Holbæk is a town in Northwest Zealand approx. 60 km from
Copenhagen. With its 28,833 inhabitants (2020), it is Northwest
Zealand's largest city. The city is the capital of Holbæk
Municipality and belongs to Region Zealand. Holbæk grew up around
the former Holbæk Castle, which was founded in 1236 by Valdemar
Sejr, and the town was granted township rights in 1286. There are
two theories about the name: Either it is a paraphrase of "Den hule
bæk", referring to the brook there in the Middle Ages ran through
the city, or else it is "The Sacred Stream". West of the harbor is
the outlet of a small stream called Hulbæk.
Holbæk has
traffic connections to Copenhagen and Roskilde via motorway and
railway, which is why a large part of the city's business people are
employed outside the municipality. The city's catchment area
includes in Odsherred, to which there is also a railway, the
Odsherredsbanen, with terminals in Holbæk and Nykøbing Sjælland.
Until the beginning of the 1960s, Holbæk's extent south of the
railway was severely limited, but expansion of both homes and
businesses has stretched the city across the southern fields. Since
the 1980s, Holbæk has been one of the fastest growing major cities
in Denmark, and the city was among the five fastest growing in the
2000s.
Origin
Holbæk is believed to have originated from
two small towns that lay by and were named after the two streams
Holbæk and Labæk. The first west, the second east of the ridge on
which the city lies. Labæk must have been the most significant, but
eventually it disappeared and went all the way up to the other,
Holbæk, when a larger farm and later a fortified castle had emerged
here. Holbæk is first mentioned in 1199 in a gift letter from Bishop
Absalon, in which he gives Sorø Kloster the farm (curiam) Holbæk
with the belonging to the four small towns Metheløse (Merløse),
Grubethorp (Krojerup in Sønder Jernløse Parish), Thostethorp
(Tostrup in Merløse Parish ) and Ulfsthorp (a later disappeared
village, which was in Aagerup or Tølløse Parish, and which is still
mentioned in 1370). Sorø Kloster has soon sold the farm to Ringsted
Kloster, because in 1231 the abbot in this monastery sold a large
piece of land here to Valdemar Sejr, who must have built and
fortified Holbæk Castle west of the town (by Strandporten), where
the beach probably originally went completely into its ramparts.
From that time, Holbæk's significance as a city really begins.
The Middle Ages
In the process between Christoffer I and
Archbishop Jakob Erlandsen, the archbishop complains that the
citizens of Holbæk have killed Asser the priest, dragged him through
the city to the town hall and buried him in pagan land, without
mentioning the reason for this conduct. In the second half of the
13th century, the town got a Sortebrødrekloster, and in 1286 Erik
Menved must have given Holbæk a city court, which was renewed and
expanded in 1549 and many times has been confirmed, thus 1443, when
the town also got duty free everywhere in Denmark except on Skanør,
Falsterbo and other herring farms in the autumn, 1454, 1502 and
1506, 1534 by Count Christoffer in the Count's Feud, 1562, 1598,
1648, 1672, 1714, 1737 and 1746.
The Black Brothers Monastery
was founded in 1269 or rather 1275; In 1276, the Bishop of Roskilde,
Peder Bang, inaugurated the monastery's cemetery. In 1287, the
monastery burned down together with the town, and when the royal
assassins ravaged Holbæk in 1229, the monastery probably did not go
free either. In 1323, Christoffer II had the monastery church built,
presumably after a fire, and the same year it was consecrated by the
Bishop of Børglumb. In 1456, Queen Dorothea donated a large sum of
money to the monks to read masses over her, and in wills they were
sometimes given gifts. Nevertheless, by the Reformation, they were
so poor that in 1535 they had to leave the monastery and leave it
with the consent of Count Christoffer to the city. Shortly
afterwards, Christian III probably took possession of it with the
intention of using it to improve Holbæk Castle, but in 1536 it came
back into the possession of the citizens. It was a complex of three
(maybe 4), at right angles adjacent wing. In the west wing, after
the Reformation, the town's Latin school had premises until its
abolition in 1740, and here also lived the principal (the
penultimate principal was Torkil Baden, died 1732); after which the
Danish school got a place here. The church, which formed the north
wing, was demolished in 1869. If the monastery yard was originally
also closed to the east, the wing here must have disappeared early,
as it is not on the town plan in Resens Atlas 1670. To Holbæk
probably belonged a Sankt Jørgensgård for lepers.
