Frederikssund is a station town in North Zealand with 16,337
inhabitants (2020), located by Roskilde Fjord. The city is located
in Frederikssund Municipality and belongs to the Capital Region. In
1652, Frederikssund was named after the sitting king, Frederik III,
and later received market town rights in 1810. Frederikssund was
previously a charging station for Slangerup.
The city is
known for the annual Viking Play, which is a large outdoor theater,
as well as J.F. Willumsens museum. Connected to Hornsherred via
Crown Princess Mary's Bridge and Crown Prince Frederiks Bro,
inaugurated in 2019 and 1935. S-train to Copenhagen from 1989. Until
the municipal reform of 2007, the city was part of Frederiksborg
County.
By plane
The nearest airport is Kastrup Airport.
By rail
Frederikssund is reached by one of the S-tog (city rail) lines.
By car
Frederikssund is an important road junction.
Frederikssund was a loading dock for the market town of Slangerup and
arose when Frederik II on 14 May 1578 gave the citizens, who according
to legend must have been connected to the Isefjord through the cove and
later ran past Græse Mølle, a connection that had gradually become
blocked, freedom to to store their goods on the hill at Udesundby or, as
the place was called, Sundby Ferry. The place was used a lot by Frederik
II, as he let a large part of the materials for Frederiksborg Castle be
taken to Sundby Færge, from where they were further supplied by the
farmers. Later, the town must have been called Falkenberg, but where
this name comes from is not known.
Under the dictatorship
The
name Frederikssund must originate from the time of Frederik III, when
the town was granted customs office rights and market town rights in
1665, and it gradually began to compete with its mother town, Slangerup.
Under Christian VI in 1744, the town was assigned to Udesundby church
instead of Slangerup church. In 1809, Slangerup, under whose bailiff
Frederikssund had been until now, was abolished as a separate market
town municipality, and Frederikssund got its own bailiff. From a few
hundred inhabitants at the beginning of the 19th century, it grew
steadily, a significant expansion was achieved by the union with
Udesundby, and the construction of the bridge to Horns Herred in the
same year, the improvement of the harbor and finally the construction of
a railway have all contributed to its emergence.
The early
industrialization
By Law of 12 April 1867, the majority of the
village of Udesundby (500 to 600 inhabitants) was placed under
Frederikssund city (the boundaries were set by the Ministry of the
Interior by decree of 3 August 1867). The other part of Udesundby Parish
in Lynge-Frederiksborg Herred, the so-called "Udesundby Landdistrikt",
belonged to Frederikssund with regard to the poor and school system, to
whose church the inhabitants still applied, but had its own district
council in other municipal matters.
In 1868, instead of the ferry
connection between Horns Herred and Frederikssund, a pontoon bridge was
built over Roskilde Fjord, Crown Prince Frederiks Bro, opened on 3 June
1868.
The Frederikssund Railway was opened on 17 June 1879.
In the second half of the 19th century, the harbor underwent several
changes and improvements.
Frederikssund's population was
increasing in the late 1800s and early 1900s: 612 in 1850, 679 in 1855,
763 in 1860, 1,306 in 1870, 1,506 in 1880, 1,828 in 1890, 2,302 in 1901,
2,425 in 1 906 and 2,514 in 1911.
Around the middle of the 19th
century, Frederikssund had nine brandy distilleries and two tanneries.
In 1869, the town had factories and industrial facilities: 4 brandy
distilleries, 2 tanneries, 1 cloth factory with wool spinning, dyeing
and stamping works. Around the turn of the century, the city of
factories and industrial plants had 1 wool spinning mill, 1 sawmill, 1
cooperative pig slaughterhouse, 1 mineral water factory. The town had 2
hotels and several guesthouses.
According to occupations, the
population in 1890 was divided into the following groups: 659 lived from
crafts and industry, 515 from trade and turnover, 293 from intangible
activities, 90 were farmers, 35 fishermen, 11 seafarers, 4 gardeners,
104 lived from other professions, 82 from their means, 29 enjoyed alms,
and 6 spent in prison. According to a census in 1906, the population was
2,425, of which 197 supported themselves by non-material activities, 104
by agriculture, forestry and dairying, 37 by fishing, 1,127 by crafts
and industry, 547 by trade and more, 209 by transport, 88 were
shopkeepers, 64 lived on public support and 52 on other or unspecified
business.
The interwar period
Throughout the interwar period,
Frederikssund's population grew: in 1921 2,967, in 1925 3,117, in 1930
3,186, in 1935 3,243, in 1940 3,246 inhabitants. But at the same time,
there was growth in the suburbs of Oppe Sundby in Oppe Sundby
Municipality and Engbæk in Ude Sundby Landdistrikt, where a number of
people with work in Frederikssund settled.
At the census in 1930,
Frederikssund had 3,186 inhabitants, of which 250 supported themselves
by non-material activities, 1,302 by craft and industry, 607 by trade
etc., 328 by transport, 159 by agriculture, forestry and fishing, 196 by
housework, 287 were out of business and 57 had not stated the source of
income.
The post-war period
After the Second World War,
Frederikssund continued its population growth. In 1945 there were 3,557
inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 4,143 inhabitants, in 1955 5,213
inhabitants, in 1960 5,722 inhabitants and in 1965 6,805 inhabitants.
The suburban municipality Ude Sundby rural district had been so
developed that it was incorporated in its entirety on 1 April 1951.
Urban development led to the establishment of an urban development
committee, which drew up an urban development plan for the Frederikssund
area, including both the market town, the suburban municipality and
several rural municipalities.
The city's library is part of the association Frederikssund Libraries.