Herning is located in Central Jutland and is the capital of Herning Municipality. The city is the fourth largest in the Central Jutland Region and has 50,332 inhabitants (2020) incl. Tjørring, Snejbjerg, Birk, Hammerum, Gjellerup and Lind, which via industrial districts have grown together with the market town itself.
The name comes from the older Hørningh (horn, i.e. protruding hill,
and the ending -ing).
Herringgården Herringsholm was built in
1579 on the old army road from Jelling to Holstebro.
The village of Herning consisted in 1682 of 9 farms. The total
cultivated area amounted to 215.7 hectares of land, responsible for
30.78 tdr of hard grain. The method of cultivation was grassland farming
without tillers.
The cultivation of the heath in the early 19th
century led to increasing population numbers and Herning developed as a
trading center for the area. In 1827, the newly appointed bailiff had a
new courthouse built a few km east of the village. When he could not
agree with the farmers in Gjelleruplund on a plot, it was built by a
field road at the farm Laulund. In 1832, an apothecary settled next to
the courthouse. In 1839, the Christiansminde guest house was built, and
in 1841 a doctor settled on the site. In the following years, several
craftsmen also settled in Herning, and the field road became
Herninggade. When the country road between Ringkøbing and Silkeborg was
built through the sparse settlement in the 1840s and a new main road
from Holstebro over Herning to Vejle was built - the part to Holstebro
in 1858 and to Vejle in 1864, the village grew further.
Herning
had 21 inhabitants in 1840, 101 inhabitants in 1860, 246 inhabitants in
1870, 1,064 inhabitants in 1880. In 1855, the town had a courthouse,
doctor's residence, pharmacy, post office, inn, school and merchants. In
1870, the town had a courthouse, district doctor's residence, pharmacy,
post office and telegraph station, school, bank, a printing house,
weather mill, public library, savings bank, wool spinning mill, 2 inns,
nursery school, several merchants, veterinarian and "a lot of
craftsmen".
The sparsely populated and poor heaths in central and western
Jutland had a tradition of wool production from ancient times.
Farmers and shepherds knitted stockings and other woolen clothes
which were resold by itinerant hosiery traders. The inhabitants are
also called Uljyder, today rather jokingly. The domestic industry
developed into an extensive textile industry in Herning, Ikast and
Brande. In 1876, a steam-powered wool spinning mill was built, which
in 1896 became a clothing factory. In 1877, Herning became the
terminus of the railway from Skanderborg-Silkeborg. In the last
decades of the 19th century, the city experienced a rapid
development: in 1887-89, the medieval Romanesque church was
demolished and replaced by the current Herning Church. Several
buildings from the period are Hotel Eyde from 1893, Herning
Courthouse from the same year and Missionshuset Bethania from 1898.
In 1879, the town was described as follows: "Herning Church; the
towns of Herning with Thinghuus, District medical home and pharmacy,
post office and telegraph station, several commercial
establishments, school, polling place for the 4th Folketingskreds,
Herning Hede- and Discount Bank, a printing house, from which the
newspaper "Vestjylland" is published, Veirmølle, a club, Hammerum
Herred's Folkbibliothek, the Danish Hedeselskab Plant School,
Savings Bank, Wool Spinnery by Steam Power, Book and Paper Trade, 2.
Inns, etc.
At the turn of the century, the town is described
as follows: "In the parish, the town-like city of Herning (1340:
Hørningh; later called Hanning), on the country road, which forms
the main street planted with trees, the country's largest village
("Heath's capital") —, with church; vicarage; The mission house
"Bethania" (built 1898 after a design by Arkit. Wiinholt); 2
community schools (the main school in the town and the rural school
V. for it); secondary school (built 1877 by county councilor Thomas
Nielsen) with the right to hold general preparatory exams; technical
school (founded in 1878), several private schools; Court and Arrest
House, built in 1893 in the German Hanseatic style of red brick in
two floors, 80 F. long, with spire, and a side wing for the
Detention Building, built in 1891, with Space for 16 detainees
(Architects: Wiinholt and Hagerup); the buildings, which have cost
approx. DKK 82,000, are owned by the county municipality; in
addition to premises for the Conciliation Commission and detention
custodian accommodation, the courthouse contains a stylish,
beautifully decorated courtroom and in the attic a museum with
objects set up in 1896 , collected in Central and Western Jutland
(the pottery industry is well represented); the oldest Courthouse in
H. was built 1827, the other 1857. Sheriff's residence and office
(built 1878); County hospital (built in 1882, with 23 beds, for c.
21,000 DKK, architect: Weber) and Epidemihus (built in 1888 with 25
beds, with disinfection facility, for DKK 12,600, architect: Weber),
both owned by the county municipality; Fattiggaard, opf. 1882, Space
for 22 members; Hammerum Hrd.'s Children's Home, built in 1882 by H.
