Faaborg or Fåborg is a market town with 6,988 inhabitants (2020)
on the south coast of Funen by Faaborg Fjord. The city is the
largest city in Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality and belongs to the
Region of Southern Denmark.
Faaborg is located between hills,
and in the waters off are the many small islands in the Funen
Archipelago. The city has many old well-preserved houses and a
well-preserved environment in the city center.
From Faaborg
there are ferries to Avernakø, Bjørnø, and Lyø, as well as Søby on
Ærø. Previously, there was also a ferry to Mommark on Als, that
route was replaced by Bøjden-Fynshav in 1967. There has also been a
ferry connection to Gelting in Germany, which was closed in 1999.
The town houses Faaborg Gymnasium and several schools. In
Faaborg is the Faaborg Museum of Funen Painting and the Archipelago
Museum, which runs a museum in the old grocery store by the harbor
and the Law and Punishment Museum in Faaborg Arrest
Faaborg is a port city on the Danish South Seas. On the northern edge of the city is the lake and the Sundet nature reserve. The city is located south of the Svanninge Bakker, part of a hilly nature reserve, the Fünsch Alps. South of the city of Faaborg is the Horne Land peninsula.
The name comes from Old Danish fo (= fox, related to English fox and
German Fuchs) and the suffix -borg. So a fox castle.
The Danish
Language Council recommends spelling the city's name with å, but aa is
also allowed and is the form used by Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality. See:
Aalborg: Spelling Å/Aa.
The old Faaborg Købstad is mentioned for the first time on 25 June 1229 in a deed of gift, which among other things transfers Faaborg as a morning gift to King Valdemar Sejr's daughter-in-law Eleonore, and it mentions the city as a castle that must have existed before that time. The town is mentioned in King Valdemar's Jordebog, where it with its adjoining property is valued at 30 marks of gold, and is here called Foburgh (in Latin it is called Faviburgtmi). The castle and fortifications have disappeared today, only Vesterport has been preserved.
The city received its first privileges from Valdemar Sejr, confirmed
by King Abel on 14 July 1251 and many times later confirmed and
expanded, thus several times by Erik Menved (1288, 1297 and 1313), 1302
by Erik's brothers Christoffer 1. and Valdemar, 1325 of Christopher II,
1413 of Eric of Pomerania, 1442 of Christopher of Bavaria, 1452 of
Christian I, 1524 of Frederik I, 1538 of Christian III, 1560 of Frederik
II, 1597 of Christian IV and 1648 of Frederik 3.. In the Middle Ages it
was a fairly respectable town, which had a Vor Frue Gilde (first
mentioned in 1377), and it also got its monastery at the end of the
Middle Ages.
It was a monastery of the Holy Spirit, which was
founded in 1477 by the knight Frederik Barsebek, the squire Claus
Krumstrup and others. It was immediately set up both as a monastery and
a hospital and populated with a prior and monks who followed the rule of
Saint Augustine. Just like the Houses of the Holy Spirit in Copenhagen,
Malmø, Aalborg and Randers, Faaborgklosteret became subject to the
mother foundation of the Order of the Holy Spirit, the hospital
monastery at Rome, and thus came to benefit from several of the many
freedoms that were granted to it, thus in particular the lucrative right
to grant indulgences (but by a papal bull of 1515 this right was
temporarily suspended). In addition, Faaborg Helligåndshus had its main
income from the large amount of land it had gradually acquired not only
in the city, but also around the country (on Funen, in Nørrejylland and
on Als); thus in 1487 the priest Peder Sture had given it 5 farms in
Lysabild on Als as remuneration for holding a daily mass in the
monastery church; In 1497 it was given by the knight Markvard Rønnov to
Hvidkilde 2 farms; In 1515, Just Urne gave it some land so that,
together with his wife and parents, he could be accepted into the
brotherhood of the Holy Spirit and be entered in the monks' prayer
books. From Christian II in 1520 it was granted the parish church in
Faaborg with all its interest and rights after the death of the priest
living in the valley; the gift was confirmed in 1528, but probably never
benefited the House of the Holy Spirit, because at the end of 1530 or
perhaps somewhat later, monastic life ceased here, and the monastery was
transformed into a pure hospital under the direction of a "prior" and
one of the townspeople; already in 1540, however, the hospital was
closed down and all its belongings transferred to Odense Hospital. In
1539, Christian III gave the monastery church to a parish church, as it
was then used, instead of the old town church, which the king agreed to
a granary, and a few days later the citizens were given permission by a
royal letter to take all the furniture from the town church ( St.