In addition
to the monastery church, Holbæk had its own parish church, dedicated
to Saint Nicholas. It must have stood on the south side of Algaden
(the corner of Nygade) on the site of the county farmhouse at the
beginning of the 19th century (it was parceled out in 1846, and its
large, beautiful garden provided some space for a large steam
distillery), and by excavation in the surrounding terrain,
especially north of the street, a quantity of human bones has been
found, a proof that the cemetery has been rather large. After the
Reformation, the church stood desolate and gradually fell into
disrepair, which is why Frederik II in 1573 donated both it and the
square on which it stood, to the sheriff of Holbæk Castle,
Christoffer v. Festenberg (Pax) with permission to demolish it and
use the material, as he himself would. In its place, the monastery
church became the town's parish church.
Holbæk had been
haunted by fire several times, including 1513 (and probably also
1560, when the citizens were ordered to replace the thatched roofs
with tiled roofs).
The Renaissance
About Holbæk informs
Arent Berntsen in Danmarckis oc Norgis Fructbar Herlighet fra 1655:
"Holbeck Slots Lehn hvorudi er kun Tuze-Herrit allene oc den
Kiøbstad Holbeck, liggendes 7 Mile West-Norwest fra Kiøbenhafn, til
vilcken Isefiord, fra den Norder Ende af Landet, 3 Mile opløber oc
der til giør god Indseigling saa at ofte mange store Skibs Ladinger
aff Korn oc andet, der fra til Holland, Norge, Tyskland oc omlige
Stæder, udføris. say there the bourgeoisie, of surrounding manors
and peasants, large lots of grain, which they ship out, and again
introduce other coarse goods, of salt, iron, bumblebee, etc.
Whereupon they also have a good outlet, so that at the same place it
gives some prosperous inhabitants . "
The decline of the city began with the Karl Gustav Wars of
1658–60, when the castle was destroyed and when the city suffered
from the ravages of the enemy, and it soon sank down to be an
insignificant city.
Under the crown
In 1672 the market
town had 879 inhabitants, in 1769 1,211 and 1787 1,159 inhabitants.
In the years 1719–88, not a single new building was erected, and in
Pontoppidan's Danish Atlas it is stated in 1774: "The town's trade
and industry have been unbelievably declining in 40 years, so that
the town's inhabitants are for the most part very impoverished and
poor". It was not until the end of the 18th century that the city
began to gain strength during the general upsurge in the country's
trade conditions, and by major measures in the 19th century, in
particular the construction of the Harbor, it progressed steadily.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Holbæk had from time to time a
garrison, mostly of cavalry squadrons. Also in the 19th century it
was a garrison town.
The early industrialization
Holbæk
had 6 markets annually, 2 in March and 1 in April (horses and
cattle), 1 in June (horses, cattle and forest animals), 1 in October
(cattle) and 1 in November (cattle).
Of factories and
industrial plants, the town had around the middle of the 19th
century: 7 spirits distilleries, 1 tobacco factory, 1 iron and metal
foundry, 1 beer brewery, 2 cotton weaving mills, 3 dyeing mills, 5
tanneries, 2 pottery, 1 book printing plant. In addition, 3 wind
turbines and 1 horse mill. Of factories and industries, the town had
in 1872: 6 spirits distilleries, 2 tobacco factories, 1 lime
distillery, 2 wool spinning mills, 2 iron and metal foundries, 3
beer breweries, 3 cotton weaving mills, 3 dye mills, 6 tanneries, 2
pottery, 2 letterpress mills and 1 windmill. horse mill and 1
shipbuilding. Of factories and industrial plants, the town had
around the turn of the century: 3 tobacco factories, 1 wool spinning
mill, 2 iron and metal foundries, 2 beer breweries, one of which
also brewed Bavarian beer, 2 cotton weaving mills, 3 dye mills, 5
book printing mills, 2 weather mills, 1 steam mill, 1 duck mill. ,
which, however, was located in the adjoining rural parish, 1 fruit
factory and more.
