Møller and his
wife Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller's Foundation for General Purposes
donated DKK 50 million. DKK for the renovation of building facades
worthy of preservation within the ramparts. The funds, which are
administered by Fredericia Municipality, are paid out over a number
of years and are expected to benefit more than 500 buildings in the
city center. In connection with the administration of the funds, the
buildings worthy of preservation in Fredericia were reassessed,
which resulted in 43% of the properties in the city center now being
classified as worthy of preservation. Previously, this applied to
only 27% of the properties.
Fredericia has one of Denmark's
most urban beaches in Østerstrand. The beach has changing facilities
and a café and has had the blue flag for a number of years.
1657: Henrik Linderoth
1659: Mogen's Krag
1664-1672: Hans
Valentin Schultz
1672-1676: Maximillian Rosenkrantz
(1673-1676):
Peter Asmus Vogt (Fungende)
1676-1678: Ulrik Dewitz
1678: Johan
Kantzler
1678-1679: Hans Wilhelm Auerwald
1679-1684: Johan Wilhelm
Clauberg
1684-1689: Anton Günther von Ellbrecht
1689-1702:
Christian Wilcken
1702-1708: Christian von Würcker
1708-1729:
Christian Liebmann Leegel
1710 and 1713: Palle Krag, supreme
commander
1729-1731: Mogens Ernst Prehn
1731-1732: Friedrich
Eberhertz
1732-1741: Christian Friedrich von Staffeldt
1741-1743:
Gustav Wilhelm Geistler
1743-1744: Georg Christoffer Stuerup
1744-1752: Hans Bartram Rantzow
1752-1756: Julius Johann von Vieregg
1756: Carl Gottlieb von Reitzenstein
1756-1765: Heinrich Sigismund
Castonier
1765-1772: Embedet nedlagt
1772-1774: Conrad Ahlefeldt
1774-1780: Christopher Fredrik Ingenhaeff
1780-1783: Bernhard Knud
Christoffer von der Lippe
1783-1786: vacant
1786-1789: Maximilian
Wilhelm von Haxthausen
1789-1807: Prins Christian August af
Augustenborg og i dennes fravær: Johann von Neckelmann
1807-1809:
Christoph Marquard von Lützow
1809-1819: Johann Theodor Wegener
1819-1838: Frederic Castonier
1838-1842: Prince Frederik Carl
Christian to Denmark
1842-1849: Carl Ferdinand Krag
1849: Niels
Christian Lunding
1849-1850: Johan Vahl
1851: Jobst Conrad Hirsch
Lemmich
1852-1859: Philip Raeder
1859-1863: Frederic Christian
Ernst
1863-1864: Niels Christian Lunding (igen)
1864-1867: Julius
Nielsen
1867-1879: Lorentz August Bie
1879-1883: Georg Theodor
Bramhelft
1883-1889: Frederik Frantz Georg Fogh
1889-1892: Anton
Moltke
1892-1897: Johan George Frederik Colding
1897-1902: Carl
Henrik Claus Baggesen
1902-1908: Axel Liljefalk
1908-1913: Laurits
Peter Lund-Larsen
Jacob Carl Kaalund
Frederic Castonier
Christian Wilhelm Broches
Ketil Johnson Ketilson Melstedt
Hans Friederich Ludvig Sames
Hans
Rudolph Greve Trampe
Casper Leopold Rieck
In Fredericia, the climate is temperate. Winters are generally mild with an average temperature of 1.5 °C in January. Summers are semi-lunar with an average temperature around 17 °C in both July and August. Sometimes there can be cold, continental winters and equally hot summers. The weather often changes character over a few days. This is due to the city's location near the Atlantic Ocean, with ample opportunity for front passages. In extreme cases, 30 °C can be recorded in the summer months and below -10 °C in the winter months. The winter months can offer snow and even daytime frost at times, but not all winters are characterized by this.
Fredericia Station is a stop on train routes between several cities
in Jutland and on to Funen and Zealand and Copenhagen. This includes
both InterCityLyn, InterCity and regional trains. The majority of the
area's buses depart from the bus terminal at the station.
Both
the old Lillebæltsbro from 1935 and the new one from 1970 go from Funen
to Fredericia. The old one is today a railway bridge, while the new one
has a motorway.
Vestre Ringvej is part of Primary Route 28, which
runs from the district of Snoghøj all the way to Lemvig. Indre Ringvej
goes around the central part of the city outside the ramparts. The
rampart, which encircles the entire city center, has several access
roads through the old gates; Denmark's Gate, Prince's Gate
The garrison hospital in Fredericia was a military hospital between 1891 and 1936. Fredericia Hospital, which in its heyday had 1,490 beds and around 600 employees, closed in November 2016, after which Fredericia municipality bought the property. Here today is a health center with general practitioners, specialists and other health-related activities.
