Vejle () is a city in

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 ...

, in the southeast of the

Jutland Peninsula 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 ...

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

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark ( da, Region Syddanmark, ; german: Region Süddänemark, ; frr, Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which ab ...

. The city has a population of 60,231 () making it the ninth largest city in Denmark. Vejle Municipality has a population of 119,007 () making it the fifth largest municipality 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

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, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

and it is located 110 kilometres (68 miles) north of Germany. Vejle is most known for its forested hills, fjord, harbour, shopping, pedestrian mall, and windmill.

History

The word "Vejle" derives from the Old Danish word ''wæthel'', meaning "

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 ...

" or "wading place" due to its location at a busy crossing over Vejle River. During

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

times, the wetlands around Vejle had to be crossed at the Ravning Bridge, a nearly half-mile wooden boardwalk. The first recorded mention of the town is from 1256, and the first known merchant town privileges were issued by King Valdemar III in 1327. Archaeological digs near St. Nicolai Church in downtown Vejle have shown that there were residences in the area as far back as 1100. The king's castle, Castrum Wæthel, was located where Vejle Trafikcenter is today. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Vejle was important as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, and developed along those lines up to the mid-17th century, trading with cities such as

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

and Flensburg, in what is now

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Vejle's population was diminished as a consequence of plague and war. In 1796, though, Vejle was made the seat of the newly founded

Vejle County Vejle Amt (English ''Vejle County'') is a former county ( Danish: ''amt'') on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southern Denmark. The county was abolished effective January 1, 2007, when it was divided between Region Midtjylland (i.e. '' ...

, and the town expanded throughout the 19th century, benefiting from improvements such as a new harbour on the fjord, a railroad station, and modern utilities. From the mid-19th century into the 20th century, Vejle developed from a provincial market town into a busy industrial centre, eventually becoming known as the "

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

of Denmark" for its many

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

Geography

Downtown Vejle was built on an island of

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

in Vejle River remaining from a hill formed during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. In a country where the highest natural elevation is only about 170 m (558 ft) above sea level, Vejle is known for the forested hills that rise to the north and south of the town and

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

. The valleys of the two rivers that converge at Vejle are both unique in Denmark: Vejle River Valley (''Vejle Ådal'') is the longest

tunnel valley A tunnel valley is a U-shaped valley originally cut under the glacial ice near the margin of continental ice sheets such as that now covering Antarctica and formerly covering portions of all continents during past glacial ages. They can be as l ...

in Denmark, and the Grejs Valley (''Grejsdalen'') is the largest

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Vejle Fjord, which connects Vejle by water through 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 ...

strait to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

, and through the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...

and

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...

straits to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Neighbourhoods

Many of Vejle's neighbourhoods began as separate towns or villages that merged with the city as it grew. Søndermarken, Nørremarken, and Grejsdalen, however, were all founded as extensions of the city onto the surrounding hillsides. Vejle's neighbourhoods include: *Vejle centre *Bredballe - east of downtown and north of Vejle Fjord; considered an affluent neighbourhood *Grejsdalen - northernmost part of the city, located in the long, narrow valley of the same name *Hover - west of Grejsdalen, closer to the centre *Lille Grundet - north of downtown in the northwest corner of Nørremarken, relatively new *Store Grundet - established in 2000, north of Lille Grundet *Mølholm - southeast of the centre *Nørremarken - northeast of the centre, including the North Woods (''Nørreskoven'') and Vejle Stadium *Petersminde - on top of Uhrhøj, west of Grejsdalen *Vestbyen (West Town) - western Vejle, including Skibet and Trædballe, and the scenic overlook of Himmelpind *Vinding - southeast, next to Mølholm *Søndermarken - to the southwest, located on land belonging to the former Petersholm manor

Economy

Vejle is the cultural and economic centre of Vejle Municipality and, as part of the unofficial Triangle Area (''Trekantområde''), is rich in industry, business, and the service sector. Historically speaking, industry has been very important for the city's development, while today more weight is placed on business and service, as well as high-tech firms.

Industry

During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, Vejle was known as the "Manchester of Denmark" due to its extensive textile mills. The local rivers provided water power to mills, including the extensive facilities of De Danske Bomuldsspinderier (The Danish Cotton Mills). In the first half of the 20th century, Vejle was something of a behemoth within the Danish textile industry, with some 25% of the city's workers employed in the industry. Despite the decline in the industry in Denmark, the last cotton mill in Vejle remained open until 1993. Today, many of the old mill buildings are used for art studios, office space, and, more recently, apartments. Later on, newer industries took root in Vejle. The city is home to one of the largest chewing gum factories in the world, producing Stimorol brand chewing gum. The Tulip slaughterhouses were also an important employer in the city. Today, Tulip has closed its factory at the harbour, but still maintains production in northern Vejle. Today, Vejle's economy is shifting out of the industrial sector and into the high-tech sector, with a number of software companies operating out of the city.

