Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately from

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 ...

History

Ringsted was the site of ''Sjællands Landsting'' (lit. ''Zealand's county thing'') during the

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

, which in 1584 moved to St. Bendt's church and became known as ''Sjællandsfar Landsting''. In 1805 it moved to Copenhagen and was renamed Østre Landsret, and is still active under this name. In 1131,

Canute Lavard Saint Knud, also known as Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord; 12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a ...

was killed in Haraldsted forest, leading to outbreaks of

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The church was consecrated in 1170. In front of the church is the spacious town square leading to the shopping streets with shops and boutiques. The town arms goes back to 1421. There has been much discussion about what it portrays. The traditional answer is at the top the hand of God and under that

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

with

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

surrounded by three figures that worship her. The city officially interprets the three figures as Saint

, King Eric Plovpenning, and Saint

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

Tourism

* Danish Tramway Museum of Skjoldenæsholm, near Jystrup. * St. Bendt's Church — a Romanesque, former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

, abbey church containing numerous tombs of medieval Danish royalty. Ringsted features two shopping centers named RingStedet and Ringsted Outlet Center. Ringsted Outlet Center consists of 48 flagship outlets and 2 restaurants. Ringsted also has a wide selection of cafes and restaurants, as well as two local breweries (Dagmarbryggeriet in Ringsted town and Det lille Bryggeri in Bringstrup) . During the summer months, a mobile tourist office is opened in the town square. Ringsted was previously home to Santa World, a tourist attraction featuring hundreds of

animatronic An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...

Christmas elves, which later became Fantasy World.

Transportation

Ringsted is one of Denmark's busiest transit cities. The city is located in the very middle of the island of

, connecting both the southern parts of Zealand as well as

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

and

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 ...

with the

Copenhagen metropolitan area The Copenhagen metropolitan area or Metropolitan Copenhagen (, , literally "The Capital Area") is a large commuter belt (the area in which it is practical to commute to work) surrounding Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. It includes Copenha ...

Rail

Ringsted is served by Ringsted railway station, which is located in the centre of the town, on the southern edge of the historic town centre, and immediately adjacent to the Ringsted bus station. It is an important railway junction, located where the Copenhagen–Fredericia, Copenhagen–Ringsted and South Line railway lines meet. The station offers frequent 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

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

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 ...

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

, 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

Næstved Næstved () is a town in Næstved Municipality, the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five Primary education, elemen ...

and Elsinore.

Notable people

* Jørgen Roed (1808–1888) a portrait and genre painter of the Golden Age of Danish Painting * P. C. Skovgaard (1817–1875) a Danish national romantic landscape painter * Frederik Vermehren (1823–1910) a genre and portrait painter in the realist style * Sophus Schandorph (1836–1901) a poet and novelist, with the '' Modern Break-through'' * Edith von Bonsdorff (1890–1968) a Danish-Finnish ballet dancer and choreographer * Jette Baagøe (born 1946) the director of the Danish Museum of Hunting and Forestry * Poul Ruders (born 1949) a Danish organist and composer * Werner Knudsen (born 1953) a computer scientist, composer and author * Michael Poulsen (born 1975) Danish vocalist and guitarist.

Sport

* Fritz Tarp (1899–1958) a Danish football player, with 250 caps with B.93 and 44 caps 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 ...

, 26 as captain * Omar Hermansen (1913–1998) a Danish boxer who competed in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

* Helle Sørensen (born 1963) a former cyclist, competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

* Trine Hansen (born 1973) a retired female rower, team bronze medallist at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

* Ulrich Vinzents (born 1976) a Danish retired footballer, over 450 team caps * Henrik Hansen (born 1977) a Danish cricketer * Anders Oechsler (born 1979) a retired Danish handball player * Kristian Pedersen (born 1994) a Danish footballer who plays for Swansea City A.F.C.

Sister cities

References

External links

Statistics and FiguresRingsted municipalityVisitringsted
{{Authority control Municipal seats of Region Zealand Municipal seats of Denmark Cities and towns in Region Zealand Ringsted Municipality