Kolding () is a Danish

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

city located at the head of

Kolding Fjord Kolding Fjord is a 10 km long fjord in Denmark between Kolding and Little Belt. The fjord has a 7 meters deep ship channel linking it to Kolding port. Kolding port and marina are adjacent. Fishing is allowed but a permit is required. ...

in the

Region of Southern Denmark The Region of Southern Denmark (, ; , ; ) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions ...

. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding. The manufacturing of machinery and textiles and livestock export are other economically significant activities. With a population of 95,897 (1 January 2025), the Kolding municipality is the eleventh most populous in Denmark. The city itself has a population of 63,645 (1 January 2025)BY3: Population 1st 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 ...

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

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

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 (''Municipalities of De ...

. The city was recognized as a " Design City" by UNESCO in 2017.

History

Koldinghus Koldinghus is a Danish royal castle in the town of Kolding on the south central part of the Jutland peninsula. The castle was founded in the 13th century and was expanded since with many functions ranging from fortress, royal residency, ruin, mu ...

would be besieged and presumably occupied by Holstein in 1369. In the Battle of Kolding, fought on 25 December 1658, the allied Polish and Danish forces under

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Stefan Czarniecki Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...

defeated the Swedish forces of

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's ...

. A battle between German and Danish forces took place near the town on 23 April 1849 during the

First War of Schleswig The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Duc ...

. On 9 September, 1955, Kolding was impacted by a high-end F2/T5

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 ...

that displaced a car 20 meters into a yard. On 3 November 2004, the N. P. Johnsen's Fireworks Factory in the suburb of Seest exploded. One firefighter died, 85 people were injured, around 2,000 people were evacuated, and some of them lost their homes during this disaster.

Overview

Located in Kolding is the former royal castle of

. This was built in the 13th century by King Eric Klipping and is a museum with certain parts of the castle, including its chapel and hall, being used for governmental ceremonial events. It was the last royal residence in

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 ...

. Another notable site is the 13th century stone Church of Saint Nicholas (), which is one of the oldest in Denmark.

Main sights

The municipal museum, the Museet på Koldinghus, is located in the castle and former royal palace. It has a collection of Danish art from the late Middle Ages to the 1940s, miscellaneous artefacts of local interest, and an extensive collection of items in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

. The

Trapholt Trapholt is a museum of contemporary art and design located in Kolding, Denmark. It opened in 1988 and was previously named Trapholt Kunstmuseum (Trapholt Museum of Art) but its increasing focus on the broader arts lead to its shortened name. It ...

art museum features many pieces primarily by Danish artists in its collections of arts from 1900 onwards and a smaller number of non-Danish exhibits. It also features a large collection of chairs. Botanical garden Geografisk Have is a 14 hectares large park with more than 2,000 different trees, bushes, and plants organised in geographical areas. Also Kolding houses the Danish Museum of Nurses (), which is situated in the reception building of the former tuberculosis sanatorium for children. The exhibition also include this past of the buildings. The main part of the sanatorium is now a hotel, situated in a minor forest and overlooking the water. The building itself is very beautiful and built to resemble a palace. The Kolding School of Design - Designskolen Kolding

The Kolding School of Design - Designskolen Kolding

Education

A branch of

University College South University College South Denmark Internationalt > English">University College Syd > Forside > Internationalt > English/ref> () is a university college in the southern part of Denmark. It offers bachelor courses in various disciplines and has appr ...

() can be found in Kolding. A branch campus of

University of Southern Denmark The University of Southern Denmark (, SDU) has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. It offers a number of joint programmes in co-operation with the University of Flensburg and the University of Kiel. Contacts with regional indu ...

() is located in the former hospital which was closed in 1975. The new ''Campus Kolding'' opened downtown in 2014. The new building of University of Southern Denmark will be built further to the east at Grønborggrunden in central Kolding. Kolding is also home to

Design School Kolding Kolding School of Design (Danish: Designskolen Kolding) is a design school located in Kolding, Denmark. It delivers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the areas of fashion, textiles, communication design, industrial design, accessory design ...

(''Designskolen Kolding''), a university design school, which was established in 1967 to provide undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the areas of fashion, graphic design and textiles.

Sister cities

Kolding is twinned with the following towns.

