Frederikssund

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Map of the expanded municipality

Frederikssund's pedestrian street

Frederikssund is a municipality (Danish, kommune) and a town 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, Slangerup, and Skibby municipalities. It now covers an area of 260 km² and has a population of ca. 44,140. Frederikssund municipality belongs to the new Region Hovedstaden (Capital Region).

The site of its municipal council is the town of Frederikssund with a population of 14,416 (2004). It is connected to the Hornsherred peninsula by the Kronprins Frederik bridge.

1 Location and access
2 History
3 Frederikssund today
4 Climate
5 Recent developments
6 Twin cities/towns
7 See also
8 External links
9 Footnotes
10 References

[edit] Location and access

Frederikssund is about 50 km north-west of Copenhagen, 20 km south of Hillerød and 30 km north of Roskilde. 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 in about an hour and by rail in about an hour and a quarter. 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 originated in the same period. The fertile land surrounding Frederikssund is used for mixed farming with an emphasis on cereals, root crops and pigs.

[edit] History

Marina from the south

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^[1] 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. In 1809-10, the status of market town was transferred from Slangerup to Frederikssund, named after King Frederik III.^[2] In 1868, a pontoon bridge linking Frederikssund to Hornsherred was opened.^[3] 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 in 1879 which was upgraded to a frequent suburban service to Copenhagen in 1989.

[edit] Frederikssund today

The recent development of the town centre and the old commercial harbour have given Frederikssund a new look which reflects its growing popularity as a residential area with excellent 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 centres. With a location facing west over the Roskilde Fjord, it has many interesting footpaths along the shores and up into the higher ground to the east. The local rail and bus services are well developed and reliable.

[edit] Culture

Cultural attractions include the J.F. Willumsen 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.

[edit] Leisure activities

Activities range from sailing, rowing, cycling, golfing or gliding to simply sitting out on the main pedestrian street (gågade).

[edit] Sports

There are several sports clubs and facilities in Frederikssund covering soccer, America football, swimming, basketball, bowling and cycling.

[edit] Climate

The north of Zealand has a relatively mild climate with not too much rain. Data from Denmark's Meteorological Institute^[4] show that average mid-summer temperatures are over 20 C while winter daytime averages are around freezing point. Rainfall rarely exceeds 10 days per month.

The summer days are long and bright with about 17 hours of daylight while in the winter, the days are short and often quite dull.

[edit] Recent developments

The new harbour square provides the finishing touches to the harbour developments which began in the 1990s. There are also ambitious plans to build a new residential development to the south of Frederikssund near Store Rørbæk.^[5]