Shopping

Vejle is known regionally as a vibrant shopping town with a wide and varied offering of both chain and specialty shops, primarily located along the city's central pedestrian mall. Recently, in an effort to maintain its position as a premiere shopping destination, the town has invested in several public works projects to improve the city's appearance, including lengthening the

pedestrian mall Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

, developing new public art and architecture, and uncovering and beautifying Grejs River, which until recently ran in a culvert underneath downtown. In addition to the shopping experiences in the city, Vejle also has its own shopping centre, Bryggen, located in the center of the city. The shopping centre contains 38 stores and two restaurants and lies within the pedestrian mall. Street food concepts can also be experience at the Paladspassagen Social Dining at the former Mary's Shoppingcenter.

Politics

Ever since

Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

Christian Jacobsen became Vejle's first elected mayor in 1919, the town has been a stronghold for the Social Democrats and trade unions. The longest serving Social Democratic mayor was Willy Sørensen, a union leader who joined the city council in 1937 and held the mayor's post for 31 years, from 1946 until his death in 1978. In 1993, the Social Democratic dynasty was broken, when a candidate from a coalition of opposition parties, Flemming Christiansen, became mayor. In 2009, the Social Democrats were out of power again when

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate Arne Sigtenbjerggaard won the elections. Several natives of Vejle have also made a career in national politics, including former Prime Minister

Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the le ...

(Liberal), the former Minister of the Treasury

Troels Lund Poulsen Troels Lund Poulsen (born 30 March 1976 in Vejle) is a Danish politician, who is Minister for Economic Affairs and a member of the Folketing for the Venstre political party. He served as Minister for the Environment from 2007 to 2010, Min ...

(Liberal), former Minister of Health

Torben Lund Torben Lund (born 6 November 1950 in Vejle) is a Danish politician, who served in the Folketing from 1981 to 1998"Torben Lund har forladt Socialdemokratiet". dr.dk, August 22, 2009. and in the European Parliament from 1999 to 2004. He was associa ...

(Social Democrat), and former Minister of Transportation Flemming Hansen (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Infrastructure

Historically speaking, Vejle's development has been guided by the city's central location in the country and its location on Vejle Fjord. Vejle's pedestrian mall today runs along the same course as some of the earliest paths through town – glass panels set into Torvegade allow pedestrians to see the historical market road a few meters under the current street surface. Highway E45 passes close to downtown Vejle on the Vejle Fjord Bridge. Vejle is also located on Primary Route 28, and the Mid-Jutland Highway (''Midjyske Motorvej'', Primary Route 18) from Herning. Vejle station, also known as Vejle Transit Centre (''Vejle Trafikcenter''), provides nine city bus lines to various neighbourhoods, as well as national and international coach and train services. Vejle Station first opened in 1868, and is today a central station in the Danish train network. However, the station is currently the subject of political debate, due to a desire on the part of some politicians to reduce train travel time between

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 ...

and

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

to one hour. This may mean that a second bridge will be built over Vejle Fjord, bypassing Vejle Station. Musikteatret i Vejle

Vejle Harbour, in its current location, was inaugurated in 1827. In the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it grew to become the second largest port in

after the

Port of Copenhagen The Port of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Havn) is the largest Danish seaport and one of the largest ports in the Baltic Sea basin. It extends from Svanemølle Beach in the north to Hvidovre in the south. Along with Malmö harbour, Copenhagen Por ...

. Up until 1932, the steamboats Hvidbjerg (named after a local seaside community) and Jeppe Jensen (named after the harbour's founder) plied the waters between Vejle Harbour and Munkebjerg, Tirsbæk, Ulbækhus, and Fakkegrav. The harbour is currently profitable, although there are plans to convert the northern section of the harbour into a park and residential area, which would reconnect the town with the fjord. The fjord is also the site of the modern wave-shaped apartment complex known as The Wave (''Bølgen''). Vejle Municipality is part-owner of Denmark's second-largest airport,

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 ...