Nikolai) and place it in the Church of the Holy Spirit (on 23 February
1550 the king gave the citizens permission to demolish the old town
church and use the materials for the maintenance of the Church of the
Holy Spirit, a provision that was changed on 13 November 1550 to allow
them to use the old church to have a town hall built). The other parts
of the monastery, on the other hand, disappeared during the 16th or 17th
century. They may have formed a three-winged building, which, in
connection with the church, as the fourth and southern wing, enclosed a
square courtyard. In any case, in the Middle Ages a two-story high
house, the foundations of which were partially found in 1895, adjoined
approximately at a right angle to the north side of the chancel, and
another abutted the northern aisle. To the east of the town there must
have been a chapel in the Middle Ages.
Other city gates besides
the preserved Vesterport include Strandport and Klosterport, which still
existed in Resen's time, Østerport and Jomfruport. These last as well as
all traces of graves and ramparts had disappeared in Resen's time. In
any case, the fortification probably stood strong in the Count's Feud,
when the city was taken and burned.
The town also suffered considerably in the Swedish War 1658-60: in
1660, 40 farms and homes were demolished by the enemy, the town had had
to pay approximately 12,500 reigsdaler for the accommodation of the
Danish and Dutch troops, in addition large contributions to the enemy,
and only 5 or 6 citizens could pay taxes .
In 1593-94 and several
times it suffered from the plague. In 1612, a large part of the city
burned down. In 1620, the king gave it a 3-year tax exemption because it
had burned down some time ago.
Under the dictatorship
In 1672,
the town had 841 inhabitants. However, its trade and shipping began to
flourish again at the end of the 17th century, but during the Great
Nordic War it again suffered a major break due to Swedish privateers. On
16 July 1672, the whole of Østergade burned down. On 28 September 1715,
the best part of the city is said to have gone up in flames, which is
why the fire victims were given 6 years of freedom of consumption and
duty-free for imported building materials. On 14 October 1728, 49 farms
burned down in Vestergade, Korsgade and Grønnegade. A testimony to the
frequent fires is the magistrate's ban of 29 October 1750 against
smoking tobacco in the streets and in back houses, in attics and in
barns. In 1681, the city and its surroundings were ravaged by a large
growth failure, which was followed by a plague-like disease; in a
council chamber witness from 1682 it is said: "The best bourgeois
families have died since New Year's Day 1681 due to the great weakness
that prevailed in the city. Some of the most taxed have gone to the
countryside and leased farms, because they did not know what they were
supposed to feed themselves of in the city, because trade and shipping,
which have been this city's main industry, are now almost destroyed". In
the 18th century, Faaborg led a declining existence: in 1769 it had
1,136, in 1801 even only 1,061 inhabitants.
The beginning of the
later harbor was made in 1723, when a new, 60 cubit long ship's bridge
was built; in the middle of the 18th century, the bridge was extended
considerably, and bulwarks etc. were built in the following period. In
the 19th century, major extensions were made, and the large area
northwest of the harbor (where the pig slaughterhouse was later located)
was flooded by filling.
Faaborg's population was increasing in the late 1800s and early
1900s: 2,328 in 1850, 2,777 in 1855, 3,120 in 1860, 3,440 in 1870, 3,476
in 1880, 3,677 in 1890, 4,218 in 1901, 4. 346 in 1906 and 4,318 in 1911.
At the turn of the century, there were factories and industrial
facilities: Dansk Vin- og Konservesfabrik (significant production of
preserves and jams, the country's oldest and largest fruit wine factory,
employing approximately 50 workers), the Bavarian and white beer brewery
"Sydfyn" (stock company, established 1898, share capital DKK 90,000 .);
a large cooperative pig slaughterhouse (employs 20 men and 3 women); 2
cement brick factories (one of which employed approximately 25 workers
and annually produced approximately 700,000 cement roof tiles in
addition to sewer pipes and cement tiles), 1 wood wool factory; 1 cloth
factory and steam weaving mill, 2 wool spinning mills, the wallpaper
factory "Fiona" (stock company, established 1897, share capital DKK
160,000); 1 paper factory; 1 steam distillery (joint-stock company,
established 1896, share capital DKK 100,000), 1 machine factory and iron
foundry, 1 yeast factory, 1 tobacco factory, 1 cotton weaving mill, 1
shipbuilding, 1 fish smokehouse, 1 sawmill, 2 book printers, etc.
In Faaborg, 2 newspapers are published: "Faaborg Avis" and "Faaborg
Folketidende" (or "Sydfynsk Dagblad").
In Faaborg, markets were
held annually: 2nd Tuesday of each month except June, July and August,
with live cattle, 1 in February with horses, 1 in February and 1 in
March with horses and cattle, 1 in June with horses, 1 in October with
cattle and sheep and 1 in November with horses, cattle and sheep.
