Holstebro is a town in northern West Jutland, located 39 km southwest of Skive, 35 km north of Herning and 50 km north of Skjern and with its 36,643 inhabitants (2020) is the largest town in Holstebro Municipality. The town is located by Storå and is a significant trading town with a network of pedestrian streets, including Denmark's oldest permanent pedestrian street (built in 1963), which is the stretch from Store Torv to Brotorvet. The city has a significant industry in the manufacture of food, hardware and machinery, wood and furniture as well as the chemical industry. In the city is the Holstebro Regional Hospital, which belongs to the Central Jutland Region, and a barracks with the Jutland Dragon Regiment. The city is also home to the Court in Holstebro and the headquarters of the Central and West Jutland Police. The local news newspaper is Dagbladet Holstebro-Struer. Holstebro is a cultural city, known for i.a. Odin Theater, and the street scene is characterized by a number of modern sculptures and works of art.
The town is first mentioned on 6 February 1274 in a letter issued by Bishop Tyge in Ribe. Then the city is called Holstatbro. in 1287 the town is referred to as Hvolstathbroo, in 1340: Holzstathbroo, 1350: Holstethbro, 1373: Holstetbro, 1403: Holthzbro, etc.
Origin
The city has emerged as a ford over the
Storåen. Later, the place has become a bridge place, of which the
last part of the name. The first part of the name probably derives
from the term "hollow" place or "hollow" or lowering by the river.
The oldest traces of the city come from fragments of medieval pots
and jugs, dating to the 12th century, which were found during
excavations in the city center.
The Middle Ages
As a
traffic hub in Hardsyssel, which stretches from the Limfjord to the
Skjern River and from the North Sea to the Jutland ridge, Holstebro
has long been important as a market and trading town. Until approx.
in 1500, Holstebro was home to Hardsyssel things.
The town
has only had one church (south of the river, however, there was on
"Kapelmark" a chapel in Catholic times) and never any monastery or
any mild foundation in the Middle Ages. That the town in the Middle
Ages had a vicarage is seen by a letter from 1510, in which is
mentioned Præstegildegaard, which was originally called Fuglsang and
was located north of the river, south of the later Vestergade. To
the north outside the town, Ribe Bispestol had a farm, where the
bishops resided when they resided in the area, with adjoining lands
and peasant estates; several letters issued from here have the
signature "Ex curia nostra episcopali in Holstebro". Perhaps the
kings also lived here when they visited the city. Christian Is'
privileges for Nykøbing on Mors from 1460 are thus issued from
Holstebro; this king is known to have stayed in Holstebro several
times, just as King Hans visited it in 1513, among other places.
The Renaissance
When the city became a market town is not
known. Its oldest known privileges are given to that of Christian
III on May 21, 1552, when they had previously been burned the same
year by a great fire in the city; they have later been confirmed,
inter alia, in 1604. Christian III visited the city in 1542; a royal
letter of 16 September 1560 is also dated from here. Bispegaarden,
by which there was a bar peace and which lay on Skolegade, (the name
"Bisgaardsjorderne" reminds of it), fell to the crown after the
Reformation and was under the name of "Holstebrogaard", "Kongens
Gaard" and "Biskopsgaard" given away and from 1599 laid under
Lundenæs; in 1618 the Crown deeded the farm of Christen Hansen
(Baden) to Nørgaard, on 23 November 1630 the king donated it to the
town, and 4 years later it received permission to demolish the
buildings. Later, a new farm was built on its lands,
"Holstebro-Bisgaard", which was located on Nørregade and burned in
1734.
The fishing in the river, which has later been
insignificant, has probably had some significance, but the town's
most important occupation has been trade, although it was previously
damaged by the provision that axes were to be exported over Ribe,
just as trade on the Limfjord both in the 16th and the 17th century
suffered under atrocities from Aalborg. The heyday of trade was in
the 16th and first half of the 17th century; it was mainly driven
over Hjerting with Holland, with exports especially of hides and
imports of colonial goods and cloth, over Ribe with Hamburg and
Lübeck, with exports especially of wool, for which goods Holstebro
was particularly known, and over Aalborg, with exports especially of
cereal. The two largest merchant families around 1600 were Lægaard
and Solgaard. The wars in the 17th century have probably done the
city a lot of damage, especially in the war 1657-60 it was occupied
by the enemy for a long time, but it is especially the ravaging
fires that set it back. In addition to the above-mentioned fire of
1552, fires of 1576 are mentioned, which did so much damage that the
citizens, "who were to be very impoverished," by royal letter of
June 11, 1577, were hitherto free from tax and all other burdens;
1603, which also had the effect that the fire victims by letter of 5
October 1604 were exempted from tax for some years, 1 July 1651.
