Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

and

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the ...

. It was founded in 1650 by Frederick III, after whom it was named. The city itself has a population of 40,886 (1 January 2022)BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density
The Mobile Statbank from

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark ( da, Danmarks Statistik) is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing and which reports to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating st ...

and the Fredericia Municipality has a population of 50,324 (2014).

History

After the devastation caused by the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

in a largely unfortified Jutland, King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

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 Marshal of the Realm

Anders Bille Anders Bille (19 March 1600 – 10 November 1657) was the Danish people, Danish Rigsmarsk, the officer leading the entire armed forces of Denmark, from 1642.

. 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 Latinisation (or Latinization) of names, also known as onomastic Latinisation, is the practice of rendering a ''non''-Latin name in a Latin style. It is commonly found with historical proper names, including personal names and toponyms, and in ...

of Fredericia. Every 6 July, the town of Fredericia holds a festival to commemorate the 1849

Battle of Fredericia The Battle of Fredericia was fought between soldiers of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark on 6 July 1849 at Fredericia in Denmark. The battle was a part of the First Schleswig War, which was a conflict between Schleswig-Holstein, supported by sever ...

, fought during the

First War of Schleswig The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

, in which Danish troops won a victory over the

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

rebels who were laying siege to the town. Fredericia's landmark, ''Landsoldaten'', was unveiled on 6 July 1858.

Present

The municipality today is part of the East Jutland metropolitan area with 1.2M inhabitants, and is the site of Fredericia municipality's municipal council. The town is a major

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, home to the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

's Signals Regiment ('' Telegrafregimentet''), which is located at Rye's Barracks (''Ryes Kaserne'') and Bülow's Barracks (''Bülows Kaserne'').

Transportation

The town is one of Denmark's largest traffic hubs.

Rail

Fredericia railway station is the principal railway station of the town. It is an important

railway junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...

where the Copenhagen-Fredericia Line, the Fredericia-Aarhus Line, and the Flensburg-Fredericia Line all meet.Fredericia Banegård
o
Danske Jernbaner
/ref> The station was opened in 1935 together with the opening of the Little Belt Bridge across the

Little Belt The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the North Sea and Atla ...

. The train services are operated by the

railway company A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an rail transport operations, operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation ...

DSB. It offers direct

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

services to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwe ...

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's List of cities in Denmark by population, fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban population of 143,598 (1 July ...

, Struer,

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022) ...

Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Air

The nearest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

with scheduled national and

international flight An international flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the departure and the arrival take place in different countries. Regular international passenger air service began in August 1919 with a flight going from Lond ...

s is

Billund Airport Billund Airport ( da, Billund Lufthavn) is an airport in Denmark. Located northeast of Billund, it serves as one of the country's busiest air cargo centres, as well as a charter airline destination. Most major European airports are connected ...

45 km west of Fredericia.

Notable people

Jens Mikkelsen Ehrenborg Jens Mikkelsen Ehrenborg (1621 – 1690) was a Danish soldier and public servant who later became a Swedish nobleman. He was born in 1621 in Fredericia in southern Jutland in Denmark. His name was also spelled Jöns Michelsson, Jens Michelsen or ...

(1621 in Fredericia – 1690) an officer, civil servant, and Swedish nobleman *

Jørgen Balthazar Winterfeldt Jørgen Balthazar Winterfeldt (1 October 1732 - 22 July 1821) was a Danish naval officer and philanthropist. He was admiral from 1804 and was awarded the Order of the Elephant in 1811. He established Winterfeldts Stiftelse at Klerkegade 25 in Cop ...

(1732 in Fredericia - 1821) a naval officer and philanthropist *

Hartvig Philip Rée Hartvig Philip Rée (12 October 1778 – 1 October 1859) was a Jewish-Denmark, Danish merchant and author who built a large shipping and trade business to become one of the wealthiest people of his time. He created the first Jewish cemetery and syn ...

(1778 in Fredericia – 1859) a Jewish-Danish merchant and author *

Poul Pagh Poul Pagh (14 February 1796 – 30 November 1870) was a Danish merchant and shipowner who played an important role in developing industry and commerce in the city of Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, A ...

(1796 in Fredericia – 1870) a Danish merchant and shipowner *

Frederick Brockhausen Frederick Carl Brockhausen, Jr. (May 20, 1858 – June 16, 1929) was a cigar maker and trade union activist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who spent four terms as a Socialist member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Background Brockhausen was ...

(1858 in Fredericia – 1929) a cigar maker, trade unionist and US politician * Vilhelm Buhl (1881 in Fredericia – 1954) the 11th

Prime Minister of Denmark The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Island ...

Erik Holtved Dr. Erik Holtved ( Greenlandic nickname: ''Erissuaq''; translation: "Big Eric") (21 June 1899 in Fredericia, Denmark – 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish artist, archaeologist, linguist, and ethnologist. He was the first university ...

(1899 in Fredericia – 1981) an archaeologist,

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropolog ...

and artist *

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (born 21 November 1968 in Fredericia) is a Danish businessman, who is the executive chairman and former CEO of the Lego Group. He succeeded Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. Early years Knudstorp was born in 1968, grew up in Frede ...

(born 1968 in Fredericia), businessman, former CEO of

Lego Group Lego A/S (trade name: The Lego Group) is a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks aroun ...