, located near the Lego Group's headquarters some from the centre of Vejle. Airport buses run regularly to Billund Airport from Vejle Transit Centre. Vejle - Den Gamle Guldsmedie

Environment

A central point of Vejle's environmental policy since 1985 has been the sorting of garbage into non-compostable and compostable waste, which is then composted in the city dump. To this end, residents must place all household trash into either black or green bags. Vejle Municipality has also begun a range of nature restoration projects. The most ambitious of these has been the restoration of the Kongens Kær wetlands around the Vejle River just outside the city limits. The city has also undertaken a project to establish two new public beaches for swimming, Albuen and Tirsbæk Strand.

Education

Vejle is home to the headquarters of University College Lillebælt, which is a merger of several educational institutions in East Jutland and Funen. Adult and professional education is available in Vejle through the

, the Folkeuniversitet (Adult Education Centre), the Vejle Idrætshøjskole (Athletics Professional College), and Skolen for Gastronomi, Musik & Design (School for Gastronomy, Music, and Design). On the

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

level, Vejle offers several options: Vejle Handelsskole (Vejle Business School) offers business and professional programs; Vejle Tekniske Gymnasium (Vejle Technical School) offers vocational and technical education; and Rødkilde Gymnasium (on the fjord) and Rosborg Gymnasium offer academic programs with concentrations in language and science. On the primary level, Vejle has 11 regular primary schools (''folkeskoler''), 2 independent schools (''friskoler''), and 5 private schools (''privatskoler'') – one secular, one

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, one

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, one Islamic and one Waldorf-Steiner method school – as well as 2 schools for

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

students. Unique to Vejle is a special program for athletically talented students starting in late primary school and continuing through Vejle Handelsskole.

Sports

The city's traditional football club,

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...

(Vejle Football Club), has won the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

Championships five times and the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

six times. Vejle Boldklub has trained many talented football players, among others one of Danish football history's few international stars:

Allan Simonsen Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a Danish former footballer and manager. He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barc ...

, who in 1977 became the first Danish player to win the European Footballer of the Year award. Today, Vejle Boldklub is in a ramping-up period, with the goal of bringing the club back to the top of Danish football. To this end, new Vejle Stadium was opened in spring 2008. Vejle's largest indoor sports facilities are mostly housed in the DGI-Huset recreational centre in western Vejle. In the past, the facility has housed several high-profile events, including the European Women's Handball Championship and the Danish Open in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

. Former Swiss

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

Tony Rominger was born in Vejle, and cyclist

Bjarne Riis Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed ''The Eagle from Herning'' ( da, Ørnen fra Herning), is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France. For many years he was the owner and lat ...

has a house in Vejle. Denmark's answer to the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Po ...

, includes a stretch through Vejle which is known as the hardest stage in the race, including a loop that requires the riders to climb the hillsides of Vejle several times. The race's winner is usually determined in the Vejle stage. Stage 3 of the

2022 Tour de France The 2022 Tour de France was the 109th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Copenhagen, Denmark on 1 July 2022 and ended with the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, Paris on 24 July 2022. Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard () won the general clas ...

started in Vejle.

Arts and attractions

In the arts, the most well-known personality from Vejle is composer

Jacob Gade Jacob Thune Hansen Gade (29 November 1879 – 20 February 1963) was a Danish violinist and composer, mostly of orchestral popular music. He is remembered today for a single tune, ''Jalousie'' (also known as ''Jalousie "Tango Tzigane" '' and ''T ...

, who wrote the Tango Jalousie. Other artists include author Ulrik Gräs, priest and historial

Anders Sørensen Vedel Anders Sørensen Vedel (9 November 1542 – 13 February 1616) At 14 years old, he moved to study in Ribe, and after finishing his education he moved on to Copenhagen University in 1561. In 1562, he was the tutor of astronomer Tycho Brahe on Brahe' ...

, author Karl Bjarnhof, poet Inger Christensen, artist Albert Bertelsen, and actress

Bodil Jørgensen Bodil Jørgensen (born 3 March 1961) is a Danish film actress. She has appeared in 40 films since 1992. She starred in ''The Idiots'', which was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. On 18 June 2014, Jørgensen was severely injured while s ...

. In the early and mid-20th century, Vejle had several popular cultural destinations such as Trædballehus in the western part of town and the Munkebjerg Casino south of the fjord. Trædballehus, an inn and music venue, which burned down in 1954, got its big breakthrough in the mid-1930s when it was featured on Danish National Radio in connection with the opening of the

old Little Belt Bridge The Little Belt Bridge ( da, Lillebæltsbroen), also known as the Old Little Belt Bridge ( da, Den gamle Lillebæltsbro), is a truss bridge over the Little Belt strait in Denmark. It spans from Snoghøj on the Jutland side to Middelfart on Fun ...

. 1933 Hotel Munkebjerg boasted

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

's longest wooden

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...