Torvedag was every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
The
composition of the population by means of livelihood was in 1890: 309
lived from immaterial activity, 1,545 from craft and industry, 900 from
trade and turnover, 190 from shipping, 140 from fishing, 114 from
agriculture, 289 from various day laborers, 131 from their means, 55
poverty alms, and 4 were in prison. According to a census in 1906, the
population was 4,346, of which 278 supported themselves by non-material
activities, 95 by agriculture, forestry and dairying, 125 by fishing,
2,026 by crafts and industry, 976 by trade and more, 476 by transport,
207 were shopkeepers, 120 lived on public support and 43 on other or
unspecified business.
In recent years up to the turn of the
century, the harbor was deepened, so that it subsequently had a depth of
16-17 feet. (vs. in 1837 : l0½ feet). The size of the harbor was
approximately 40,000 square meters, the harbor area 80,000 square
meters, the length of the bulwarks approximately 1,100 cubits. The port
authority is managed by the port committee consisting of the mayor, 2
city council members and 1 member outside the city council.
Throughout the interwar period, Faaborg's population was stagnant: in
1916 the town had 4,577 inhabitants, in 1921 4,690 inhabitants, in 1925
4,721 inhabitants, in 1930 4,516 inhabitants, in 1935 4,547 inhabitants
and in 1940 4,552 inhabitants. In Svanninge Parish, the suburb
Sandegyde/Odensevej developed.
At the census in 1930, Faaborg had
4,516 inhabitants, of which 332 supported themselves by non-material
activities, 1,638 by craft and industry, 841 by trade etc., 588 by
transport, 224 by agriculture, forestry and fishing, 320 by housework,
489 were out of business and 84 had not stated source of income.
The post-war period
After the Second World War, Faaborg continued its
weak population development. In 1945 there were 4,699 inhabitants in the
market town, in 1950 5,058 inhabitants, in 1955 5,138 inhabitants, in
1960 5,135 inhabitants and in 1965 5,196 inhabitants. At the same time,
the suburbs Sandegyde and Odensevej developed, and a suburban area in
Diernæs Parish was created.
Recent times
Until 2007, Faaborg
was the capital of Faaborg Municipality. In the municipal reform, it
became part of Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality
The deed of gift is
used as a starting point for the town's dating. The city celebrated its
775th anniversary in 2004.
Since 1979, Faaborg has housed Faaborg Gymnasium, established by the County of Funen. It has approx. 330 students. In addition to the large public school, Øhavsskolen, Faaborg is also home to the Faaborg region's independent school, Enghaveskolen.
Fåborg Museum is an art museum that was established in 1910. It
contains a collection of Danish paintings, sculptures and other things,
which mainly originate from the period 1885-1925 and were produced by
Funen artists. The museum is housed in a building designed by Carl
Petersen and inaugurated in 1915.
The Øhavsmuseet consists of a
number of different exhibitions at different locations, including in
Faaborg, where the museum operates the old merchant's farm by the harbor
and the Law and Criminal Museum in Faaborg Arrest.
On the square
stands the bronze sculpture Ymerbrønden, made by Kai Nielsen in 1912. It
tells the story of creation in Norse mythology about the primordial
giant Ymer, who drinks milk from the cow Audhumbla.
The Faaborg
Clock Tower is a free-standing clock tower that was built in the 15th
century. It was originally part of the city's first church, St. Nicolai
Church, which was demolished after the Reformation, when the city took
over the Church of the Holy Spirit.
Vesterport is, together with
Mølleporten in Stege on Møn, the only preserved city gate from the
Middle Ages. It functioned as a city gate up until the 19th century,
where taxes had to be paid for goods brought into the city.
Road 8 runs through Faaborg from Tønder to
Nyborg, and road 43, which connects the city with Odense, begins
here.
Faaborg is the starting point for ferries to the
islands of Ærø, Avernakø, Lyø and Bjørnø. From 1965 to June 30, 1999
there was a ferry line to Gelting in Schleswig-Holstein. Via the
southern Horne Land with the ferry port Bøjden, Funen is connected
to the island of Alsen by the ferry port Fynshav.
Faaborg
used to be a railway junction. This is where the Odense – Nørre
Broby – Faaborg Jernbane from Odense (closed in 1954), the Svendborg
– Faaborg Bane from Svendborg (closed in 1954) and the Nyborg –
Rings – Faaborg Bane (passenger traffic in 1962 and goods traffic in
1987) met. In 1988, the section between Faaborg andringen, which
runs through the Pipstorn, was taken over by the Syd Fyenske
Veteranjernbane museum railway, which has been operating museum
railway operations in the summer months since May 28, 1992. In 2002
the last train ran the entire route, the trains then ended in
Corinth (Fyn). In 2011 the section between Corinth andringen was
dismantled, and the railway embankment has been a cycle and footpath
ever since. The former train station is the city's central bus
station.
Faaborg HK is a handball club based in the city. It has played in the 1st division for several seasons. It was part of the team cooperation HC-Fyn, together with HC Odense.