The town has had a Latin school established by Christian III, to
which he donated in 1542 the royal tithe of Maabjerg Parish and on
30 October 1553 the land guild of the Crown's land "Ladegaardsjord"
outside Varde. The building on the corner of Skolegade and Skolegyde
was restored in 1716 and 1739 given to the Danish school when the
Latin school was abolished.
Under the dictatorship
On 28
July 1697 46 farms burned and only the smallest part of the town
remained standing, new fires occurred in 1698, 8 April 1720, 22 July
1733, when Øster- and Vester- and some of Nørregade went up in
flames, in 1734, when the fire raged again in Nørregade, in 1784 and
7 July 1794, when the whole of Østergade burned. In the second half
of the 18th century, the city was in turmoil. In 1769 it had 679
inhabitants (1672: 500 inhabitants).
At the beginning of the
19th century, Ringkøbing attracted part of the trade, but this
changed when sailing on the Limfjord came to life at the opening of
the Agger Canal and the Løgstør Canal's facility, and the town came
into good standing, especially after the construction of a harbor in
Struer.
The early industrialization
Holstebro's population was
increasing in the late 1800s and early 1900s: 1,305 in 1850, 1,526
in 1855, 1,662 in 1860, 2,047 in 1870, 2,559 in 1880, 3,863 in 1890,
4,978 in 1901, 5,968 in 1906 and 6,861 in 1911.
From the
middle of the 19th century, a wave of industrialization began in the
city. Holstebro harbor at Struer was built in 1854-1855 and the
railway connection to Struer in 1866, which meant good transport
options to and from the city.
Of factories and industrial
plants, the city had at the turn of the century: Holstebro
Aktiebryggeri (joint stock company, established in 1882, share
capital DKK 200,000, employs about 50 men and women, annual
production: about 12,000 td. Taxable and 3,000 td. Tax-free beer);
Holstebro Iron Foundry and Machine Factory (limited liability
company from 1897, share capital DKK 80,000; approx. 35 workers), 1
iron foundry, 2 machine factories, R. Færchs Tobacco Factory (built
in 1869, employed approx. 75 men and women); 1 knitwear factory (126
workers); 1 potato flour factory (approx. 20 workers, annual
production, approx. 1 million pd. Flour; the factory belonged to the
main farm Krogsdal in Nørre-Felding Parish); 1 pig slaughterhouse
(limited company, established in 1893, share capital DKK 180,000,
approx. 20 workers), 2 dyehouses and garment factories (each approx.
12 workers), 1 planing plant (with steam power), 1 sawmill
(hydropower); in addition, 2 book printing companies.
In
Holstebro, 4 newspapers were published: "Holstebro Avis", "Holstebro
Dagblad", "Holstebro Folkeblad" and "Vestjyllands Socialdemokrat"
(only the first was printed here).
In Holstebro, 10 markets
were held annually: 1 in January with horses and cattle, 1 in
February with horses, 1 in February, 1 in April, 1 in May, 1 in
June, 1 in July, 1 in September, 1 in October and 1 in November with
horses and cattle. The cattle markets in particular were important
to the city; the so-called "Big-Monday Market" in October was
highlighted. Market day was every Tuesday and Saturday and every
other Tuesday from the second Tuesday after the October market until
Christmas with cattle; every Thursday was market day for trade in
piglets.
The composition of the population by industry was in
1890: 381 lived by intangible enterprise, 1,518 by craft and
industry, 805 by trade and turnover, 200 by agriculture, 52 by
horticulture, 720 by various day-care enterprises, 115 by their
means, 67 enjoyed alms and 5 sat in prison. According to a 1906
census, the population was 5,968, of which 406 subsisted on
intangible activities, 539 on agriculture, forestry and dairy
farming, none on fishing, 2,847 on crafts and industry, 1,179 on
trade and more, 369 on transportation, 225 were retired, 240 lived
by public support and 163 by other or unspecified business.
There are currently 58,418 inhabitants in the entire Holstebro Municipality (2018). In the municipal reform in 2007, the three old municipalities Holstebro Municipality from 1970-2006, Ulfborg-Vemb Municipality and Vinderup Municipality were merged into Holstebro Municipality.
Holstebro was voted Denmark's best commercial city in 2006 and 2020.
Holstebro generally has a commercial life centered around the pedestrian
street (Nørregade) in the center as well as an area with large
warehouses on the outskirts of the city. Historically speaking, trade
has characterized the city's business structure for many years, which
i.a. can be attributed to the large catchment area.
Several
large, old companies such as Færch Plast, Scandinavian Tobacco Group and
iron foundry Vald are located in the city. Birn.
Southwest of
Holstebro in the town of Tvis is the furniture company Actona, which has
a turnover of DKK 1.1 billion. DKK and employs 1,200 worldwide. The
company was originally founded in Holstebro in 1981 under the name
Marmorhuset.
Since 2018, the Holstebro motorway has connected
Måbjerg in the northern part of Holstebro with Herning. Måbjerg is home
to one of the country's largest biogas plants.
Attractions and sights
Holstebro Museum is a cultural history
museum with a local history archive. Holstebro Art Museum has both
Danish and foreign contemporary art. The Museum for Kleinkunst is
located in the city's oldest and smallest house and displays art in a
maximum size of 5x8 cm. The town also houses the Home Guard Museum
Holstebro.
In the middle of the city is Holstebro Lystanlæg,
which for generations has been the city's green gathering place with,
among other things, open-air stage and park lake.
Music, dance
and theatre
The music theater Holstebro (formerly Holstebro Congress
and Culture Center, 1991 and HolstebroHallen, 1966) provides a framework
for, among other things, theater performances and exhibitions. In
connection with the music theater is the local theater Black Box
Theatre, and Operaen i Midten also has an address in the music theater.
Since the 1960s, the city has been known for the Odin Theatre, the
Nordic Theater Laboratory for Acting and the Royal Theatre's Ballet
School. In 2013, the city's third regional theater Black Box Dance
Company was established under the direction of Marie Brolin-Tani.
Holstebro houses the symphony orchestra Orkester MidtVest and
several other orchestras within most genres. Orkester Efterskolen,
Rytmisk Musik Holstebro and Holstebro Musikskole are suppliers of music
for the city's events and arrangements. Klassische Dage is Holstebro's
annual festival for classical music founded in 2005 by flutist Janne
Thomsen. From the 1960s, the rhythmic music environment began to thrive
in the city, among other things facilitated by the music association
JASS (Jysk Aktivt Spillemands Selskab), which for many years organized
the JASS Festival. In the same period, the two jazz orchestras River
Boat and Blåbærrene were formed.
Danish Talent Academy (DTA)
offers artistic talent development for young people with a number of
academy preparatory courses in art and design, musicals and theatre,
dance and music.
Art in the city
In the public space you can
find several modern works of art, e.g. Alberto Giacometti's figure
"Woman on a cart" ("Maren o æ woun", as it is popularly called) in front
of the old town hall, "The Tobacco Worker's Dream" created by the artist
group Krukako at and on Red Square, Bjørn Nørgaard's decorations of the
pedestrian streets as well as Frithioff Johansen's permanent laser
sculpture Temple of Chaos on TV Midt Vest's transmission tower. At
Nørreland Church, which was designed by Inger and Johannes Exner, you
can see the distinctive church tower with the winding spiral staircase
and several lighted trees inside the church.
At the entrance to
Holstebro Lystanlæg there is a small grove with busts of some of the
city's historical, visionary and memorable personalities. These are:
Valdemar Birn (the man behind the iron foundry Vald. Birn), former mayor
Kaj K. Nielsen, former municipal manager Jens Johansen, manufacturer
Jørgen Færch, plantation owner Dato Seri Børge Bek-Nielsen and Free
Church priest Morten Larsen.
The city contains several sports facilities and a large number of
sports clubs and associations.
Holstebro Sports Park has a
combined athletics and football stadium with space for 5,000 spectators.
The stadium is home to the city's biggest football club, Holstebro
Boldklub. Idrætscenter Vest has 16 football pitches, one of which has
room for 2,000 spectators. Gråkjær Arena is a sports hall inaugurated in
2011, which is the home ground for the TTH Holstebro handball team.
TDC Hallerne, Mejrup. Culture and leisure center with two halls, a
multi-hall with a stage, outdoor pool etc.
In addition, there is
Holstebro Badeland and Holstebro Friluftsbad. Two golf clubs can be
found in the town; GOLFCLUB Storådalen and Holstebro Golf Club, which is
recognized as one of the world's 1000 best golf courses and also as one
of Denmark's ten best golf courses.
Other sports practiced in the
city include American football (AFC Holstebro Dragons), rowing, rugby
and flying, especially gliding, in Holstebro Flyveklub.
Some of
the city's sports associations are gathered in the wikipedia category
"Sports in Holstebro".