C. Bertelsen, room for c. 15 children; Pharmacy (established 1832);
District medical residence; more doctors. Meteorological Station
(established 1873). Herning Hede- og Diskontobank (established 12/3
1872; Share capital: DKK 115,600; 31/12 1900 the Folio- and
Indlaanskontoen was 965,378, the Bills of Exchange account 728,914
DKK). Hammerum Hrd.'s Sparekasse (established 1/7 1868; 31/3 1900
was Savings Credit 2,943,933 DKK, Interest 4 pCt., Reserve 115,040
DKK, Number of Accounts 6061). Gas plant (built 1898). Craftsmen's
association building (built 1887); College dormitory (built 1901).
Of the industrial plants: a steam wool spinning mill (Lunds),
several breweries, a brick factory, an iron foundry, a steam mill,
several mills, a peat factory, a pig slaughterhouse, a steam dyeing
factory, two mineral water factories, a roof tile factory, the
cement factory "Vestjyll", Sawmills; in addition, commercial
establishments and craftsmen, as well as two printing houses; In
Byen, H. Folkeblad, "Vestjyll" is published ("H. Dagblad" is
published in Ringkj.). Here there are several hotels, inns, market
place (8 markets with horses and livestock in Feb., March, April,
May, June, Aug., Oct. and Dec.), railway station (on the
Skanderborg-Silkeborg-Skjern line, just as it will be Terminus of
the State Railways Viborg-Herning, and Holstebro-Herning), Telegraph
and State Telephone Station. as well as the Post Office (the Post
House was built in 1892 after a design by Building Inspector J. V.
Petersen). The town has a customs office and is the polling place
for the county's 5th Folketingskr. and Session location for Lægd
43-60 of the 5th Printing District. W. of the town by the
Assistenskirkegaarden (with a funeral chapel) is a 2 1/2 Td. Ld.
large amusement park (originally Hedeselskabets Planteskole), in
which memorial for Colonel Dalgas, unveiled 8/10 1896 (an obelisk
with portrait medallion); in addition, the City opposite S. owns the
Pontoppidan facility, 12 Td. Ld., in which Memorials for
Landstingsmd. Th. Nielsen († 1895), ex. 14/9 1901, and for Consul
General Pontoppidan (raised 1903)."
The writer Nis Petersen's
childhood home from 1905 was located at Nygade 14. At Torvet stands
the Hedebanken from 1912, which today is considered one of the
city's most beautiful buildings.
Herning became a market town
in 1913, a time when development further gained momentum with many
new textile companies and other industry in the area. In the
Hakkelsesskäreriet, which was rebuilt in 1919 after a fire, the
clothing manufacturers met in the 1930s and started small textile
companies. The iron, metal and furniture industry also developed
noticeably in the 20th century. Herning got a gymnasium, central
hospital, seminary and a certain theater and music life.
From
1941, civil defense corps were established throughout the country.
The first column was housed at Herningsholm, which was converted
into barracks. In 1966, the column moved to an actual barracks in
the northwestern part of the city. The department is today the
Emergency Management Agency Midtjylland.
The interwar period
Throughout the interwar period, Herning's population was increasing:
in 1916 7,389, in 1921 8,855, in 1925 9,647, in 1930 10,866, in 1935
12,568, in 1940 14,164 inhabitants.
At the census in 1930,
Herning had 10,866 inhabitants, of which 613 supported themselves by
non-material activities, 4,363 by craft and industry, 1,728 by trade
etc., 1,000 by transport, 708 by agriculture, forestry and fishing,
904 by housework, 1,376 were out of business and 174 had not stated
the source of income.
The post-war period
After World War
II, Herning continued its population growth. In 1945 there were
16,285 inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 19,439 inhabitants,
in 1955 22,014 inhabitants, in 1960 24,790 inhabitants and in 1965
29,580 inhabitants. Tjørring Municipality with 733 in 1960 was
incorporated into the market town. At the same time, the suburb,
Birk by, developed in Gjellerup Municipality.
Herning is located as a road and railway junction on the sparsely
populated West Jutland heath, which today is mostly cultivated. The
nearest neighboring towns are Ikast (11 km to the east), Brande (25 km
to the south), Ringkøbing (45 km to the west), Holstebro (34 km to the
northwest), Silkeborg (35 km to the east) and Viborg (48 km to the
northeast ). Further afield, there are 79 kilometers to Aarhus, 66
kilometers to Vejle and 128 kilometers to Aalborg.
The
Struer-Vejle (DSB) and Skjern-Aarhus (Arriva) railways cross each other
in Herning. The IC connection Struer-Copenhagen serves Herning every two
hours. The connection Herning-Aarhus is operated on a half-hourly basis,
and the connection Herning-Skjern on an hourly basis. There is also the
regional train connection Struer-Fredericia, which is operated every two
hours. Herning is 25 km from Karup Airport and 57 km from Billund
Airport. 5 km north-east of the city is Herning Airport, which does not
have regular scheduled traffic. The Herning-Viborg railway existed from
1906 to 1971 (goods traffic until 1977).