Transportation

Rail

Banegaarden Trainstation Kolding Denmark 2008 100

Kolding is served by Kolding railway station. It is located on the Fredericia-Flensburg railway line 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 ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Sønderborg (; ) is a Denmark, 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 28,333 (1 January 2025),Aarhus 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 ...

and

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport city 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 area, urban population of 71,554 (1 January ...

as well as

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

and

Notable people

Public service and public thinking

* Princess Dorothea of Denmark (1546 in Kolding – 1617), Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1561–1592 *

Mathias Sommerhielm Mathias Otto Leth Sommerhielm (22 August 1764 15 November 1827) was a Danish-Norwegian politician who served as the Norwegian prime minister in Stockholm. Biography Mathias Otto Leth Sommerhielm was born in the seaport of Kolding in southern Den ...

(1764 in Kolding – 1827) a Norwegian Prime Minister *

Evald Tang Kristensen Evald Tang Kristensen (24 January 1843 – 8 April 1929) was a Danish folklore collector and author. Working first as a schoolteacher and later solely as a collector, he assembled and published a huge amount of detailed information on all aspects ...

(1843 in Nørre Bjert near Kolding – 1929) a folklore collector and author *

Christian Peder Kryssing Christian Peder Kryssing (July 7, 1891 – July 7, 1976), commonly known as C.P. Kryssing, was a Danish collaborator with Nazi Germany during World War II. An artillery officer and an ardent anti-communist, he commanded the Free Corps Denmark fro ...

(1891 in Kolding – 1976) a collaborator with Nazi Germany in WWII *

Svend Petersen Svend Petersen (March 13, 1911 – January 18, 1992) was a Danish-born author, political researcher and analyst, Trans-O-Gram puzzle creator, one of the four founding officers of The Red Circle of Washington, D.C., and a member of The Baker ...

(1911 in Kolding – 1992) political researcher in the US, analyst and author *

Bente Hansen Bente Hansen (4 March 1940April 2022) was a Danish writer, editor and women's rights activist who was a prominent supporter of the Danish Red Stocking Movement from 1970. She published a number of books on socialism and the role of women and was ...

(born 1940 in Kolding) a Danish women's rights activist, writer and editor *

Uffe Haagerup Uffe Valentin Haagerup (19 December 1949 – 5 July 2015) was a mathematician from Denmark. Biography Uffe Haagerup was born in Kolding, but grew up on the island of Funen, in the small town of Fåborg. The field of mathematics had his intere ...

(1949 in Kolding – 2015), mathematician * Jørn Dohrmann (born 1969 in Kolding) a Danish politician and MEP *

Bjarne Corydon Bjarne Fog Corydon (born 1 March 1973) is a Danish politician and businessman, who was a member of the Folketing from the Social Democrats from 2011 to 2016. He served as Finance Minister of Denmark in the Cabinet of Helle Thorning-Schmidt from 2 ...

(born 1973 in Kolding), former politician, management consultant and business newspaper editor *

Karina Adsbøl Karina Adsbøl (born 26 November 1976) is a Danish politician who was a member of the Folketing for the Danish People's Party until 2022, and since then for the Denmark Democrats. She was elected into parliament at the 2011 Danish general electi ...

(born 1976 in Kolding), politician, MP since 2011 *

Steffen Larsen Steffen Larsen (born 5 December 1983) is a Danish politician, who is a member of the Folketing for the Liberal Alliance. He was elected into the Folketing in the 2022 Danish general election General elections were held in the Danish Realm, ...

(born 1983 in Kolding), politician, MP since 2022

Arts and entertainment

* Catharine Wernicke (1789 in Kolding – 1862) a Danish pianist, the first Danish woman to perform publicly as a pianist *

Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen (born Anne Marie Brodersen; 21 June 1863 – 21 February 1945) was a Danish Sculpture, sculptor. Her preferred themes were domestic animals and people, with an intense, naturalistic portrayal of movements and sentime ...

(1863 in South Stenderup, near Kolding – 1945) a Danish sculptor *

Thorkild Roose Thorkild Roose (8 October 1874 – 6 June 1961) was a Danish actor and theatre director. Early life Born Anders Torkel Roose in Kolding, he was the son of merchant Christian Roose (died 1923) and his wife Lisette Larsen (died 1927). He gradua ...

