Lemvig is a town in northern West Jutland with 6,895 inhabitants (2020), located 23 km southeast of Thyborøn, 24 km west of Struer and 34 km northwest of Holstebro. Lemvig is the capital of Lemvig Municipality, located in the northwest corner of the Central Jutland Region.
Lemvig is part of Nissum Bredning in the western
part of the Limfjord. From the bottom of the cove, Sødalen continues
with Lemvig Lake 2½ km to the southeast. The city originated between
the cove and the lake, but has gradually spread via the steep valley
sides up to the surrounding plateau. The road Vesterbjerg goes up
the valley side through one of Denmark's few hairpin turns, and the
road Østerbjerg goes up on the plateau in several large turns. 5 km
south of the city, the terrain is flat enough that the Germans
during the occupation could build Lemvig airfield (ICAO: EKLV).
A 2 meter high concrete wall at the harbor protects the city
when a westerly storm pushes water from the North Sea into the
Limfjord.
Lemvig belongs to Lemvig Parish, and
Lemvig Church is located in the middle of the town on Torvet, which
was originally a cemetery, but in 1807 the cemetery was moved to
Vesterbjerg. The church originally had a high, pointed spire and
only got its current bulbous dome at the major conversion and
extension in 1933-35. The city coat of arms from the 19th century
shows a tower with an onion dome, but it must be a fantasy, because
at that time the church tower had a saddle roof.
Johanneskirken, which belongs to the Grundtvig Lemvig and Omegns
Valgmenighed, was consecrated in 1883. It was built by the
persistent church builder Andreas Bentsen and his apprentices and
students from Vallekilde Højskole.
Lemvig has
two primary schools, both with full superstructure. At the eastern
end of the town is Lemtorpskolen with 397 students. It has SFO in
Nørlem old school. Next to the school is the kindergarten
Børnegården, standardized for 70-80 children. At the southwestern
end of the city is Christinelystskolen with 638 students, including
also in 10th grade, as well as Lemvig Gymnasium. Lemvig Sports and
Culture Center nearby has 3 halls of different sizes and a swimming
pool. Lemvig Gymnastikforening, founded in 1878, offers i.a.
football, gymnastics, volleyball, exercise, athletics, dance and
rock'n roll. In Sødalen, Thøger Larsen has a group under the Danish
Scout Corps' scout house.
Along Strandvejen along the west
side of Lemvig is Lemvig Golf Club, party place and marina with
Lemvig Rowing Club and Lemvig Sailing Club.
Lemvig Hospital
is now part of the Hospital Unit West and has i.a. X-ray and
laboratory functions, midwife consultation, round-the-clock
ambulance and rehabilitation section for stroke patients.
The
Coastal Directorate's headquarters with approx. 80 employees is a
large workplace in Lemvig.
Lemvig is already mentioned as a town (oppidum) in royal letters of 1234 and 1237 and 1252 in "Ribe Oldemoder", where it is called Læmwich and Lemvich. The town's name clearly has its origins in the cove on which it is located and the nearby parish of Lem (later Nørlem).
The Middle Ages
Until the Agger Tange was breached in 1825, Lemvig
lay on the thoroughfare to Thy. However, the strait was often flooded in
the 16th century, and by sea the town was isolated when the Limfjord was
only open to the east. Throughout the Middle Ages, Lemvig remained a
small town that only had a church, but no monastery or charitable
foundation. However, the city was designated as a privileged market town
in 1471.
A letter from 1479 mentions a fire that destroyed the
town hall.
The Renaissance
King Christian III established a
Latin school in the town in 1542. In the 1592 rate for the princess's
rule, the town was only assessed at 62½ reigsdalers, like Sæby, but
still more than towns such as Skive and Hobro, which were only assessed
at 25 reigsdalers each. Lemvig's oldest known market town privileges are
from 1545 and later confirmed i.a. in 1597. In a priest's report from
1638 it is called "a small market town".
Under the dictatorship
In 1672 the town had 450, in 1769 only 316 inhabitants. Danish Atlas
stated about the latter census that the city has had "fairly rich
inhabitants, but now most are in moderate circumstances". Large fires
probably also contributed to setting it back: in 1684, most of the town
burned down. The verse "Medynk over the Fire in Lemvig" by Peder Hemmet
was printed the same year.
The city's most important business
routes, trade and shipping through the Limfjord at Aalborg, Copenhagen
and Norway with grain and other agricultural products, were greatly
hampered by Aalborg and by the poor navigation conditions in the fjord.
Only with the opening of the Agger Canal, which also provided new
opportunities for fishing, and the construction of Frederik the VII's
canal at Løgstør in 1861, were conditions created for progress in the
city, which had a good and fertile catchment area. In the 1850s, the
town got a new port.
The city suffered a lot from storm surges in
January 1839 and in December 1895.
