Ringe is a town on Midtfyn with 6,179 inhabitants (2020), located
23 km south of Odense, 23 km north of Svendborg and 26 km northeast
of Faaborg. Ringe is located in the Region of Southern Denmark and
belongs to Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality. Ringe is the municipality's
second largest city and houses the town hall with a large part of
the municipality's administration.
A little south of the city
is Ringe State Prison, which was opened in 1976 and is a closed
prison with 130 employees and room for 86 inmates.
Ringe is located in Ringe Parish, and in the middle of the city is Ringe Church. It was originally a Romanesque church from 1125, but was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 17th and 18th centuries. Most notable is the tower, which in addition to its unusual location on top of the south chapel has five-part gables facing all four corners of the world.
Ringe
Kommuneskole (Guldhøjskolen) has been closed down. In 1988, it was
merged with Rubjerglundskolen (formerly Midtfyn's joint municipal
Real Department), which was named Nordagerskolen, which now has 565
students, divided into 0.-9. grade. In 1967, the southern city got
its own school, Tingagerskolen, which has 515 students, divided into
0.-10. grade level, with the city's 10th grade students gathered
here. In addition, the city has Ringe Fri- og Efterskole, which is
one of the country's oldest combined free and continuation schools.
It has 133 students in the after-school center and 185 in the free
school.
Ringe Kost- og Realskole was founded in 1907 as a
middle and high school, but is now for children and young people who
have to overcome trauma. It has room for 75 students and has about
the same number of employees.
Ringe Boldklub
was founded in 1906 under the name Ringe Fodboldklub and achieved
its best results in 1967-72, where it played in the Danish league.
Risøhøj is the town's handball club. Ringe Gymnastikforening offers
athletics, water gymnastics, swimming, gymnastics and croquet. In
addition, there is Ringe Swimming Club, Ringe Badminton Club and
Midtfyn Volleyball Club.
Ringe has 2 scout groups: The green
YMCA Scouts, which are based at Guldhøj, and the blue scouts from
the Rethingh group, which belongs to the Danish Scout Corps.
Nassau Door, which produces industrial door solutions,
is located in Ringe. Sales to more than 30 countries take place
through subsidiaries in 5 European countries, as well as dealers in
other European countries, the Middle East and Asia. In total, the
company employs approx. 500 employees.
Rynkeby Foods, which
has been owned by Arla Foods since 1998, is the Nordic region's
largest producer of juice and juice and employs 243 people (2010).
The vast majority of production takes place in Ringe, only 25 km
from Rynkeby near Kerteminde, where the company started in a brewery
in 1934.
Kompan, which produces playground equipment, was
founded in 1970 by the artist Tom Lindhardt after he discovered that
children would rather play on his sculpture than admire it. In
2004-07, production was gradually moved to Brno in the Czech
Republic, but the headquarters remained in Ringe in rented premises
until 2011, when a new headquarters in Odense was inaugurated.
Ringe's original municipal school, the Guldhøjskolen, has been closed
down. In 1988, it was merged with Rubjerglundskolen (formerly Midtfyn's
joint municipal real estate department) and was named Nordagerskolen. It
has 576 pupils, divided into grades 0-9. grade levels in 26 classes.
In 1967, the southern city got its own school, Tingagerskolen. In 1978,
it was fully developed with 508 pupils, divided into grades 0-10. grade
level, as the city's 10th grade students are gathered here.
Ringe
Friskole has 202 students.
Ringe Kost- og Realskole was founded in
1907 as a middle and real school, but is now for children and young
people who have to overcome trauma. It has room for 75 students and has
approximately the same number of employees.
Idrætscenter Midtfyn has
2 halls, fitness center, swimming pool with 25 meter competition pool,
warm-up pool and hot water pool, padel courts and 5 meeting rooms.
The 14 ha Ringe Sø was drained in the middle of the 19th century, but
restored in 2005. Since 2012, the path around the lake has been used by
e.g. for full and half marathons. By the lake, there is an Iron Age area
and amphitheater.
Ringe Boldklub is old, and football has been played
in Ringe since the 1800s. Risøhøj is the city's handball club. Ringe
Gymnastikforening offers athletics, water gymnastics, swimming,
gymnastics, running and croquet. There are also Ringe Svømme-Klub, Ringe
Badminton Club, Midtfyn Volleyball Club and Midtfyn Billard Club from
1976. West of the town is Midtfyn Golf Club.
Ringe has 2 scout
groups: The green YMCA Scouts, who are based at Guldhøj, and the blue
scouts from the Rethingh group, who belong to the Danish Scout Corps.
Daycare center 1000FRYD is rated for 99 kindergarten children and has 16
employees. Vesterparken, with 16 employees, is rated for 56 kindergarten
children and 16 nursery school children. Hettegården, with 18 employees,
is a natural kindergarten, rated for 72 kindergarten children and 12
nursery school children.
Tingager Nursing Home was built in 1970 and
rebuilt in 2003. It has 56 one-room apartments.
Ringe Bio is
designated as an art cinema and receives support from the Danish Film
Institute.
The town has 4 supermarkets and many specialist shops as
well as a library, doctor's office and dental clinic.
Ringe is mentioned in 1322 under the name Rethingh and in 1513 as
Renge. The place first developed into an actual village in the 18th
century.