(1874 in Kolding – 1961) a Danish actor and theatre director * Christian Daugaard (1901 in Kolding – 1993) was a Danish painter * Karl Gustav Hansen (1914–2002), silversmith *

Lars Bo Lars Bo (29 May 1924 in Kolding – 21 October 1999 in Paris) was a Danish artist and writer. He is known for his graphic works with surrealistically inspired fantastic motifs. He was nicknamed "Wizard". Early life and education Lars Bo worked ...

(1924 in Kolding – 1999), artist and author * Erik Paaske (1933 in Kolding – 1992), actor and singer * Bent Faurby (born 1937 in Kolding) an author of children's literature and schoolteacher *

Ole Søltoft Ole Søltoft (8 January 1941 – 9 May 1999 in Kolding) was a Denmark, Danish actor who became an icon of the 1970s wave of Danish erotic feature film comedies. For over a decade he starred or co-starred in nearly all notable films in this genre a ...

(1941 in Kolding – 1999) a Danish actor *

Karl Aage Rasmussen Karl Aage Rasmussen (born 13 December 1947) is a Danish composer and writer. He was born in Kolding. Composition Quotation and particularly collage played an important role in his music from the early 1970s, but increasingly he used pre-existing ...

(born 1947 in Kolding) a composer and writer. *

Merete Van Kamp Merete Van Kamp is a Danish born model turned actress and singer. Van Kamp's first film role was in the 1983 espionage thriller '' The Osterman Weekend'', directed by Sam Peckinpah playing opposite John Hurt. She was then chosen from 700 hopeful ...

(born 1961 in Kolding) a model turned actress and singer IMDb Database
retrieved 5 May 2020 * Charlotte Eskildsen (born 1975 in Kolding) a Danish fashion designer. *

Susanne Georgi Susanne Georgi Nielsen (born 27 July 1976), commonly known as Susanne Georgi, is a Danish singer who lives and works in Andorra. She represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Career Georgi started her career along with her s ...

(born 1976 in Sjølund) a Danish singer, lives and works in Andorra

Sport

Søren Petersen Søren Peter Petersen (December 6, 1894 in Kolding, Denmark – 1945 in Belgium) was a Danish heavyweight professional boxer who competed in the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in Kolding and died in Belgium. Petersen won a silver medal in ...

(1894 in Kolding – 1945), heavyweight boxer, silver medalist in both the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

and

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

* Harald Christensen (1907 in Kolding – 1994) a cyclist, bronze medalist at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

Jan Mølby Jan Mølby (; born 4 July 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer and manager. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1982 to 1998. After starting his career with Kolding, he moved on to Ajax before spending twelve years playing in Engl ...

(born 1963 in Kolding), football player and coach; 364 club caps and 33 for

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 ...

* Johnny Mølby (born 1969 in Kolding) a football manager and former player, over 350 club caps *

Tina Bøttzau Tina Bøttzau (born in Kolding ) is a former Danish team handball player, two times Olympic champion and a World champion. She received gold medals with the Danish national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta

(born 1971 in Kolding), handball player, twice team gold medalist at

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Martin Lundgaard Hansen Martin Lundgaard Hansen (born 11 October 1972) is a Danish badminton player. He started his career in badminton as a singles player, and competed in the 1993 IBF World Championships. But as the years went by, he made a choice to play doubles. T ...

(born 1972 in Kolding) a successful Danish badminton player * Allan K. Jepsen (born 1977 in Kolding) former professional footballer, over 300 club caps * Louise Spellerberg (born 1982 in Kolding), handball player *

Jonas Lössl Jonas Bybjerg Lössl (; born 1 February 1989) is a Danish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland, Midtjylland. After beginning his profe ...

(born 1989 in Kolding), soccer goalkeeper *

Kasper Asgreen Kasper Asgreen (born 8 February 1995) is a Danish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Asgreen won the 2021 Tour of Flanders (men's race), 2021 Tour of Flanders by defeating Mathieu van der Poel in a sprint finish. Early life Asgreen ...

(born 1995 in Kolding), professional cyclist * Bastian Buus (born 2003 in Kolding), racing driver

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipal seats of the Region of Southern Denmark Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark Kolding Municipality