Hadsten (locally ) is a

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated, or was expanded, as a result of a railway line being constructed there. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporary, ...

in central

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 ...

and, with a population of 8,560 (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 ...

the largest town in

Favrskov Municipality Favrskov Municipality (, ) is a Commune (subnational entity), municipality in Central Denmark Region in Denmark north of Aarhus and is a part of the Aarhus area. According to municipal and regional key figures the municipality covers an area of a ...

located in

Region Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative Regions of Denmark, region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municip ...

in Central

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 ...

. Until 1 January 2007 it was the site of the municipal council of the now former

Hadsten municipality Until 1 January 2007 Hadsten municipality was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Aarhus County on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 139 km², and had a total population of 11.818 (2005). Its last ...

. Other names for Hadsten are: Hadsten Stationsby. Hadsten has many educational institutions, including a

technical school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocationa ...

, gymnasium (Secondary school), and

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...

. Hadsten is famous for having one of the largest model railways in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Besides that, Hadsten has the shortest pedestrian street in Europe. In Denmark, pronunciation of the town's name has often been the subject of confusion, as locals pronounce the name with a silent "d"; as "Ha'sten".

Etymology

Hadsten was mentioned in text for the first time in 1432 as ''Halstiern'', which seems like it comes from the old Danish word ''tjærn'', meaning 'little lake'. The river in Hadsten, Lilleåen, did at the time form a little lake at Kollerup Gods. When the train station was built, the town of Vinterslev was actually larger, but since the Post Office believe it would cause confusion with the town Vinderslev in

Silkeborg Municipality Silkeborg Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 857.16 km2, and has a population of 101,574 (1. January 2025). Its may ...

, Hadsten Stationsby was chosen instead.

History

Archaeological excavations around the town have shown that people have lived in Lilleådalen as far back as 2,000 BC in the

Nordic Stone Age The Nordic Stone Age refers to the Stone Age of Scandinavia. During the Weichselian glaciation (115,000 – 11,700 years ago), almost all of Scandinavia was buried beneath a thick permanent ice cover, thus, the Stone Age came rather late to thi ...

. The excavation at the water mill, which later became known as Hadsten Mølle, have revealed the remains of an even older water mill from around the 1190's in the early High Middle Ages. The present mill originates from the 1400s during the Clausholm Castle era, and later gained its present name of Hadsten Mølle. Hadsten was mentioned for the first time in 1432 as Halstiern suggesting to come from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word ''tjærn'' which means "little lake", while the neck also in

Old Danish The Danish language developed during the Middle Ages out of Old East Norse, the common predecessor of Danish and Swedish. It was a late form of common Old Norse. The Danish philologist Johannes Brøndum-Nielsen divided the history of Danish in ...

refers to the narrowing the small river valley have of Kollerup Gods. The water level this river at that time has stood 2–3 meters higher than it is today - which is why the valley was marked by lakes. The modern town was founded on 3 September 1862, when ''Den østjyske længdebane'' (The Eastern Jutland Railway) opened. In 2012, the town celebrated its 150th anniversary, with a visit by Frederik, the Crown Prince of Denmark and his wife,

Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark Mary (born Mary Elizabeth Donaldson; 5 February 1972) is List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Frederik X. Mary met Frederik (then Crown Prince of Denmark) while attending the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Wedd ...

. The town was at the plant of the East Jutland stretch of railway line, which was officially inaugurated on 3 September 1862. Therefore, this date is seen as the town's founding. In September 2012 celebrated its 150th anniversary with the visit of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary. One of the most advanced buildings in Denmark is in Hadsten; it functions as a café, library and auditorium.

Geography

Hadsten’s average elevation above sea level is 44 meters.

Culture

The Hadsten Grand Prix, a bicycle race, has been annually hosted in the city since 1993.

Urban districts of Hadsten

* Hadsten Stationsby, current center of the city. * Neder- and Over Hadsten, original villages, now integrated into the city. * Vinterslev, original village, now integrated into the city.

Notable people

* Frederik Bergmann Larsen (1839 – 1916 in Hadsten) a famous Danish doctor, known by some as ''the miracle doctor'' * Sørine Gotfredsen, (Danish Wiki) (born 1967 in Hadsten) Danish priest and journalist * Morten Bisgaard (born 1974 in Hadsten) a football coach and former football player, over 350 club caps, including over 100 for Derby County F.C. and 8 games and 1 goal for the

* Maria Fisker Stokholm (born 1990 in Hadsten) a handball player for Viborg HK and the Danish national team * Jonas Bager (born 1996 in Hadsten) a footballer with 86 club caps with

Randers FC Randers FC () is a professional association football, football club based in Randers, East Jutland metropolitan area, East Jutland, that plays in the Danish Superliga, the top flight of the Danish football league system. Founded on 1 January 200 ...

Gallery

150-Byjubilæum-2012-1.JPG, Hadsten Station Søndergade-Byjubilæum-2012.JPG, Søndergade Lilleåmarked 2013 02.JPG, ''"Lillåmarked"'', an annual festival and gathering in Lilleå park Det Nye Løb 2013.jpg, ''"Det Nye Løb"'' (The New Race), annual cycling race 09-10-04-v2-Hadsten, Skt. Pauls kirke (Favrskov).JPG, Skt. Pauls kirke Over Hadsten kirke (Favrskov).JPG, Over Hadsten church Over Hadsten 01.jpg, Over Hadsten Kollerup Gods.JPG, Kollerup Manor Hadsten Højskole 02.JPG, Hadsten Højskole, a folk highschool Udvidelse af Hadsten Husholdningsskole 1938.JPG, Hadsten Husholdningsskole (1938), originally a school for housekeeping now a vocational school Hadsten Hallen - Familiemesse oktober 2012.JPG, Hadsten Hallen, a fair and exhibition centre Hadsten Idræts- og Kulturhus Sløjfen 03.JPG, Sløjfen (sports and culture centre) Retro World - panoramio.jpg, Retro World, a retro Bed & Breakfast themed on the 60s and 70s in Denmark.

Sister cities

Hadsten has one twinned city: * Saarijärvi,

Western Finland Western Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province. Histor ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

References

External links

Official municipality website
{{Authority control Municipal seats of the Central Denmark Region Municipal seats of Denmark Towns and settlements in Favrskov Municipality