Rings Museum
Ringe's oldest house (apart from the
church) dates from 1704 and is located in Algade. It is part of the
regional museum Ringe Museum, which was set up in 1923 in Ringe's first
school, the "Organistskolen". The museum exhibits, among other things
old costumes, coins from the Viking Age and antiquities. In addition,
the museum has remnants of the original gold from the Golden Horns in
the form of a pair of earrings that the thief Niels Heidenreich gave his
neighbor.
The railway
In 1873, Ringe is mentioned as follows:
"Ringe by the cross road, which is formed by the above-mentioned country
roads [Odense-Svendborg road and Assens-Nyborg road], with Church,
Prestegaard, 2 Schools, Apothek, Inn, Veirmølle and Bakery".
Ringe has not been a market town, but it developed into a market
town-like station town after it got a station on the Svendborg Railway
(Odense-Svendborg) in 1876. Ringe Station became Funen's second largest
railway junction with tracks in four directions, when the railway to
Faaborg was also opened in 1882 and to Nyborg in 1897.
Ringe
Station is still the largest intermediate station on the Svendborg Line,
but the Nyborg-Ringe-Faaborg Line was closed in 1962. The track to
Nyborg was taken up in 1963-64. North of Jernbanegade you can see where
it went along Svendborgbanen. There was still freight traffic to Faaborg
until 1987, after which a veteran railway was established between
Korinth and Faaborg, which occasionally also ran trains around the
country via Ringe. This traffic ceased in 2002, when the track had
become too bad. Now the track has been taken up and replaced by the
asphalted Nature trail Ringe-Korinth, which starts from Ørbækvej south
of the station.
The station town
In 1899, the town is
described as follows: "Ringe (1322: Rethingh, 1513: Renge), large
market-town-like village by the Crossroads, with approx. 1,000
inhabitants, church, rectory, 3 municipal schools — the church singing
school, the organist school and the pre-school —, Free- and Continuation
School, County Hospital (built in 1885, capacity for 14 patients),
Fattiggaard (built in 1863, capacity for 60 limbs), Hospital (built in
1737 by Henr. Bielke Kaas to Boltinggd., with a house by the church for
6 poor people) , pharmacy, 3 doctors' residences, assembly and gymnasium
(built 1885), waterworks, guest house, bakery, several industrial
plants, such as cooperative dairy, cork factory and steam sawmill, many
craftsmen and traders, market place (market in March and May with horses
and cattle, in Nov. with cattle and sheep), large railway station
(junction on the South Funen railway, Faaborg-Ringe and Nyborg-Ringe
railway), telegraph and central telephone station and postal
forwarding".
Midtfyn Festival
In 1976 the Midtfyn Festival
started. This music festival at Ringe Dyrskueplads was visited over the
years by both Danish and foreign pop and rock artists, including David
Bowie, Aerosmith, Bryan Adams, Alice Cooper, Chuck Berry (last farewell
concert), Bob Geldof, Roxette, Bon Jovi and many other big names. In
1989, when Tracy Chapman was the headliner, the festival had 63,000
guests, more than Roskilde Festival. But at the beginning of the 2000s,
Midtfyn Festival ran into financial problems and had to close in 2004.
In 2006-2012, the old festival was replaced by the smaller event Midtfyn
Open Air. In 2019, the Midtfyn Festival was revived.
Nassau Door
Nassau Door, which has produced industrial door
solutions since 1970, is located in Ringe. Over 75% of the total
production is exported to more than 30 countries. Sales take place
through subsidiaries in 5 European countries as well as dealers in other
European countries, the Middle East and Asia. In total, the company
employs approx. 700 employees. NASSAU Door A/S is part of the Swedish
multinational group Assa Abloy.
Rynkeby Foods
In 2016, Rynkeby
Foods was taken over by the family-owned German group Eckes Granini.
Rynkeby is the Nordic region's largest producer of juices and juices and
employs 248 employees (2021). The vast majority of production takes
place in Ringe, only 30 km from Rynkeby by Kerteminde, where the company
started in a utility room in 1934.
Lactosan
Lactosan in Ringe
supplies, together with Kerry in Glamsbjerg, between 50 and 70 percent
of the world's production of cheese powder. They buy leftover cheese
from the producers in many different flavors and turn the cheese into a
dry powder that is used as concentrated flavoring agents in the food
industry, typically in crackers, snacks, sauces, ready meals and
processed cheese. Lactosan has its headquarters and factory in Ringe and
a factory in Uruguay. The products are sold in over 50 markets. Lactosan
A/S is part of the Lactosan-Sanovo Ingredients Group, which in addition
to cheese powder is involved in the production and sale of egg powder.
Lactosan-Sanovo Ingredients Group is part of the family-owned
conglomerate Thornico Group.
Erik Eriksen (1902-1972), who was Denmark's Prime Minister 1950-1953
and for many years a member of the Folketing and chairman of the Liberal
Party, was born in the village of Brangstrup, 3 km southeast of Ringe.
There is a statue of him on Torvet i Ringe.
Hans Henrik von Eickstedt
(1715-1801), general and owner of Boltinggård 3 km southwest of Ringe
Johannes Gandil (1873-1956), soccer player
Palle Lykke (1936-2013),
cyclist and 6-day king
Allan Hansen (1956-), national team player in
football with a long career in OB, HSV and Tennis Berlin
Andreas Bo
Pedersen (1967-), actor
Jens Blauenfeldt (1968-), journalist and son
of Ringe's long-time provost, whose parents were also priests in Ringe -
Jens Blauenfeldt's cousin Karen Blauenfeldt Dam is now second priest in
Ringe
Dariusz Slowik (1977-), athlete, several international medals
in athletics (discus throw)