The city contains several large manufacturing companies. The oil
refinery in Fredericia is a large facility that produces fuel from crude
oil. Until 2016, it was owned by Dansk Shell, which sold it to
Olieselskab ApS. In 2021, it changed its name to Crossbridge Monjasa is
a Danish bunker and oil company founded in the city in 2002.
Fredericia Bryggeri is under Carlsberg Denmark and produces beer. The
metal goods manufacturer Voss was located in the city until 2007 and is
today part of the Swedish group Electrolux, which has its Danish
headquarters in Fredericia.
The same applies to the IT company
Bankdata, which employs around 650 employees in Denmark. Danish Pilot
Service, which was the first private pilot, is based in the Port of
Fredericia, which also houses many other small and medium-sized
companies. The city is increasingly visited by cruise ships.
Fredericia Dagblad, which is owned by Jyske Medier, is a local newspaper
that has been published since 1881. Radio Mælkebøtten is a local radio
that also produces nationwide productions.
The birdsong center
was built in 1989 and is a course and conference centre.
Vestcenter was a shopping center from 1971 until its closure and
demolition in 2014, covering about 8,500 m2. J. P. Schmidt jun., which
for many years was among the country's oldest cigar and tobacco
manufacturers, existed from 1776 to 1982. From 1860 to 1987, the
silverware manufacturer Carl M. Cohr was located in the town and
provided jobs for many locals. The company Kløver Mælk was also
headquartered in Fredericia until it was merged with MD Foods in 1999
(today Arla Foods).
Youth education
Fredericia Gymnasium has around 1,000 students and
offers both gymnasium and HF. It was founded in 1656, when Frederik III
gave permission to establish a Latin school via royal letter.
Handelsgymnasiet IBC Fredericia Middelfart
The Danish Musical Academy
is Denmark's only professional education for musical performers.
Public schools
The town has several primary schools, including
Alléskolen, Købmagergades School (which has been closed down and is now
senior housing), the Catholic St. Knud's School and Skansevejens School.
The city contains a large number of former military buildings, which
today serve other purposes. The gunpowder tower is the city's oldest and
dates from 1675. It was designed by Gottfried Hoffmann and is listed.
Tøjhuset is a cultural center in the city with a concert hall and
exhibitions.
Fredericia Theater is the only theater in the
country that has exclusively performed musicals since 2011. In 2015, the
theater staged Shu-bi-dua - The Musical, which was a great success with
good reviews and over 80,000 tickets sold. In 2017, a newly written
musical about Tommy and Rasmus Seebach is staged under the name Seebach.
Auditions were held in February. As early as 1849, the performance
Esaura had its premiere at the theatre.
Panorama Cinemas,
Fredericia is the city's cinema.
The first Dinos Playland in
Denmark opened in 2010 in Fredericia. In 2014, the second opened in
Ishøj. Fredericia Local History Archive was established in 1973 and is
the archive for the city and the local area. The Historic Minitown is a
model of Fredericia in the year 1849. The Minitown was established in
1983. It is located in the large green area Madsbyparken, which covers
around 80 ha.
In February 2017, the city got its first Michelin
restaurant, when Ti Trin Ned received one star in the Michelin guide.
The restaurant opened in 2001.
Fredericia Messecenter is the
country's third largest and is used for various types of fairs and
conferences. It was inaugurated in 1976. In the city there is the
association De Danske Forsvarsbrødre for Fredericia and Surroundings.
In 2001, Fredericia got a Youth Center modeled after Copenhagen,
with workshops, rehearsal rooms, a music venue, an outdoor stage, skater
ramps, a graffiti wall and other cultural offers for young people aged
15-25. The house is managed by permanent employees and governed by
"house meetings", where young people from the different interest groups
determine the premises.
Green areas, squares and sculptures
Fredericia Vold is Northern Europe's best-preserved rampart. The rampart
goes around the entire city center and is a green area. On the violence
itself is DSB Mindelund, which is a memorial to the DSB employees who
died during the occupation.
Axeltorv in the center of the city is
a central square that was laid out in 1895. In 2008 it was extensively
renovated with, among other things, new coating. For almost a hundred
years, Carolinelund existed as a park in the city, until Superfos
acquired the areas in 1912 and built on them. Just outside the
Danmarksporten is Frederik III's Plads, with a statue of Frederik 3. One
of the city's probably most famous statues is Bissen's Landsoldaten from
1849, which was erected in memory of soldiers in the 1st Schleswig War
(1848-1850).
At Snoghøj there is the Argentinarparken, which
covers around 2 ha.
Fredericia has several sports clubs such as FC Fredericia at Fredericia Ny Stadion, Erritsø GIF Rugby, Erritsø Gymnastics and Sports Association, Fredericia United Football Clubs and the handball club Fredericia HK 1990, which plays in Fredericia Sports Centre. The Handball Association also has its home in Fredericia. For a short period, the cycling team Team High End Sport (2008-2009) existed.