, carrying guests from the fjord-side beach up to the hilltop

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

. Munkebjerg still exists as a hotel, casino and conference centre. Vejle Mill, located on top of the cliff at Søndermarken, is a well-known landmark because of its visibility, and is often used as a symbol of the city. The Old Jail House in Vejle, which is connected to the Town Hall, was rebuilt in 1984 and received a prize for beautification. Development of new architecture, art and alternative town spaces throughout the 1990s has made the city an attraction. Vejle was the first city in

, which had its own official architecture policy to set high standards for the urban development. Vejle's oldest extant building, St. Nicolai Church, was built in the mid-13th century. On display in the church is the Haraldskær bog woman, a body from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

that was preserved with its skin intact in a local

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

bog. Another feature of the church are 23 spherical indentations on the north transept – legend says these are imprints of the skulls of executed robbers from the woods that surround Vejle. Among the city's cultural institutions is the renovated and expanded Vejle Museum of Art. The museum features the Wörzner collection with several COBRA works as well as works by Rembrandt. Today, Vejle Town Museum is located in the renovated Spinning Mill. The Socialists' former stronghold in Vejle, The Building, is today placed under glass in a new shopping center, Mary's, and houses restaurants, cafés and two venues for e.g. jazz concerts. Økolariet is a free

edutainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...

center for both children and adults, focusing on technology, ecology, recycling, etc. Vejle is situated close to several

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 ...

attractions such as the original Legoland and the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

royal capital of

Jelling Jelling is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 3,658 (1 January 2022), located in Jelling Parish, approximately 10 km northwest of Vejle. The town lies 105 metres above sea level. Location Jelling is located in Vejle municipal ...

. Jelling's archaeological artifacts are considered a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, and include two 10th century

rune stone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...

s and two

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s, as well as a new exhibition centre.

Notable people

Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae from Familj-Journalen1885

Public Service & public thinking

Ludvig Munk Ludvig Ludvigsen Munk was born in 1537 in Vejle, and died 8 April 1602 at ''Nørlund Slot'' (Nørlund castle) in Funen. He was a Danish official and Count. He was the son of Ludvik Munk (1500-1537), and is also referred to as ''Ludvig Ludvigsen M ...

(1537 in Vejle - 1602) a Junker at the royal court in 1561 and a Count *

(1542 in Vejle – 1616), priest and historian, translator of ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

'' * Johann Andreas Mühlensteth (1746 in Vejle - 1819) a pharmacist who experimented with hot air balloons * Poul Martin Møller (1794 in Uldum near Vejle – 1838) a Danish academic, writer, and poet * Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1821 in Vejle – 1885), archeologist and the 2nd director

National Museum of Denmark The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in Copenhagen is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget ...

* Nicholas Bjerring (1831 in Vejle - 1900) the first Orthodox Christian priest to establish an Orthodox church and community in the northeastern United States * Holger Petersen (1843 in Vejle - 1917) a Danish textile manufacturer and philanthropist. *

Lili Elbe Lili Ilse Elvenes (28 December 1882 – 13 September 1931), better known as Lili Elbe, was a Danish painter and transgender woman, and among the early recipients of sex reassignment surgery. She was a successful painter under her birth name Ein ...

(1882 in Vejle - 1931) transgender woman, early recipient of sex reassignment surgery * Thorkil Kristensen (1899 in Fløjstrup near Vejle – 1989) politician, finance minister and

futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...

* Niels Åge Nielsen (1913 in Vejle - 1986) professor of Nordic languages and leader in the Danish resistance movement *

(born 1950 in Vejle) retired politician, MEP 1999-2004 *

Fritz Schur Fritz Henrik Schur Junior (born 27 November 1951) is a Danish businessman with ties to both royal, business and political circles in Denmark. Fritz Schur has since 1999 been honorary consul general of Finland to Denmark. Early life and education ...

(born 1951 in Vejle) a Danish businessman with connections * Lars-Henrik Schmidt (born 1953 in Vejle) a philosopher, developed

Social Analytics Social analytics is a philosophical perspective developed since the early 1980s by the Danish idea historian and philosopher Lars-Henrik Schmidt Lars-Henrik Schmidt (27 August 1953 – 10 September 2021) was a Danish History of Ideas, idea-histo ...

* Lene Hau (born 1959 in Vejle) a Danish physicist in Boston USA *

(born 1964 in Vejle) 25th

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 ...