In Holbæk, 3 newspapers were published:
Holbæk Amts Avis, Holbækposten and Holbæk Amts Dagblad, as well as
the weekly magazine Skytteridende.
Holbæk's population was
increasing at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the
20th century: 2,638 in 1850, 2,811 in 1855, 2,971 in 1860, 2931 in
1870, 3,265 in 1880, 3,915 in 1890, 4,574 in 1901, 5,269 in 1906 and
5,915 in 1911.
By industry, the population in 1890 was
divided into the following groups, comprising both breadwinners and
dependents: 408 lived by intangible activity, 1,571 by trade and
industry, 813 by trade and commerce, 50 by shipping, 87 by fishing,
178 by agriculture, 34 by horticulture, while 624 were distributed
to other occupations, 82 lived on their means, 54 enjoyed alms, and
14 were in prison. According to a 1906 census, the population was
5,269, of which 355 subsisted on intangible activities, 258 on
agriculture, forestry and dairy farming, 161 on fishing, 2,755 on
crafts and industry, 1,160 on trade and more, 267 on transportation,
191 were retired, 110 lived by public support and 12 by other or
unspecified business.
The interwar period
During the
interwar period, Holbæk's population was growing: in 1921 11,198, in
1925 11,831, in 1930 12,473, in 1935 12,493, in 1940 12,790
inhabitants. But at the same time there was a growth in the suburbs
in Butterup-Tuse Municipality, where a number of people settled and
worked in Holbæk.
At the census in 1930, Holbæk had 12,473
inhabitants, of which 1,259 subsisted on intangible activities,
4,851 on crafts and industry, 2,113 on trade, etc., 1,104 on
transport, 730 on agriculture, forestry and fishing, 865 on
handicrafts, 1,428 were out of business and 123 had not stated
source of income.
The post-war period
After World War II,
Holbæk continued its population growth. In 1945 there were 13,467
inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 14,417 inhabitants, in 1955
15,153 inhabitants, in 1960 15,475 inhabitants and in 1965 16,445
inhabitants. In Butterup-Tuse Municipality, a new suburb,
Allerupgård residential area, grew up and in Sdr.
Asmindrup-Grandløse Municipality the suburb of Lille Grandløse.
The urban development resulted in the establishment of an urban
development committee, which prepared an urban development plan for
the Holbæk area comprising both the market town, the suburban
municipality and several rural municipalities.
Recent times
Holbæk Municipality was formed after the municipal reform in 2007
and consists of the former municipalities Holbæk (1970-2006: 159.47
km²), Jernløse, Svinninge, Tornved and Tølløse. The current
municipality covers an area of 578.70 km².
Holbæk's
development has in recent years gone from industry to business,
which is why, among other things, the former industrial port has
been transformed into a modern, urban district with office
businesses and attractive multi-storey homes. In addition, the
former barracks plot and other green areas have been used for
development. In 2004, the municipality refused to have a new East
Danish prison in the city.
The city has three large areas of social housing:
Ladegårdsparken, Engvang and Bjergmarken, where there has been a
large concentration of refugees and immigrants.
In recent
years, there have been and still are several large construction
projects in Holbæk. Among these projects are the upcoming, green
district Holbæk Have, urban development at Jernstøberiet, the city's
new arena Holbæk Sportsby and AP Pensions Holbæk Fjordtårn - a
17-storey high-rise building with homes on the harbor.
