Fredericia
Fredericia | ||
Town | ||
The statue Landsoldaten ("The Foot Soldier") in Fredericia, Denmark | ||
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Country | Denmark | |
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Region | Southern Denmark (Syddanmark) | |
Municipality | Fredericia | |
Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) | |
Coordinates | 55°34′N 9°45′E / 55.567°N 9.750°ECoordinates: 55°34′N 9°45′E / 55.567°N 9.750°E | |
Population | 39,922 (2014) | |
Founded | 1650 | |
- Current municipality | 1970 | |
Timezone | CET (UTC+1) | |
- summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 7000 | |
Area code | (+45) 72 | |
Location in Denmark | ||
Website: www | ||
Fredericia (Danish pronunciation: [fʁɛðəˈʁɛ(t)ɕa])[1] is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region also known as Trekantsområdet (the Triangle Area). It was founded in 1650 by Frederick III, after whom it was named.
The city itself has a population of 39,922 January 2014)[2] and the Fredericia municipality has a population of 50,324 (2014).
History
After the devastation caused by the Thirty Years War in a largely unfortified Jutland, King Christian IV realized the necessity of building a strong fortress in Jutland, and decided that this project could be combined with his plans for building a large town in Jutland.
A fortified encampment was built on a point of land called Lyngs Odde, near the current location of Fredericia, with a rampart stretching to either side of the point, thus protecting the encampment from attacks. However, the fortifications were not perfect, and when Swedish Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson invaded Jutland, he was able to break through the ramparts. It was Frederick III who was finally able to complete the plans for the fortification, also adding a flank fortification on nearby Bers Odde as suggested by Danish Imperial Marshal Anders Bille.
On 15 December 1650, the King signed the document giving the town its first privileges, and work on the new fortifications could begin. In 1651, the town was named Frederiksodde (Frederick's Point) after the king, and on 22 April 1664, it was given the new Latinized name of Fredericia.
Every 6 July, the town of Fredericia holds a festival to commemorate the 1849 Battle of Fredericia, fought during the First War of Schleswig, in which Danish troops won a victory over the Schleswig-Holstein rebels who were laying siege to the town. Fredericia's landmark, Landsoldaten, was unveiled on 6 July 1858.[3]
Present
The municipality today is part of the East Jutland metropolitan area with 1.2M inhabitants,[4] and is the site of Fredericia municipality's municipal council.
The town is one of Denmark's largest traffic hubs.
The town is a major barracks, home to the Royal Danish Army's Signals Regiment (Telegrafregimentet), which is located at Rye's Barracks (Ryes Kaserne) and Bülow's Barracks (Bülows Kaserne).
Notable people
- Hartvig Philip Rée (1778–1859) a Jewish-Danish merchant and author
- Poul Pagh (1796–1870) a Danish merchant and shipowner
- Magdalene Thoresen (1819–1903) a Norwegian poet, novelist, short story writer and playwright
- Henrik Pontoppidan (1857–1943), a Danish realist writer, shared the 1917 Nobel Prize for Literature
- Frederick Brockhausen (1858–1929) a cigar maker, trade union activist and politician in Milwaukee
- Vilhelm Buhl (1881–1954) was the 11th Prime Minister of Denmark
- Svend Melsing (1888–1946), actor, theatre director and playwright
- Dr Erik Holtved (1899–1981) a Danish artist, archaeologist, linguist and ethnologist
- Ellen Krause (1905—1990) a Danish artist and an Odsherred Painters
- Tage Skou-Hansen (1925–2015) a Danish writer, editor and scholar
- Cecil Bødker (born 1927) a Danish writer of young adult fiction books and poet
- Erik Moseholm (1930–2012) a Danish jazz bassist, composer, bandleader of the DR Big Band
- Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (born 1968), businessman, former CEO of Lego Group
- Christian Holten Bonke (born 1973) a Danish documentary filmmaker and screenwriter
Sport
- Thomas Sørensen (born 1976), footballer
- Patrick Hougaard (born 1989) a Danish motorcycle speedway rider
- Annette Jensen (born 1991) a Danish handball player
- Sara Thygesen (born 1991) a Danish badminton player, specializing in doubles play.
Twin towns
See also
References
- ↑ Erik Hansen: SprogbrevetDR nr. 72, sproget.dk (in Danish)
- ↑ "BEF44: Population 1st January, by urban areas" database from Statistics Denmark
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2006.
- ↑ Vision Østjylland (PDF) (in Danish). Styregruppen for projekt Byudvikling i Østjylland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fredericia. |
Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Fredericia. |
Fredericia travel guide from Wikivoyage "Fredericia". Encyclopædia Britannica. 11 (11th ed.). 1911.