Køge (formerly spelled Kjøge) is a town in East Zealand with
37,754 inhabitants (2020) in the urban area, which in addition to
Køge itself also includes Ølby Lyng, Ølsemagle Lyng, Søndre Køge,
Boholte, Hastrup, Svansbjerg and Herfølge. Køge thus constitutes
Denmark's 18th largest urban area. The town is located in Køge
Municipality located at the bottom of Køge Bay at the mouth of Køge
Ås in the eastern waters and belongs to Region Zealand. Køge is
today a kind of satellite city to Copenhagen, as it is almost
connected to the urban buildings that run along the Køge Bay
Motorway into Copenhagen.
Køge is an older market town with a
number of old townhouses located in its city center, especially
around Køge Torv, where i.a. Køge Town Hall and King Hans' Farm,
from 1550 and 1634, respectively, are located side by side with
older civic houses. In the square there is also a statue of Frederik
VII created by the artist Herman Wilhelm Bissen in 1869. Between
Kirkestræde and Nørregade is Sankt Nicolai Church, a Gothic church
building built during the years 1250-1300 with a 43 meter high
tower. The church is the city's landmark. Near the church in
Kirkestræde 20 you will find Denmark's oldest dated half-timbered
house, which was built in 1527; the house is today part of Køge
Børnebibliotek.
In addition to its old interior, Køge also
offers a modern environment. The city is located by two major
motorways, E20 and E47 / E55, and has a modern industrial and
traffic port, from where there is a ferry connection to Rønne on
Bornholm. There are S-trains to Copenhagen as well as several other
railway connections to Central, East and South Zealand cities in the
area. Several large companies are headquartered in Køge, including
Netto, Junckers Industrier A / S, Sun Chemical A / S (the former
Kemisk Værk Køge) and CP Kelco - located in the station town of
Lille Skensved seven kilometers northwest of Køge. The latter is
also popularly known as the "Pectin Factory". The city has also
previously been the headquarters of Codan Rubber (Codan Rubber), but
the old factory area, which now goes by the name "The White City"
due to the old whitewashed factory buildings, is today a mixed
business area under development.
From Køge there are 22
kilometers to Store Heddinge, 24 to Roskilde, just over 26 to
Ringsted, about 27 to Faxe, approx. 46 to Næstved, 39 to Copenhagen
and just over 53 kilometers to Vordingborg.
The name "Køge" probably comes from the word kjuk, which means "lump" in the sense of "the place by the ridge" (Køge Ås).
Although Køge existed as a town in the 12th century, in the first
half of the 13th century it was not mentioned among Zealand's market
towns; first from 1288 with market town rights by Erik Menved. The at
least one hundred year old village located further inland eventually
came to be called Gammel Køge, while the market town was for a period
called "New Køge". In the 1400s, the village continued to pay taxes to
the bishop in Roskilde and had a church (at the current Gammel Køgegård)
in the 15th century. At that time, Køge and Gammel Køge were independent
parishes.
With the privileges from 1288, the king ordered that
Køge should live according to the same law as Roskilde, and he gave four
years of tax exemption to whoever wanted to build on Køge's undeveloped
plots. Already at this time the city was fortified with ramparts and
moats.
Erik Menved later donated several Zealand areas as
collateral, i.a. Stevns- and Bjæverskov Herreder and Møn, to Prince
Wizlav of Rügen who had mortgaged it until 1315.
Although Sankt
Nicolai Church dates from the 15th century, it is not the first building
in Køge's market town environment. Many building remains from the 15th
century have been found, which show that the course of the streets
around Køge Torv, Brogade, Nørregade and Kirkestræde has been largely
unchanged since then.
Around the middle of the 15th century, the
town got its first town hall, which is mentioned in 1461. It was
replaced around 1550 by the current town hall. A gray friars monastery
was built in 1484 at the behest of King Hans. In 1530, the citizens of
Køge asked the king to send a Lutheran priest, and in 1532 the monastery
became a hospital.
When Count Christoffer landed on Zealand in
1534, he established his headquarters in Køge while he prepared his
attack on Copenhagen.
During the feud, the townspeople
participated in the looting of Vallø, Højstrup and Valsøgård. But in
1535, Johan Rantzau stood before the city with his army, and the
citizens regretted their support for the count and opened the city's
gates to Christian III, who made Køge his headquarters while he waited
for the capital's surrender.