2009/2011 and 2015/2019

The Arts

* Sophus Juncker-Jensen (1859 in Vejle – 1940) an early Danish photographer * Harald Kidde (1878 in Vejle– 1918) a Danish writer, wrote the novel '' Helten (The Hero)'' *

(1879 in Vejle – 1963) violinist and composer of '' Jalousie'' * Lau Lauritzen Jr. (1910 in Vejle – 1977) a Danish actor, screenwriter and film director * Lilly Brændgaard (1918 in Vejle – 2009) a fashion designer, opened a studio in Vejle in 1947 * Albert Bertelsen (1921 in Vejle – 2019) a Danish autodidact painter and graphic artist * Inger Christensen (1935 in Vejle – 2009) a poetic experimentalist, novelist, essayist and editor * Kirsten Dehlholm (born 1945 in Vejle) a Danish artist and artistic theatre director *

(born 1961 in Vejle) a Danish film actress IMDb Database
retrieved 06 May 2020 *

Nicolai Kielstrup Nicolai Kielstrup (born 4 October 1991) is a Danish singer who participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005. Kielstrup was born in Vejle, Jutland. In 2003, he was present at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen Co ...

(born 1991 in Vejle) a Danish singer * Lilian Weber Hansen (1911–1987), opera singer

Sport

* Bent Sørensen (1926 in Vejle – 2011) a footballer for

, 157 goals in 200 matches * Poul Mejer (1931 in Vejle – 2000) a footballer for

, 307 club caps * Johnny Hansen (born 1943 in Vejle) a former footballer, 433 club caps and 45 for

* Ulrik le Fevre (born 1946 in Vejle) former footballer, over 400 club caps and 37 for

(born 1952 in Vejle) a former footballer and manager, 500 club caps and 55 for

* Ole Mortensen (born 1958 in Vejle) a Danish first-class cricketer * John Sivebæk (born 1961 in Vejle) a former footballer, over 600 club caps, 300 for

and 87 for

* Tony Rominger (born 1961 in Vejle) a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist *

Brian Steen Nielsen Brian Steen Nielsen (born 28 December 1968) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Most notably, he made 66 appearances for the Denmark national team between 1990 and 2002, scoring three goals. After h ...

(born 1968 in Vejle) footballer, 440 club caps and 66 matches for

Jacob Laursen Jacob Thaysen-Laursen (born 6 October 1971) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Laursen most notably played for English club Derby County and won the Danish Superliga championship with Silkeborg IF and Copenhag ...

(born 1971 in Vejle) retired footballer, 439 club caps and 25 for

* Todi Jónsson (born 1972 in Vejle) a retired Faroese footballer, 338 club caps and 45 for the Faroes * Thomas Gravesen (born 1976 in Vejle) a former footballer, 314 club caps and 66 for

* Jacob Barsøe (born 1988 in Vejle) rower, bronze and silver medallist at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and 2016 Summer Olympics * Peter Lang (born 1989 in Vejle) a sailor, team bronze medallist at the 2012 Summer Olympics * Daniel Jørgensen (born 1993 in Vejle) a Danish Paralympic sportsman and Olympic medallist * Nicolai Reedtz (born 1995 in Vejle), a Danish successful ''

Counter-Strike ''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to preve ...

'' esports player *

Frederik Vesti Frederik Vesti (born 13 January 2002) is a Danish racing driver who is set to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing. He is a member of the Mercedes Junior Team and the inaugural champion of the Formula Regional European ...

(born 2002 in Vejle), a Danish racing driver * Mikkel Grundtvig (born 2002 in Veijle), a Danish racing driver

Twin towns – sister cities

Vejle is twinned with: * Borås, Sweden *

Jelgava Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Du ...

, Latvia * Mikkeli, Finland * Molde, Norway *

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

, Germany Vejle also cooperates with: * Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina *

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Nantong, China

Notes

;Also referenced: *Asbjørn Hellum.
History of Vejle
.
Vejle Byhistoriske Arkiv & Stadsarkiv
'. Retrieved 31 March 2005. (In English) *C.M.Hogan, ''History of Sct. Nicolai Kirche, Vejle, Denmark'', Lumina Technologies, Santa Rosa Ca. July 23, 2006 (in English)

External links

* *
Vejle municipality
(In Danish)
Vejle Kommuneatlas (Municipal Atlas)
(In Danish)
Vejle-Egnens Touristbureau (Vejle Area Tourist Bureau)
(In English)
Vejle Byhistoriske Arkiv & Stadsarkiv (City Historical Archive)
(In Danish, some English)
Vejle Amts Folkeblad (regional newspaper)
(In Danish)
Vejle Idrætshøjskole
(In Danish) {{Authority control Municipal seats of the Region of Southern Denmark Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Vejle Municipality