Holstebro is the main town in

Holstebro Municipality Holstebro Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 59,201 (1. January 2025). Its mayor is H. C. Østerby ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The town, bisected by ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025).BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density
The Mobile Statbank from

Statistics Denmark Statistics Denmark () is a Danish governmental organization under the Ministry of the Interior and Housing, reporting to the Minister of Economic and Internal Affairs. The organization is responsible for creating statistics on the Danish society ...

History

The town arose at a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

by the creek, and later a bridge was erected. The name probably derives from ''holdested ved broen'' (lit, "a resting place by the bridge"). Holstebro was first mentioned in a letter from Bishop Thyge of

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,367 (2025). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It is now part of the enlarged E ...

in 1274. A large fire in 1552 destroyed many of the town's old buildings. On 11 February 1962 parts of Holstebro were hit by a high-end F3/T7

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

. This was the most devastating tornado in Denmark's history & 3rd strongest. The tornado travelled 13 km with a max width of 500 meters. More than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. Large brick apartments had their roof torn off and large parts of their third storey destroyed. A concrete barn was entirely destroyed with only one to two exterior walls still standing, and a mobile home was tossed into the air. Damage cost reached 14 million DKK as of 1962, or about 188.9 mil dkk as of 2022 On 10 August 1975, Holstebro recorded a temperature of , which is the highest temperature to have ever been recorded in Denmark.

Modern Holstebro

The town is a trading, industrial and cultural center in western

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. Industries include the manufacture of processed food, iron and machinery, wood and furniture, textiles and chemicals. Holstebro has a large network of pedestrian walkways (''gågader'') in the town centre either side of the River Storå. This area has a varied shopping environment, enhanced by outdoor sculptures and picturesque buildings, including the town church and the Town Hall. The first sculpture purchased by Holstebro Municipality was

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

's sculpture "Maren on vehicle" purchased in 1966. Holstebro has a rich and varied cultural life. Between 1997 and 2009 it hosted the internationally recognized ballet company

Peter Schaufuss Ballet Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and the town still hosts the performance art theatre

Odin Teatret Odin Teatret is an avant-garde theatre group based in Holstebro, Denmark. It was founded by Italian theatre director and investigator Eugenio Barba in 1964. Odin Teatret is a part of NTL, Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium, which also includes the Inte ...

. Several museums, including the Holstebro Art Museum with its collection of Danish and international contemporary art, and the Holstebro Museum can be found in the town. The town holds an annual culture festival, the Holstebro Festive Week, in late summer. The Holstebro Hall, rebuilt in 1966, houses a music theatre, the Holstebro Convention and Culture Center (1991) and provides space for theatre presentations, concerts, exhibitions and conventions. More than 100 cultural events occur here every year, and the hall is visited by more than 100,000 people annually. The

Jutland Dragoon Regiment The Jutland Dragoon Regiment () is the only regiment of the Royal Danish Army that has an armored (Main Battle Tank, MBT) battalion, and is one of the Danish combat regiments in which soldiers are entitled to wear the black beret of the Armoured ...

(''Jydske Dragonregiment''), which can trace its history back to 1679 in the times of King

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

, has made Holstebro its home since 1953. The regiment is Holstebro's largest place of work with more than 1,800 employees.

Transport

Holstebro is served by

Holstebro railway station Holstebro station ( or ''Holstebro Station'') is a railway station serving the town of Holstebro in Jutland, Denmark. Holstebro station is a railway junction where the Vejle-Holstebro Line and the Esbjerg-Struer Line meet. The station was opene ...

. It is located on the Vejle-Holstebro and Esbjerg-Struer

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

s and offers direct

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

services to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and Struer and

regional train Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

services to

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...

and Skjern.

Sport and leisure

Team Tvis Holstebro TTH Holstebro is a men's handball club from Holstebro, Denmark. The team is playing in the Danish Primo Tours Ligaen and play their home matches in Gråkjær Arena. History The club was founded on 1 May 2000, when Holstebro Håndbold 90 ...

was founded in 2000 and play

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, representing Holstebro in the men's

Danish Handball League The Herreligaen (men's league), formerly known as Herrehåndboldligaen (men's handball league), is the men's top Danish professional handball league. The winners of the Herreligaen are recognised as the Danish men's handball champions. The curr ...

and the

Danish Women's Handball League The Kvindeligaen () is the top professional league for Danish women's handball clubs. It is administered by the Danish Handball Federation, and the winners are recognized as Danish champions. The league was previously called Bambusa Kvindeligaen ...

. The women's team has won the Women's European Handball Federation cup twice, in 2012–2013 and 2014–2015 and were runner's up in 2010–2011. The team's best placing in the domestic league was 2nd in 2012–13 and, as a result, they competed in the qualification rounds of the

2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League The 2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League is the 21st edition of the EHF Women's Champions League, the competition for top women's clubs of Europe, organized and supervised by the European Handball Federation. Győri Audi ETO KC were the title ...