Holbæk
Sportsby is a project that has been created in collaboration between
the city's sports associations and Holbæk Municipality. Virtually
all of the city's sports facilities have been gathered in a new
sports city, which has been built as a bare field project by
Omfartsvejen south of Holbæk. Construction began in September 2016,
and the sports city was inaugurated on 21 June 2019. The area
contains i.a. swimming center, multi-purpose hall, tennis hall,
badminton hall, squash courts, health center, fitness center,
football stadium, café and a large number of outdoor facilities for
e.g. tennis, paddle tennis, athletics, mountain biking and the like.
The plan is to develop a completely new district with housing
construction in the area around the sports city. Holbæk Sportsby has
been named Sports Construction of the Year 2020.
At the Port
of Holbæk, AP Pension has built a 17-storey high-rise building (55
meters) with 60 homes, which was completed in December 2019. Holbæk
Fjord Tower, as the high-rise is called, was designed by Juul-Frost
Architects and is the tallest residential property in Region
Zealand.
Another significant construction project in Holbæk
town is on the former slaughterhouse site on Vølundsvej, where the
construction of 243 public housing in three stages is underway. The
homes have different sizes and consist primarily of multi-storey
buildings in four to five floors.
The former sports areas in
Holbæk Have, whose function has now been moved to Holbæk Sportsby,
have been acquired by FB Gruppen A / S and PKA, which from 2021-2031
will build a new district with approx. 1,000 new, mixed housing and
green, recreational common areas. The new buildings will consist of
semi-detached houses, terraced houses and multi-storey buildings of
up to six storeys. The total investment will be approx. 2.5 billion
DKK, and thus it will be one of the largest investments in Holbæk
Municipality ever.
In the easternmost part of Holbæk Have,
Midtsjællands Boligselskab is constructing 96 public housing units
from two to 10 storeys on the plot that previously housed
Brunhøjskolen.
The former iron foundry site on Lundemarksvej
in central Holbæk will be developed from 2021-2025 into a modern
residential area with terraced houses, senior housing community,
multi-storey buildings and point houses with up to eight floors.
Railways
Holbæk has three rail connections: Nordvestbanen towards
Roskilde/Copenhagen (double track) and Kalundborg (served by DSB),
Odsherredsbanen ("OHJ") (Local train), Tølløsebanen ("HTJ") (Local
train). The stations are located in Holbæk municipality:
Northwest railway: Holbæk, Vipperød and Tølløse (towards Copenhagen),
Regstrup, Knabstrup, Mørkøv and Jyderup (towards Kalundborg).
Odsherredsbanen: Stenhus, Ny Hagested, Gislinge and Svinninge.
HTJ:
DKK. Eskilstrup, St. Merløse and Bagmarken.
In 2015, the last
double-track section of the line between Holbæk and Copenhagen opened,
and the total journey time to Copenhagen H was reduced by approx. a
quarter to 43 minutes with the fastest connections.
Holbæk
motorway
Holbæk is at the end of the Holbæk motorway (exit 18, 19 and
20). The motorway was widened in 2006, so that today it stretches south
of the city and ends in the western suburb of Tuse (exit 20: Holbæk V),
where it previously ended at Holbæk Mega Centre. From Tuse Nord, a new
2+1 lane motorway has been built to the north of Vig, where it connects
with the rest of the motorway from Lumsås. This stretch opened to
traffic on 29 November 2013. At Roskilde, the Holbæk motorway was
widened to three lanes in the period 2009-2012, in order to remedy the
previous problems with queues.
Airport
Holbæk does not have an
airport, but there is Holbæk Airport.
The city has previously based its earnings on industrial companies
such as Holbæk Shipyard, Hotaco and Holbæk Iron Foundry, while today one
is less dependent on industry and more on companies that can service the
city's commuter population. Thus, the local slaughterhouse Steff
Houlberg closed in 2006, while Superfos was the only significant
industrial company in the area until 2007.