The period 1550-1650 was a time of prosperity for Køge, as the
citizens became richer due to increasing trade and fruitful herring
fishing in Øresund.
In 1612, a wealthy merchant, Hans Bartskær,
accused his wife Johanne Thomes of "having sent the devil into his
house". It was the beginning of a witch trial, called Køge Huskors,
where at least 15 women were burned as witches at the stake.
During the Swedish Wars, Karl X Gustav in 1657 advanced across Zealand,
after his march across the Great Belt. During the negotiations with
Frederik III, Karl Gustav settled down with his headquarters in Køge,
while the main part of the army was in the surrounding villages. Here he
stayed until peace was concluded in Roskilde in February 1658. When Karl
Gustav attacked Denmark again that same summer, Køge again served as
headquarters, and in 1659 it was decided to fortify the town. Labor was
called in from large parts of Zealand, and many buildings were
demolished in this connection, e.g. the monastery church in Vestergade
and a number of farms. When the Swedish troops withdrew in 1660, Køge
was financially exhausted, approx. 30 farms were demolished, 26 farms
were deserted and 90 homes were in ruins. The fortification was
demolished in 1661. From this time, in 1978, one of Denmark's largest
coin hoards was found, buried in Brogade/baghuset approx. 100 meters
from the square (today called Langkilde's Gård). The coins can be seen
today at the Køge Museum in Nørregade 4.
According to the conditions of the time, Køge's harbor probably had a
fairly considerable depth in the 16th and 17th centuries, but at the
beginning of the 18th century it was destroyed by a storm and silted up.
In 1731 it is stated that only boats of 2–3 feet could lie where before
the largest cargo carriers could enter, and in 1771 the depth is given
as 4–5 feet. Only in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were
improvements made with the help of the government. The harbor was given
stone piers on both the south and north sides, and in 1838 the depth was
9–10 feet. By the extensions made this year the depth became 11 feet,
but to maintain it constant and costly dredging was necessary.
Towards the end of the century, commercial progress came to Køge, among
other things at the markets on the market square.
The wars
against England in 1801 and 1807, the state bankruptcy and the loss of
Norway caused new setbacks for the economy from the beginning of the new
century. In 1816, Køge ceased to be a garrison town.
The early
industrialization
Køge's population was increasing in the late 1800s
and early 1900s: 2,436 in 1850, 2,659 in 1855, 2,734 in 1860, 3,097 in
1870, 3,122 in 1880, 3,282 in 1890, 3,992 in 1901, 4.2 84 in 1906 and
4,400 in 1911.
According to means of livelihood, the population
in 1890 was divided into the following groups, including both
breadwinners and dependents: 313 lived from intangible business, 1,272
from craft and industry, 871 from trade and turnover, 59 from shipping,
17 from fishing, 14 from agriculture, 20 from horticulture, while 500
were distributed among other occupations, of whom 460 were laborers and
day laborers, 141 lived on their means, 67 enjoyed alms, and 8 were in
prison. According to a census in 1906, the population was 4,284, of
which 275 supported themselves by non-material activities, 43 by
agriculture, forestry and dairying, 45 by fishing, 2,194 by crafts and
industry, 901 by trade and more, 384 by transport, 161 were shopkeepers,
138 lived on public support and 143 on other or unspecified business.
The growth of agricultural exports, especially to England, in the
latter half of the 19th century brought new prosperity to Køge, even if
there were certain setbacks along the way.
Køge Station was built
in 1870, when the railway Sjællandske Sydbane from Roskilde via Køge and
Næstved was led to Vordingborg (Masnedsund). In 1879, a railway
(Østsjællandske Jernbaneselskab) came from Køge to Hårlev, where it was
divided into two: a section over Store Heddinge to Rødvig and one to
Faxe. A line from Køge to Ringsted via Yderholm (Køge-Ringsted Banen)
opened in 1917; it was closed in 1963.
A number of smaller
industrial enterprises were established in Køge in the latter half of
the century. In 1842, the town got an iron foundry, in 1852 a paper
factory and the same year a tobacco factory. Factories and industrial
facilities around 1890 included: 1 tobacco factory, 1 clothing factory
and wool spinning mill, 4 tanneries, 1 iron foundry, 1 glue factory, 1
candle foundry, 1 shipbuilding, 1 brandy distillery, 1 soda factory, 1
Bavarian beer brewery (stock company, founded 1882, share capital DKK
122,500 .), 2 steam sawmills, 1 cooperative pig slaughterhouse, and 1
impregnation plant for railway sleepers.