, the highest level competition in Europe. The men's handball team won the

Danish Handball Cup The Danish Men's Handball cup () is the nationwide cup tournament for men's handball teams in Denmark. It’s also known as Santander Cup for sponsorship reasons. The competition has been played annually since 1964. Tournament structure The i ...

in 2008 and have finished third in the domestic league three times, most recently in 2008. They achieved third place in the men's

2012–13 EHF Cup The 2012–13 EHF Cup was the 32nd edition of the EHF Cup and the first edition since the merger of the EHF Cup with the EHF Cup Winners' Cup. The EHF Cup final four tournament was played in Nantes, France, between 18 and 19 May 2013. Qualificati ...

. Both teams play at

Gråkjær Arena Gråkjær Arena is a sports center in Holstebro, Denmark. It has room for 3,250 spectators and is used primarily as home of the handball clubs Team Tvis Holstebro and Holstebro Håndbold. History On 10 November 2009 did the former mayor Arne Læ ...

, a 3,250 capacity hall which can also be used for concerts. The arena is located to the north of the town center.Guidet tour i Gråkjær Arena
Gråkjær Arena, Holstebro Kommune. Retrieved 2015-12-06.

Holstebro Idrætspark Holstebro Idrætspark is a multi-use stadium in Holstebro, Denmark. It is currently used mostly for association football matches and is the home stadium of Holstebro Boldklub Holstebro Boldklub (; also simply called Holstebro or HB) is an a ...

, located to the north-east of the town centre, is a multi-use sports complex. A stadium on the site is home to

Holstebro BK Holstebro Boldklub (; also simply called Holstebro or HB) is an association football club based in the town of Holstebro, West Jutland, Denmark, that competes in the 3rd Division, the fourth tier of the Danish football league system. Founded i ...

, the town's football club who play in the 4th tier of Danish football. The site also features playing fields, beach volleyball courts and a sports hall. A tennis centre, including an indoor hall and seven outdoor courts, adjoins the site and is the home of Holstebro Tennis Club.Holstebro idrætspark go stadionhal
Holstebro Kommune. Retrieved 2015-12-06.

Holstebro RK Holstebro RK is a Danish rugby club in Holstebro Holstebro is the main town in Holstebro Municipality, Denmark. The town, bisected by Storå, Denmark, ''Storåen'' ("The Large Creek") and has a population of 37,487 (1 January 2025).

play

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

in the town.

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

ing and

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ing on the nearly long Storå, Denmark, Storåen is popular during the summer and early autumn. It is allowed between 15 June and 31 October.Canoe
Visit Holstebro. Retrieved 2015-12-06.

Holstebro Speedway Klub Holstebro Speedway Klub is a motorcycle speedway club from Holstebro in Denmark. They were champions of Denmark, having won the title in 1997. Track The track is located about 16 kilometres east of Holestebro on Hesselåvej 41B (south of Skave) ...

is a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

team who compete in the Danish leagues. The Skave Speedway track is located about 16 kilometres east of Holestebro on Hesselåvej 41B (south of Skave) and is adjacent to the Holstebro Moto Cross track. The venue has hosted important events, including the Danish final as part of the qualifying rounds of the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...

in 1994.

Jamboree Denmark 2012

A Danish national Scouting Jamboree took place near Holstebro in July 2012. Over 37,000

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

s and

Guides A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Exp ...

attended the event.Fakta om Spejdernes Lejr 2012
SN.dk, 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2015-12-06.

Notable people

The Arts

* Karl Jensen (1851 in Holstebro – 1933) painter of landscapes of northern Zealand *

Knud Agger Knud Agger (26 September 1895 – 2 February 1973) was a self-taught Danish painter. After a series of paintings from everyday life, he became ever involved in painting his family, home and garden at Helsingør in the north of the island of Zeal ...

(1895 in Holstebro – 1973) self-taught painter, visionary and strongly

existentialist Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

* Knud Hvidberg (1927 in Holstebro – 1986) painter and sculptor * Henning Stærk (born 1949 in Holstebro) singer and musical-performer *

Thomas Søndergård Thomas Søndergård (born 4 October 1969 in Holstebro, Denmark) is a Danish conductor and percussionist. Biography Søndergård studied percussion at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1989 to 1992, where his teachers included Gert Mortense ...

(born 1969 in Holstebro) conductor * Anne Fortier (born in 1971 in Holstebro) a Danish / Canadian writer, lives in Quebec *

Mikael Simpson Mikael Simpson (born 1974 in Holstebro) is a Danish songwriter, singer, film composer, musician and radio host. He began his musical career as a guitarist for the indie band Luksus, which disbanded in 2001. Since then, he has released four a ...

(born 1974 in Holstebro) songwriter, singer and film composer * Iben Dorner (born 1978 in Holstebro) actress and voice artist *

Simon Lynge Simon Lynge (born 22 January 1980) is a singer-songwriter who was raised in Greenland and Denmark. Lynge is the first solo musical artist from Greenland to have an album released across the United Kingdom, and the first Greenlander to play the U ...

