Frederikssund () is a
Danish town, seat of the
Frederikssund Municipality
Frederikssund Kommune () is a municipality () on the shores of Roskilde Fjord in the northern part of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. On 1 January 2007, the municipality was enlarged to include the old Jægerspris, Sl ...
, in the
Region Hovedstaden
The Capital Region of Denmark (, ) is the easternmost administrative region of Denmark, and contains Copenhagen, the national capital.
The Capital Region has 29 municipalities and a regional council consisting of 41 elected members. As of 1 ...
with a population of 17,583 (1 January 2025).
[BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density](_blank)
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 ...
It received the status of
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 rura ...
in 1810. The town is famous for its annual Viking Games as well as for the
J.F. Willumsen museum
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
. Since 1935, it has been connected to
Hornsherred
Hornsherred () is a peninsula between Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark.
It falls within the expanded Frederikssund municipality and includes Jægerspris and Skibby and before 1 January 2007 a part of Bra ...
via the Kronprins Frederik Bridge.
History
There is evidence of communities dating right back to the Stone Age with a number of burial sites in the area. It seems probable that there was a small settlement at the present location of Frederikssund in the Middle Ages but the development of the town probably began in the 12th century with the construction of a church at what was then known as Ude Sundby or Sundby Færge (Sundby Ferry). Located at a narrow point on Roskilde Fjord, Sundby Færge became the harbour for the nearby market town of
Slangerup
Slangerup is a town in Frederikssund Municipality, about 30 km north-west of central Copenhagen, in the Capital Region of Denmark.
The town of Slangerup
The town was established by the Viking Slangir at the time of Harald Bluetooth. King Er ...
.
In 1809–10, the status of market town was transferred from Slangerup to Frederikssund, named after King
Frederik III. In 1868, a pontoon bridge linking Frederikssund to Hornsherred was opened. This was replaced by today's Kronprins Frederik Bridge in 1935.
Frederikssund's rapid expansion from a small town at the end of the 19th century is due in large part to the railway connection with
Ballerup
Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research o ...
in 1879 which was upgraded to a frequent suburban service 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 ...
in 1989.
Geography
Frederikssund is located on the east coast of
Roskilde Fjord, about 45 km north-west of
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 ...
, 20 km south of
Hillerød
Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)[Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...]
. It is less than an hour from Copenhagen by either road or rail. S-trains (suburban commuter trains) leave about once every 10 minutes. Copenhagen Airport can be reached by road or rail in about an hour.
The low hills on which Frederikssund lies are formed of
moraines from the
last ice age. The shallow
Roskilde Fjord which separates Frederikssund from
Hornsherred
Hornsherred () is a peninsula between Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark.
It falls within the expanded Frederikssund municipality and includes Jægerspris and Skibby and before 1 January 2007 a part of Bra ...
originated in the same period.
The fertile land surrounding Frederikssund is used for mixed farming - with an emphasis on cereals, root crops and pigs.
Frederikssund today
The recent development of the town center and the old commercial harbour have given Frederikssund a new look which reflects its growing popularity as a residential area with connections to Copenhagen and surroundings. It has all the facilities associated with a modern Danish town: museums, a public library, supermarkets, a hospital and sports and recreation centers. With a location facing west over the Roskilde Fjord, it has many footpaths along the shores and up into the higher ground to the east.
The local rail and bus services are well developed.
Culture
Cultural attractions include the
J.F. Willumsens Museum, the Færgegården local history museum at the far end of the bridge over to Hornsherred, and the annual Viking plays held in a large outdoor theatre.
Leisure activities
Activities range from sailing, rowing, cycling, golfing or gliding to simply sitting out on the main
pedestrian street
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 restricted to use by people on foot or ...
(''gågade'').
Sports
There are several sports clubs and facilities in Frederikssund covering soccer, American football, swimming,
basketball, bowling and cycling.
Notable people

*
Albert Jensen (1847–1913), architect
*
Eugen Jørgensen (1858–1910), architect and local politician
*
Georg Achen (1860–1912),
naturalist
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
painter of portraits
*
Oluf Pedersen (1891–1970), politician and member of the
Folketing
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
1932–45 and 1950–60
*
Povl Søndergaard (1905–1986) sculptor of lifelike busts and female figures, died here
*
Peter Alsing Nielsen
Poul Peter Knud Augustinus Alsing Nielsen (21 May 1907 – 11 April 1985) was a Danish painter. Born in Frederikssund, he studied painting and graphic art at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1930.
Initially interested in landscape pain ...
(1907–1985), painter
*
Regin Prenter (1907–1990), Lutheran priest, theologian and parish priest of Branderup
*
Jette Thyssen (born 1933), textile artist, painter and lithographer
*
Annie Birgit Garde
Annie Birgit Garde (born 3 October 1933) is a Danish film actress. Garde has appeared in more than 40 films since 1955.
Selected filmography
* '' Altid ballade'' (1955)
* '' Father of Four and the Wolf Cubs'' (1958)
* '' Soldaterkammerater ry ...
(born 1933), actress
*
Grethe Ingmann (1938–1990), singer, died here
*
Anne Dorte of Rosenborg (1947–2014), countess and wife of
Count Christian of Rosenborg
*
Jens Galschiøt (born 1954), sculptor
*
Morten Messerschmidt (born 1980), politician and
MEP
Sport

*
Vilhelm Johansen
Vilhelm Johansen (16 September 1898 – 21 December 1993) was a Danish sports shooter. He competed in the 50 m rifle event at the 1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and offici ...
(1898–1993), sports shooter
*
Morian Hansen (1905–1995), motorcycle speedway rider &
RAF squadron leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Squadron leader is immediatel ...
*
Kresten Bjerre (1946–2014), footballer, died here
*
Martin Haldbo Hansen (born 1969), rower
*
Anders Kristiansen (born 1979), badminton player
*
Mathias Boe (born 1980), badminton player, Olympic medalist
*
Mie Skov (born 1986), table tennis player
Twin towns - sister cities
Frederikssund practices
twinning on the municipal level. For the twin towns, see
twin towns of Frederikssund Municipality.
See also
*
Frederikssund station
*
Frederikssundbanen
References
External links
{{Coord, 55.83330, N, 12.06659, E, format=dms , type:landmark_region:DK , display=title
Cities and towns in the Capital Region of Denmark
Frederikssund Municipality
Frederick III of Denmark