The Arts

Carit Etlar Carit Etlar, the better-known pen name of Carl Brosbøll (August 7, 1816 – May 9, 1900), was a Danish author, known mostly for his 1853 book ''Gjøngehøvdingen'' about the eponymous Svend Poulsen Gønge. Biography Born Johan Carl Christian Br ...

(1816 in Fredericia – 1900), Danish author of ''Gjøngehøvdingen'' in 1853 * Magdalene Thoresen (1819 in Fredericia – 1903) a Norwegian poet, novelist and playwright * Henrik Pontoppidan (1857 in Fredericia – 1943), a Danish realist writer, shared the 1917 Nobel Prize for Literature *

Svend Rathsack Svend Rathsack (8 September 1885 in Fredericia – 14 December 1941 in Frederiksberg) was a Danish sculptor. Early life Rathsack studied painting at the Danish Academy (1903-1907) under Otto Bache, Frants Henningsen, August Jerndorff and Vigg ...

(1885 in Fredericia – 1941) a Danish sculptor *

Svend Melsing Svend Melsing (27 December 1888 – 8 June 1946) was a Danish stage and film actor, theatre director and playwright whose career spanned nearly forty years. Early life Born Svend Nielsen in Fredericia, Denmark, he was the son of Peder Nielsen ...

(1888 in Fredericia – 1946), actor, theatre director and playwright *

Ellen Krause Ellen Margrethe Krause Rørup (29 December 1905 — 11 September 1990) was a Danish artist who, after marrying Viggo Rørup in 1937, became a member of the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters. Biography Born in ...

(1905 in Fredericia — 1990) a Danish artist, joined the Odsherred Painters * Else Holmelund Minarik (1920 in Fredericia – 2012) an American author of children's books *

Tage Skou-Hansen Tage Skou-Hansen (12 February 1925 – 11 November 2015) was a Danish writer, editor and scholar. Overview Born in the town of Fredericia, Tage Skou-Hansen graduated from Marselisborg Gymnasium in Aarhus and became a student of history of lit ...

(1925 in Fredericia – 2015) a Danish writer, editor and scholar *

Cecil Bødker Cecil Bødker (27 March 1927 – 19 April 2020) was a Danish writer and poet, most known for young adult fiction books about the character "Silas". For her "lasting contribution to children's literature" she received the international Hans Chr ...

(born 1927 in Fredericia - 2020) a writer of young adult fiction and a poet *

Erik Moseholm Erik Moseholm (13 May 1930 – 12 October 2012) was a Danish jazz bassist, composer, bandleader and music administrator. He was the leader of the DR Big Band from 1961 to 1966 and the principal of the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen fr ...

(1930 in Fredericia – 2012) a jazz composer, bandleader of the DR Big Band *

Harvey Martin Harvey Banks Martin (November 16, 1950 – December 24, 2001) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He starred at South Oak Cliff ...

(1942 - 2014), sculptor * Kristian Blak (born 1947 in Fredericia) a composer and musician in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

Martin Zandvliet Martin Pieter Zandvliet (born 7 January 1971 in Fredericia) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Career Zandvliet originally began as an editor, before writing and directing the documentary ''Angels of Brooklyn'' in 2002. His first ma ...

(born 1971 in Fredericia) a Danish film director and screenwriter * Christian Holten Bonke (born 1973 in Fredericia) a documentary filmmaker and screenwriter IMDb Database
retrieved 7 May 2020 *

Søren Andersen Søren Andersen (born 31 January 1970) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played as a striker, and most prominently represented English club Bristol City, Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, as well as several Danish clubs. He won the 199 ...

(born 1973 in Fredericia), Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter, Producer.

Sport

Jesper Bank Jesper Bank (born 6 April 1957 in Fredericia) is a Danish sailor and Olympic champion. He received a bronze medal in the '' Soling Class'' at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barce ...

(born 1957 in Fredericia) a sailor, twice Olympic gold medallist in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

* Peter Kjær (born 1965 in Fredericia) a Danish former footballer with 459 club caps *

Thomas Sørensen Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Danish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Sørensen started his career with his local side Odense BK. After impressing on loan at Vejle Boldklub and Svendborg he was signed by E ...

(born 1976 in Fredericia), football goalkeeper, 497 club caps and 101 for

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Patrick Hougaard Patrick Hald Hougaard (born 23 May 1989)www.ddnp.co.uk
Retrieved on 2008-07-04. is a

(born 1989 in Fredericia) a Danish motorcycle speedway rider * Annette Jensen (born 1991 in Fredericia) a Danish handball player *

Sara Thygesen Sara Thygesen (born 20 January 1991) is a Danish badminton player, specializing in doubles. She started playing badminton at Gårslev in 2002. She got an award for the best female athlete of the year 2007 in her hometown Fredericia. In 2014, she ...

(born 1991 in Fredericia) a badminton player, specializing in doubles play. *

Katrine Veje Katrine Vejsgaard Veje (born 19 June 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a left back for Everton in the English FA Women's Super League and the Danish national team. She has previously played for Arsenal in the FA WSL, Ld ...

(born 1991 in Fredericia) a footballer, over 200 club caps and 119 for Denmark women

Twin towns

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Municipal seats of the Region of Southern Denmark Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Forts in Denmark Port cities and towns in Denmark Port cities and towns of the North Sea Planned cities Fredericia Municipality 1650 establishments in Europe Populated places established in 1650