(born 1980 in Holstebro) singer-songwriter, raised in Greenland * Elias Ehlers (born 1985 in Holstebro) stand-up comedian IMDb Database
retrieved 21 May 2020

Public thinking & Public Service

Charles Christian Lauritsen Charles Christian Lauritsen (April 4, 1892 – April 13, 1968) was a Danish-American physicist. Early life and career Lauritsen was born in Holstebro, Denmark and studied architecture at the Odense Tekniske Skole, graduating in 1911. In ...

(1892 in Holstebro – 1968) American physicist * Cathrine Fabricius Hansen (born 1942 in Holstebro) Danish-born Norwegian

Germanist German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, German literature, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on Culture ...

Else Marie Friis Else Marie Friis (born 18 June 1947) is a Danish botanist and paleontologist. She is Professor Emerita in the Department of Geoscience at Aarhus University. Her work has been fundamental in the phylogenetic analysis of angiosperms, with widesprea ...

(born 1947 in Holstebro) a botanist, paleontologist and academic *

Søren Gade Søren Gade Jensen (born 27 January 1963) is a Danish politician who has been list of speakers of the Folketing, Speaker of the Folketing since November 2022, representing the Liberalism, Liberal party, Venstre (Denmark), Venstre. He was a Liberal ...

(born 1963 in Holstebro) politician,

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

2004/2010 *

Charlotte Sahl-Madsen Charlotte Sahl-Madsen or Sahl-Madsen (born 26 August 1964) is a Danish politician and businesswoman. She was the Danish Minister of Science, Technology and Development from 23 February 2010 to 3 October 2011. She had previously led Ebeltoft Gl ...

(born 1964 in Holstebro) politician and businesswoman * Erik Poulsen (born 1967 in Holstebro) politician and MEP *

Claus Bundgård Christensen Claus Bundgård Christensen (born 1968) is a Danish historian and associate professor at Roskilde University known for his books related to collaboration and crime in Denmark during and following World War II. In 1998, he, and historians Niels B ...

(born 1968 in Holstebro) historian and academic * Ove Christiansen (born 1969 in Holstebro) professor of chemistry at

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

Jens Rohde Jens Rohde (born 18 April 1970) is a Danish politician, who is a member of the Folketing for the Christian Democrats political party. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2014 until 2019, as a member of the Danish Social L ...

(born 1970 in Holstebro) politician and MEP *

(born 1980 in Holstebro) singer-songwriter, grew up in

Qaqortoq Qaqortoq (), also known as Julianehåb, is the capital city of the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality in southern Greenland, located near Cape Thorvaldsen. With a population of 3,050 in 2020, it is the most populous town in sout ...

, Greenland

Sport

Bo Hansen Bo Jannik Nyby Hansen (born 16 June 1972) is a Danish former football player in the striker position. He scored 52 goals in 143 games for Danish club Brøndby IF and 16 goals in 119 games for English club Bolton Wanderers. Hansen played one ga ...

(born 1972 in Holstebro) former footballer, 237 club caps *

Peter Heine Nielsen Peter Heine Nielsen (born 24 May 1973) is a Danish chess trainer and player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1994. He has won a record nine consecutive World Chess Championship titles as a coach, working with Viswanathan Ana ...

(born 1973) chess grandmaster, five-time

Danish Chess Champion The Danish Chess Championship was organised by the Danish Chess Union ( DSU) and first held in 1910. A masterclass was first introduced in 1915. But it is only from 1922 that the title of Danish chess champion was introduced, this was the first ye ...

. * Jesper Damgaard (born 1975) retired professional ice hockey player *

Carsten Svensgaard Carsten Svensgaard (born 3 January 1975 in Holstebro, Denmark) is a Danish curler, a three-time and a five-time Danish men's champion. He participated at the 2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic ...

(born 1975 in Holstebro) curler, competed at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

Claus Bech Jørgensen Claus Bech Jørgensen (born 27 April 1976) is a Faroese former professional footballer who is a youth team coach at AaB. Born in Denmark, he represented the Faroe Islands national team between 2004 and 2006. He first established himself as a ...

(born 1976 in Holstebro) Faroese former footballer, over 340 club caps * Morten Skoubo (born 1980 in Holstebro) retired footballer, over 300 club caps * Jeppe Huldahl (born 1982 in Holstebro) professional golfer, plays on the European Tour * Soren "Bjergsen" Bjerg (born 1996 in Holstebro) professional video gamer, six-time LCS champion, plays for TSM

Twin towns – sister cities

Holstebro practices twinning on the municipal level. For the twin towns, see twin towns of Holstebro Municipality.

References

{{Authority control Municipal seats of the Central Denmark Region Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Central Denmark Region Holstebro Municipality