Mariager is a small town and market town with 2,537 inhabitants
(2020), located on the southern side of Mariager Fjord in
Kronjylland. The name means "Mary's Fields" (after the Virgin Mary
who named a Bridgettine monastery on the site). The town grew up
around this Mariager Monastery in the early 15th century and gained
market town rights in 1592. Today, Mariager is characterized by an
old urban environment with cobbled streets and many half-timbered
houses, which attract tourists from near and far. Mariager is
located in Mariagerfjord Municipality and belongs to the North
Jutland Region.
The market town is located in hilly terrain
sloping down towards the fjord, and is surrounded by many wooded
hills, among others. the 110 meter high Hohøj southeast of Mariager
itself. The town has a small harbor with pleasure boats and for
tourists the scheduled boat Svanen, which in the summer sails from
Hobro via Mariager, Hadsund to the mouth of Mariager Fjord. At the
harbor there is also a protected swing crane and Denmark's Salt
Center, which is a museum for salt extraction, in which you can
visit a salt mine and a bathing salt lake with the nickname The Dead
Sea.
From the harbor, a veteran railway goes to the small
town of Handest 17 kilometers to the west, whose train operation is
strongly inspired by the railway traffic between the two towns from
1927 to 1950. Mariager's landmark is the monastery church, Mariager
Kirke (from the 15th century), which with its high whitewashed
building rises on a hillside high above the city roofs. Mariager
also has two Christian continuation schools, Frydensberg and
Mariager Continuation School, and a folk high school.