The early industrialization
Lemvig's population was increasing in the late 1800s and early 1900s:
859 in 1850, 1,107 in 1855, 1,192 in 1860, 1,350 in 1870, 1,710 in 1880,
2,413 in 1890, 3,207 in 1901, 3,28 9 in 1906 and 3,835 in 1911.
In terms of factories and industrial facilities, around 1900 the town
had a tobacco factory, a brickworks, a steam mill and a printing house.
Three newspapers were published in Lemvig: Lemvig Avis, Lemvig Dagblad
and Lemvig Folkeblad.
A market was held in February with horses
and in April, June, August, September and November with both horses and
cattle. There was a market day every Saturday.
The composition of
the population by means of livelihood was in 1890: 269 lived from
non-material activities, 840 from crafts and industry, 479 from trade
and turnover, 124 from agriculture, 24 from horticulture, 58 from
fishing, 40 from shipping, 379 from various day labor activities, 129
from their funds, 69 benefited from alms, and 2 were in prison.
According to a census in 1906, the population was 3,289, of which 299
supported themselves by non-material activities, 167 by agriculture,
forestry and dairy farming, 50 by fishing, 1,455 by crafts and industry,
650 by trade in more, 326 by means of transport, 136 were salaried
workers, 98 lived on public support and 108 from other or unspecified
activities.
In 1879, Lemvig got a private railway, which is
connected to Vemba on the West Jutland long-distance railway. To save
money, Lemvig Station was placed up on the plateau, so that the
connection with the city was by horse-drawn carriage along Vesterbjerg
or on foot along Banegårdsstien. With the increasing volumes of goods,
however, a harbor railway was soon needed, which was opened in 1892. The
Lemvig railway was extended to Harboøre and Thyborøn in 1899.
The
interwar period
Throughout the interwar period, Lemvig's population
was slightly increasing: in 1916 3,985, in 1921 4,481, in 1925 4,417, in
1930 4,574, in 1935 4,626, in 1940 4,785 inhabitants. No suburban
development took place in the interwar period.
At the census in
1930, Lemvig had 4,574 inhabitants, of which 356 supported themselves by
non-material activities, 1,604 by craft and industry, 701 by trade etc.,
533 by transport, 283 by agriculture, forestry and fishing, 430 by
housework, 616 were out of business and 51 had not stated the source of
income.
The post-war period
After the Second World War, Lemvig
continued its population development. In 1945 there were 5,245
inhabitants in the market town, in 1950 5,556 inhabitants, in 1955 5,558
inhabitants, in 1960 5,783 inhabitants and in 1965 6,371 inhabitants.
Gradually, the growth of two new suburbs, Østerbjerg and Rønbjerg Hage,
in Nørlem Municipality took place.
The municipal reform in 1970
Lemvig market town was located in Skodborg Herred in Ringkøbing County.
With the municipal reform in 1970, the concept of market town
disappeared, but Lemvig became a large municipality that included the
parishes of Bøvling, Dybe, Fabjerg, Ferring, Fjaltring, Flynder, Gudum,
Heldum, Hove, Hygum, Lemvig, Lomborg, Møborg, Nees, Nørlem, Nørre
Nissum, Frame, Rome, Trans, Tørring and Vandborg.
The municipal
reform in 2007
In the municipal reform in 2007, this large
municipality was combined with Thyborøn-Harboøre Municipality to form
the current Lemvig Municipality.
The railway
Vemb-Lemvig-Thyborøn Railway (VLTJ) is now operated by
Midtjyske Jernbaner. The former depot and workshop building at the end
of the station tracks was demolished in 1981, and there is now a bus
terminal and car park. The harbor line, which changes direction halfway
down the steep slope, has long since lost its commercial significance,
but since 1991 has been used for tourist traffic under the name
Bjergbanen.
Lemvig Museum, established in 1931, is a cultural history museum. The sculpture trail starts in the garden of the museum and ends in the garden of St John's Church. The first stone on the path is in memory of the Reunification in 1920. The planet path starts at the hairpin bend on Vesterbjerg and ends at Gjeller Odde, where there is a fine beach. On Strandvejen is the Museum of Religious Art. In June, the Lemvig Market and Animal Show are held in the area around the airfield. During the autumn holidays there is KulturNat in Lemvig.
The poet Thøger Larsen (1875-1928) lived his adult life in Lemvig and
was, among other things, editor of the radical Lemvig Dagblad.
Actor
and cinema director Kai Holm (1896-1985) appeared in 34 films.
The
sculptor Torvald Westergaard (1901-88) had a studio in the city and
created, among other things, the 54 works that were displayed on the
Sculpture Trail after his death.
The cartoonist Henning Gantriis
(1918-89) was a cartoonist at Politiken and Svikmøllen and from 1953
created the cartoon "Livets gang i Lidenlund" with clear inspiration
from Lemvig.