Roskilde is a Danish town on East Zealand next to the
southeastern part of Roskilde Fjord. It is one of the country's
oldest cities and is the capital of Roskilde Municipality between
Copenhagen, Ringsted, Holbæk and Denmark's 10th largest city with
51,262 inhabitants (2020). The city belongs to Region Zealand.
The town is located at the end of Roskilde Fjord in a hilly
terrain, so the Cathedral can be seen from large parts of Northeast
Zealand. The city was a large and important city already from the
Middle Ages, as it had a cathedral and several monasteries were
established. The bishop of Roskilde was one of the most powerful
people in the country, and changing kings also prioritized the city.
After the Reformation, the city's importance diminished, and the
black death and large city fires further did their part to reduce
the population up through the Renaissance and during the autocracy,
where Copenhagen and the Øresund region grew strongly. During
industrialization, the population grew steadily, as it did in most
of the country.
With its infrastructure, the city is a
regional hub and has been at least since the 18th century with the
construction of Roskildevej 1770-76, the inauguration of Vestbanen
in 1847, as the country's first railway, and most recently the
construction of Holbækmotorvejen in the 1960s and Roskilde Airport.
in the 1970s. In terms of trade, the city is also an important
center with a large catchment area, where RO's Torv and the
pedestrian streets in the center of the city attract people.
Roskilde is a large educational city with i.a. vocational college,
technical school, several high schools and Roskilde University.
The annual Roskilde Festival is visited by over 100,000 people
from all over the world, and Roskilde is during this period the
country's fourth largest city. Roskilde Cathedral is on UNESCO's
World Heritage List, and the well-preserved Viking ships, called the
Skuldelev ships, which are exhibited at the Viking Ship Museum, also
attract many tourists. In addition, there are i.a. The Museum of
Contemporary Art, Roskilde Museum and Museum Ragnarock.