Today, Holbæk's
largest companies are the financial group Sparekassen Sjælland-Fyn,
which runs banking, insurance and real estate and has branches across
most of Zealand, as well as the bus company DitoBus. However, the
municipality's largest company is the energy company SEAS-NVE, which has
its headquarters in Svinninge. The city also has a plastics industry, a
media house/newspaper printing house, and a pharmaceutical industry in
the form of the company Pharmacosmos. Holbæk Hospital is one of the four
large emergency hospitals in Region Zealand. As part of the previous VK
government's plan for the relocation of state workplaces, from 2021
Holbæk has become the home of Denmark's Evaluation Institute (EVA),
Denmark's Accreditation Institution, Danida Fellowship Center and parts
of the Board of Education and Quality (STUK). The state workplaces are
gathered at the former Østre Skole by Markedspladsen in the center of
the city. The listed school buildings have been carefully renovated and
converted into modern offices.
The majority of Holbæk's
specialist shops are located in the narrow streets in the city centre,
side by side with the many cafés and restaurants. The city also contains
some smaller shopping centres/arcades. On the south-western outskirts of
the city is Holbæk Mega Center with a large range of shops for
particularly space-intensive product groups. This trading area attracts
many customers from a large catchment area and is continuously being
expanded. In connection with Holbæk Mega Center, Bilbyen is also being
established.
Today, the city houses several municipal and private educational
institutions, Stenhus Gymnasium and HF, business school, technical
school, nursing education, financial economics education, art college
and the country's only glass master school.
Public schools and
private schools in Holbæk
In Holbæk there are four municipal schools:
Bjergmarksen School – Located in the eastern part of the city by the
residential area Bjergmarken. The school houses a large number of
sporting events, including the basketball team Team Zealand's home
games.
Absalonsskolen – The city's largest school built in 2005 as a
replacement for the two schools Slotsmarkskolen and Søndre Skole.
Tuse School – School in the western suburb of Tuse.
Holbæk 10th grade
center – part of the youth area for Holbæk Municipality.
In
addition, there are four private primary schools:
Holbæk Little
School
Stenhus Boarding School
Holbæk Private High School
Andreasskolen (Christian free school)
Youth education
In
Holbæk, there are a number of education options after primary school:
Stenhus Gymnasium and HF
Slotshaven Gymnasium
EUC Nordvestsjælland
– Driver School of Commerce, Technical School and Glazier School
Northwest Zealand's HF & VUC
FGU Northwest Zealand
Higher
Education
Since 2018, Absalon Vocational College has been offering a
new nursing education in Holbæk. The town's former nursing school closed
in 1998. From 2019, Zealand (Sjællands Erhvervsakademi) also offers the
education for financial economist.
Colleges
The Art College in
Holbæk with practical and theoretical teaching in and about art
Jyderup Højskole ved Skarresø is a general folk high school with
electronic music, glassblowing, folk music and politics
Previous
higher education
1960-2014 there was Holbæk Seminarium, which offered
professional bachelor's education for elementary school teachers and
pedagogues.
Attractions and sights
Holbæk and the surrounding region are
provided with a range of cultural and historical sights, many of which
have a strong local connection. In addition, there are a number of
working workshops, cultural centres, theatres, venues, galleries,
amusements, cinemas, restaurants and cafés.
Museums
Holbæk
Museum is housed in a number of old buildings in Klostrstræde. It is
part of the fusion museum Vestsjællands Museum, and in 2017 it had just
over 15,000 visitors.
The Egg Warehouse is a gallery with
changing exhibitions, housed in a former egg warehouse, and is run by
Holbæk Art Association. Denmark's Egg Museum is located in the basement
below the exhibition rooms in the Egg Storage.
The cooperative
village of Nyvang on Oldvejen southeast of Holbæk is a living open-air
museum from 1880-1950. In 2017, it had over 62,000 visitors.[26]
For about a year, Denmark's Road and Bridge Museum existed, under the
Ministry of Transport, next to the Cooperative Village. However, when
the operating subsidy lapsed, it had to close.
Architecture
St. Nikolai Church is the city's largest church and is located next to
the museum. It was inaugurated in 1872 and is located on the site where
the former monastery church, Sct. Lucius, lie down. The old monastery
church was in very poor condition in its last years and was demolished
in 1869.
Tveje Merløse Church is located 3 km south of Holbæk and
was founded in the 12th century.