Several main roads cross
Herning: routes 12, 15, 18 and 34. Furthermore, several motorways have
been built: Route 15 (Herning motorway), from Herning to Aarhus, opened
on 4 November 2002 from Herning to Bording. After determining the
routing for the last stage of the motorway – through northern Silkeborg
– it opened on 11 September 2016. On 7 October 2006, the first section
of Route 18 (Midtjyske Motorvej) opened east of Herning, from Sunds to
Brande, as well as Route 15 (Messemotorvejen) that runs south of
Herning, from Motorvejskryds Herning Syd to Herning V, the entire
section Herning-Vejle opened on 27 May 2014. On 28 May 2017, the second
section of secondary route 502 (Messemotorvejen) opened west of Herning,
from Snejbjerg to Sinding. Thus, Herning will be the first city in
Denmark with a complete ring road as a motorway/motor traffic road
around the city.
Herning is known as a congress and fair city because of Messecenter
Herning. The large multi-arena, Jyske Bank Boxen, which was built at MCH
Messecenter Herning. The large arena with room for 12-15,000 spectators
was inaugurated by Lady Gaga in October 2010, but had its baptism of
fire with sold-out intermediate round and final matches in connection
with the European Women's Handball Championships in December 2010. The
traditional textile industry does not characterize Herning and the
neighboring towns in the same way as before, and many of the jobs have
moved abroad. In Herning there is a large Danish Crown branch, one of
Denmark's largest pig slaughterhouses.
Herning is today an
important economic center and a growing city, in contrast to more
stagnant areas in central and western Jutland. This is mainly due to the
fact that for many years the city council has had a conscious strategy
to attract jobs and develop cultural life. Herning is known as an
enterprising trading town with a large range of both chain stores and
specialty stores. Thus there was, among other things, built a center in
the centre, Dalgashus, in 2003 and there are plans to build a larger
city center in Østergade, where the former Schou-Epa is located. As
relief for the town centre, the Herning Center was inaugurated in 1978,
which has been expanded and modernized several times and today contains
75 shops.
Among the city's leading companies are Egetæpper
founded by Mads Eg Damgaard, Herning Shipping, Bankernes EDB-Central and
men's underwear manufacturer JBS.
In 2007, Herning was designated as a national industrial monument by
the Danish Cultural Heritage Agency.
Grøn Koncert has returned to
Herning after a ten-year absence.
Just east of central Herning is
Denmark's largest work of art, Elia, a monumental work by Ingvar
Cronhammar.
In the northeastern corner of the city is the Blicher Museum at the
Herningsholm manor. Here there are exhibitions about the famous poet
Steen Steensen Blicher, who depicted the moorland.
The Herning
Museum was established in 1892 and tells about the cultural history of
the moors; in addition, the Freelands Museum Herning with regional
buildings is attached.
On the eastern outskirts of the city is
the Herning Art Museum, characterized by the architect C.F. Møller's
ceramic colored building, Carl-Henning Pedersen and Else Alfelts Museum.
The building dates from 1976 and contains more than 4,000 works of art
by this artist couple. The other part of the art museum was created in a
shirt factory from 1965. In the same district stands Elia, a 32 meter
high and 60 meter wide, black-painted, factory-like sculpture that spews
out an 8 meter high flame every 18 days. The sculpture was created by
Ingvar Cronhammar in 2001. Steven Holl was presented as the man who was
to design Herning's future art museum (HEART), which was inaugurated in
2009, after which Herning got a building that, in addition to housing
the art museum, will also be home to the Socle du Monde biennale and
Ensemble MidtVest.
Denmark's Photo Museum depicts the history of
photography since 1839. Baboon City is an indoor amusement center for
children and adults. At Havnstrup, 12 km west of Herning, is the animal
park Jyllands Park Zoo. Mørupstenen, Jutland's largest walking block,
lies southwest of the city in the direction of Snejbjerg.
In
1954, the exhibition building Herning-Hallen opened, which later grew to
become Messecenter Herning.
In 2004, the SAS Arena was inaugurated, a football stadium near the
Messecentret with room for 12,000 spectators and home to FC Midtjylland.
In 2005-06, two new bathing lakes were established, Fuglsang Lake and
Holtbjerg Lake. DGI and Herning Municipality financed the large DGI
Huset Herning, inaugurated in 2010, with water park, wellness centre,
hotel and housing.
Herning is known for raising several
well-known cycling stars, and for its ice hockey team Herning Blue Fox,
which plays its home games at the Kvik Hockey Arena.
Jyske Bank
Boxen, a multi-arena, was inaugurated on 20 October 2010 at a sold-out
concert with Lady Gaga. The Jyske Bank Box, popularly called "The Box",
is part of Messecenter Hernings Vision 2025 and has been visited by 1.1
million guests in the first five years.
In addition, Herning
Municipality has a rich club life, where children, young people and
adults can practice sports such as swimming, handball, football,
gymnastics, wrestling and a host of other sports. Snejbjerg S.G. & I. is
among the municipality's largest sports associations with approx. 2,000
members, divided into 15 different sports/cultural offers: Active
togetherness, Amateur theatre, Badminton, Cycling, Fitness, Floorball,
Football, Gymnastics, Handball, Exercise (running), Senior sports,
Shooting (resting), Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball.