Korsør is a town on the far western corner of Southwest Zealand
by the waters of the Great Belt. The city has 14,608 inhabitants
(2020) and is located in Slagelse Municipality in Region Zealand.
The town is divided into 2 districts, Sydbyen which is south of
the harbor and the north - and Halsskov which is north of the north.
Halsskov housed in its northernmost district (until the Great Belt
Bridge was completed in 1998) a large ferry port for the car ferries
to Knudshoved, in the southernmost part of the district closest to
Sydbyen was the terminus on the railway line Copenhagen - Korsør.
From here the railway ferries departed for Nyborg. The station and
the ferry port were closed in 1997 and replaced by a newer station
north of Halsskov in connection with the opening of the railway
section of the Great Belt Link.
People who live in or come
from Korsør are called Corsorans or Corsøians, formerly also
Crucisorans (from Lat. Crux, cross). People who live on the Halsskov
side are sometimes called "neckskovits".
Of which the first part of the name comes is not known
(the cross in the town's coat of arms from 1608 is of course formed
after the name; in the oldest city coat of arms, from 1519, stands
the City Church). The place has undoubtedly very early had
significance as a crossing point to Funen. Svend Grathe must have
built a castle at Korsør, but it is not good to decide whether this
means Tårnborg Castle or a castle right by the town, and in later
accounts it is also often uncertain what is meant when Korsør Castle
is mentioned. , thus when it is reported that during the Count's
Feud it was taken over by some scaly citizens. Perhaps the actual
Korsør Castle, which has been located on the site of the later lake
battery, only emerged when Tårnborg Castle had lost its
significance, whether there has even been a smaller fortification at
the entrance to the harbor. Of the castle's chiefs are known Mr.
Erik Barnumsen 1364, Jørgen (Jens?) Rud 1369—70, Claus Holste 1376,
Oluf Pant († 1397), Mr. Oluf Nielsen 1409, Anders Skytte 1415, Iver
Jensen Dyre 1439, Mr. Oluf Lunge 1464, Mr. Henrik Meinstrup 1471—96,
Stig Griis 1497, Erik Hardenberg 1499, Oluf Hansen 1505, Mourids
Jepsen Sparre 1512—16, Mr. Henrik Gøye 1516—23, etc. However, the
castle has never played any major role or been further heavily
fortified.
Nor has the city, despite its good location, ever
been of great importance. In 1288 it was plundered by Marsh Stig and
his party. Some of the privileges granted by Erik Menved at Tårnborg
Castle are mentioned, but the town's oldest market town privileges,
by which it also received "Fægang paa Sprogø," are shown given in
1425 by Erik of Pomerania; they are often later confirmed and
expanded, among others by Christoffer af Bavaria 1445 (it was in
Korsør that the Council of the Kingdom of Denmark issued the letter
on 28 October 1438, whereby it convened Christoffer as king).
The Renaissance
The city was given new privileges in 1558,
when the city was granted the same city law, city law and privileges
as Roskilde and Kalundborg as well as the right to let horses and
cattle go on "Halffskoug", and in 1648, when the citizens had
complained about the damage that Skibsholms An important source of
income for the town was the ferry service to Nyborg, but it also had
its disadvantages for the citizens, as they often had to bear
expenses without compensation when the court had to cross the Belt,
so in 1578 they were ordered to furnish stables for 400 horses. and
have forage for them for the use of the king, and in 1644 the town
received a severe rebuke, because the ferrymen had said that they
would rather burn their boats than transfer the king's people and
messengers.Most probably the town has felt the pressure under war
conditions when it had to procure troops and materiel over, such as
during the Karl Gustav wars 1658-60, when Korsør also suffered
particularly during accommodation and taxation.The Swedes landed
here unhindered on 7 August 1658, and they kept the castle occupied
throughout the war and strengthened the fortifications so that the
fortress is even said to have been built by the Swedes; in addition,
they demolished some of the town's houses near the castle and built
a new fortification inside the noret on "Lilleø", which is now
dammed. It is known that Karl Gustav stood at Korsør Castle and saw
the defeat of his troops at Nyborg, and the "welcome words" with
which he received Stenbock. After 1660 the fortress has been
neglected, and in 1764 it was sold with the exception of the tower
and some warehouses.
Under the dictatorship
In 1661,
Korsør, together with Copenhagen, became a stack town, which "alone
must use foreign trade", and in 1664 it was ordered that the ports
at Skibsholm, Våsen, Gedehuset, Bisserup and Basnæs Fjord should be
closed as harmful to Korsør.
The city had only 826
inhabitants in 1672, and both at that time and throughout the 18th
century, there were many complaints about its poverty. In 1769 it
had 1,280 inhabitants. The town, like the other towns, probably
suffered from fires, although there is only a report of a major fire
in July 1557, when a journeyman with the sheriff at Nyborg Castle
set fire to the town, so that it burned on 10-11 farms near.
The early industrialization
In the 19th century, the city grew
significantly, especially after the railway was built and the
importance of the port increased. In August-October 1857, Korsør
suffered greatly from the cholera epidemic, which abducted more than
200 people.
In 1855, Korsør had: 1 shipyard, 3 beer breweries, 2
distilleries, 1 brickworks, 1 lime distillery, 4 windmill mills and
1 tobacco factory. In 1872, Korsør had: 1 shipbuilding, 1 coke
distillery, 1 fertilizer factory with sulfuric acid factory, 1
gasworks, 3 beer breweries, 2 brickworks, 1 lime distillery, 2
windmill mills and 1 tobacco factory. Of factories and industrial
plants, the town had around the turn of the century: 2 white beer
breweries, 1 small steam carpentry, 1 steam coop, 1 smaller
shipbuilding with sawmill, 1 boat building with sawmill, 2 book
printing houses, all in the old town; on the Halskov side lay a
high-lying petroleum tank for 10,000 barrels of petroleum with a
pump line from the bulwark and with a bottling plant, 1 iron foundry
with a machine workshop, and 1 brickworks with a sludge plant (40-50
men) and a wind turbine; immediately south of the city was a nursery
with a large rose farm, as well as 2 wind turbines and a roofing
felt factory.
In Korsør there is "Dampskibsselskabet Korsør"
(joint stock company, established June 1, 1889).
In Korsør, 2
newspapers were published: "Korsør Avis" and "Korsør Adresseavis".
Korsør's population was increasing in the late 1800s and early
1900s: 1,819 in 1850, 2,236 in 1855, 2,957 in 1860, 3,759 in 1870,
3,954 in 1880, 4,685 in 1890, 6,054 in 1901, 7,064 in 1906 and 8,065
in 1911.
By industry in 1890 the population was divided into
the following groups, comprising both dependents and dependents: 898
lived by intangible activity, 1,229 by trade and industry, 558 by
trade and turnover, 191 by agriculture, 45 by horticulture, 608 by
shipping, 184 by fishing, while 805 were distributed to other
occupations, 105 lived on their means, 59 enjoyed alms, and 3 were
in prison. With regard to trade, it is noted that Korsør was a very
important port of import for West Zealand, just as there was a large
export of agricultural products to Germany over it, but otherwise
trade was poor as the city had almost no catchment area. Industry
and crafts were not significant either. By contrast, shipping and
fishing occupied a prominent place. According to a 1906 census, the
population was 7,064, of which 346 were engaged in intangible
activities, 248 in agriculture, forestry and dairy farming, 253 in
fishing, 2,328 in handicrafts and industry, 818 in trade and more,
2,546 in transport, 238 were retired people, 195 lived by public
support and 92 by other or unspecified business.
Korsør has always been characterized by being the natural starting point for sailing to Funen, and crossings have taken place for many centuries to Nyborg. In Algade, you will thus find Kongegården, which is a stately building several hundred years old, built with the aim in mind that the king and his entourage could have a comfortable place to stay when, on their journey to Funen, they waited for favorable weather for sailing over the Great Belt. The Royal Palace is currently used for a permanent exhibition by the Korsør artist Harald Isenstein and partly for changing exhibitions, concerts etc.
Korsør and the surrounding area have 8 km of beach. Several natural
areas include Korsør Nor, Lejodden and the extensive salt meadows north
of Halsskov to the coastal slopes in Korsør Skov southeast of the city.
The town's cinema, Korsør Biograf Teater, was founded in August 1908
and is thus the world's oldest still operating cinema. It had its 100th
anniversary in 2008 and has also been in the Guinness Book of Records.
It is run by 30 volunteers and functions as an association cinema.
The city also contains the Korsør City and Overfartsmuseum, which is
located in Store Magasin at Korsør Fæstning, and which is both a city
museum and a museum for the Great Belt crossing between Korsør and
Nyborg.
Parts of Korsør Fortress still stand. The Royal Palace
was built in 1751, and it is among the foremost Rococo buildings in the
province. Today it is used as an art gallery. The Kindtanden water tower
was built in 1948 and is 30 m high.
The bridge run is a half marathon in Korsør, which was held in 2008 for the fourth time in the Great Belt Bridge's history. There are more than 10,000 participants from more than 20 countries. The race is organized by Korsør Athletics & Exercise.