The Sortebrødreklosteret is
located next to Sankt Nikolai Church, and it was founded in 1276. On the
other side of the church is the Kapellanboligen, which is a listed
half-timbered house from around 1600. Several of Holbæk Museum's
buildings are listed half-timbered buildings from the latter half of the
17th century . The elephant pharmacy in Ahlgade was founded in 1705, and
is also a listed building with a late classicist facade.
Holbæk
Gamle Havn around the former Holbæk Shipyard has initiated a number of
projects after the shipyard, Zealand's last, ceased its activities at
the end of 2007.
Music and theatre
Musikhus Elværket is a
concert and music venue, which is set up in a former power station that
was built in 1911. It served as a community center for a while, but in
1996 it was handed over to Holbæk Municipality and converted into a
music venue.
Holbæk Theater is a regional theatre, and it has,
among other things, won two Reumert awards. The theater is housed in a
former cinema building and was established in 1984.
The Fair Play
Theater is a professional theater that tours throughout the country.
Cirkus Kæphøj is actually a leisure club, but part of the concept is
that several times a year circus performances are made with the
children. It was founded in 1985 and the performances also go on tour.
Sights in the area
Orø Minder, a small regional museum housed in
the island's former poorhouse next to the church on Orø
Nørre
Jernløse Mølle, a working mill museum
Skamstrup Mill, working mill,
dissemination workshop and historical attraction
Torbenfeldt
Blacksmith Museum
The city's largest sports club with approx. 1100 members is Holbæk
Golf Club, which has fostered four international champions, followed by
the football club HB&I with approx. 800 members and a team in the 2nd
division, and of the basketball club HBBK, which previously was in the
Basketball League, but has now voluntarily moved down to the 2nd
division.
In addition, there is handball at elite level, as well
as a large number of smaller associations – the orienteering club,
athletics, tennis, badminton, swimming club, rowing club, riding club,
other football clubs etc. The football club HB&I was at the top of
Danish football in the mid-70s with silver medals in 1975 and cup final
places in 1975 and 1976. HB&I got per 1 July 2008 a professional
superstructure, Nordvest FC, which in autumn 2008 defeated the super
league teams SønderjyskE and AC Horsens in Ekstra Bladet's cup
tournament.
Holbæk Red Devils is an American football club in
Holbæk.
Holbæk Elitesport A/S
For an in-depth article, see
Holbæk Elitesport
In the spring of 2006, the businessman Per
Klarskov tried to start Holbæk Elitesport A/S as a joint company for
Football, Basketball and Handball. While the football and basketball
club together with mayor Jørn Sørensen were critical of the new project,
among other things on the basis of Per Klarskov's dismissal from the
football club FC Copenhagen, the handball club was positive. Then the
company Holbæk Elitesport A/S was formed, and a number of female Serbian
players were engaged, and the city boy, former national coach, Torben
Winther, was hired as coach of the new team.
However, the project
was slowed down by a lack of financial support, and the team's sponsors
limited themselves to the local paper trade and a number of small shops.
Per Klarskov claimed to have a three-digit million sum to his credit,
but both coaches and players were not paid wages, and the company did
not pay the bills from Hotel Strandparken, where the Serbian players
were accommodated.
DGI City 2009
Danish Gymnastics & Sports
Associations held a national meet in Holbæk on 2-5 July 2009. Most
sports facilities have been built in the south-eastern part of the city
in the Fælleden area, i.a. a very large stadium. A new road has also
been built to the convention center (stadium) with the appropriate name
Arenavej.
There were earlier plans to build a 20,000 m² DGI
building on Blegstrædehagen at Holbæk Gl. Port based on the same concept
as DGI-byen in Copenhagen. However, due to the financial crisis and the
municipality's tight finances, the project was not realised. Several
years later, the municipality and the city's sports associations have
succeeded in bringing together virtually all of Holbæk city's sports
activities in the large-scale project Holbæk Sports City, which opened
in 2019 at Omfartsvejen south of Holbæk. (See 'Recent Times' section
above)