In Køge, 2 newspapers
were published, namely "Kjøge og Omegns Dagblad" and "Østsjællands
Folkeblad".
Køge had 6 annual markets for horses, cattle and
agricultural products. The first Wednesday of each month was market day
with live cattle.
From Julius Larsen's childhood memories (born
1884)
"A Sunday in Køge: How quiet could the streets be, no cars, no
bicycles and no significant traffic problems. And when the silence was
interrupted by the deep metallic tones of the church bells, it felt like
a further underlining of safety and calm. You didn't hear that much
about bad nerves back then either."
Throughout the interwar period, Køge's population grew: in 1921 5,673, in 1925 5,603, in 1930 6,097, in 1935 6,952, in 1940 9,092 inhabitants. But at the same time, there was growth in suburbs in Køge's rural district and in Hastrup villaby in Herfølge Municipality, where a number of people with work in Køge settled. On 1 April 1940, Køge market town's rural district was incorporated into the market town.
Køge functions as a traffic hub, partly because the Sydmotorvejen and
Westmotorvejen meet at the city and merge together to form the Køge Bugt
Motorway, which continues into Copenhagen. In addition, there are both
train and road connections to Stevns and with Østbanen and along
secondary routes 209 and 261.
Køge Station is the terminus of an
S-train line and forms a kind of midpoint in Lille Syd between Roskilde
and Næstved. The local trains to Fakse Ladeplads and Rødvig also depart
from here. In 2013, construction work began on a new railway line from
Ringsted to Copenhagen via Køge, so that this traffic does not have to
travel via Roskilde.
From the station in the city, there are bus
connections on to Ringsted, Strøby, Store Heddinge, Egøje, Hårlev and
along Køge Bugt to Friheden. In addition, from the timetable change on
12 December 2010, A buses also run in the city: 101A and 102A serve
respectively. the southern part of the city and Præstø, Tappernøje, and
Herfølge.
As previously mentioned, Køge is rich in old half-timbered buildings.
In addition to Denmark's oldest dated half-timbered house at Kirkestræde
20, there is the Smedegården (Kirkestræde 13), which dates from the
latter half of the 16th century. Køge Torv is the largest provincial
square in Denmark, and the town hall from the mid-16th century has a
classicist facade from 1803.
In Vestergade, Richter's
Gæstgivergård is located at no. 16, built in 1644. At no. 7 is the
tannery from the end of the 17th century.
Køge Museum is located
in a listed merchant's farm from the first 1619 in Nørregade 4.
A
little further up the street, at Nørregade 29, is the Køge Sketch
Collection Art Museum, which is Denmark's only specialist museum for
sketches and models for art in public spaces, i.e. that the museum
displays the sketches and models for works of art that are publicly
known. The museum does not display the finished works of art, but the
sketches and models give an insight into the creative process during the
design of the works of art, e.g. how and what the artist has thought
while working with the works.
In Brogade, there are several
half-timbered houses from the 17th century, which are best felt from the
farm side. The longest is No. 16, which has 18 courses. Brogade 1 is
Køge Pharmacy from the 1660s, built by the city's first pharmacist,
Jørgen Berendsen. The current facade dates from 1865. At the southern
part of Brogade, Køge Bro crosses Køge Å. The bridge dates from 1637.
South of the city on Strandvejen 101 is a model of Køge anno 1865,
Køge Miniby (which itself officially names the place with the old
spelling: Kjøge Miniby), which is built in a size ratio of 1:10.
In the Yellow Hall on Strandpromenade 1, the Køge Maritime Model
Building Guild is located. It is an association whose members build
large models of ships from the 17th and 18th centuries with connections
to Danish naval history or Køge as a maritime city.
Østsjællandske Jernbaneklub is based in Køge, and you can see their
collection of vintage trains. In addition, they sometimes arrange trips
with vintage trains to other cities on Zealand.
When Køge Boldklub got into financial difficulties around 2009, they made a superstructure with Herfølge Boldklub and called themselves HB Køge. The collaboration with Herfølge B includes the clubs' best senior teams and U-19 and U-17. Køge Boldklub's own senior teams are placed in the league ranks. In Køge is Køge Stadium, which is used by both teams from Køge Boldklub and teams from HB Køge. In 2020, work began on a new stadium.