Odense

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Coordinates: 55°23′45.48″N, 10°23′18.73″E

Odense
Town
Saint Canute's Cathedral
Saint Canute's Cathedral
Country Denmark
Region Region Syddanmark
Municipality Odense Municipality
Center Flakhaven
 - coordinates 55°23′45.48″N, 10°23′18.73″E
Population 145,554 (2004)
First documented 988
 -  City charter 1355
 -  Current municipality 1970
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal codes 5000, 5100, 5200, 5210, 5220, 5230, 5240, 5250, 5260, 5270
Website : www.odense.dk

Odense [ˈoð̞ˀn̩sə] is the third largest city in Denmark, with 146.564 inhabitants (Odense city January 1, 2007), and the capital of the island of Funen. It is the seat of Odense Municipality and was the seat of Funen County until January 1, 2007 when Funen County became part of Region Syddanmark.

The city lies close to Odense Fjord on the Odense River (Odense Å). It is a station on the railway route between Copenhagen and Jutland, the peninsular mainland. A canal dug from 1796 to 1806, 7.5 metre (25 ft.) deep, gives access to the town from the fjord.

Accessibility to Odense was greatly increased when ferry service between the two main Danish islands, Zealand and Funen was replaced by the Great Belt Bridge (opened in 1997 for rail traffic, 1998 for road traffic). The bridge is the second longest suspension bridge in the world. Its construction greatly cut transportation time between Odense and the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Copenhagen can now be reached by trains from Odense in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Contents

[edit] History

For the Catholic ecclesiastical history, see Roman Catholic bishopric of Odense

Odense (from Odins Vi, i.e. "Odin's Sanctuary", referring to Odin of Denmark's indigenous Norse mythology), is one of the oldest cities of Denmark and had its 1000th anniversary in 1988. To celebrate this, a forest named "the thousand year forest" was cultivated. The shrine of Saint Knud (also known as Saint Canute) was a great resort of pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages.

In the 16th century the town was the meeting-place of several parliaments, and down to 1805 it was the seat of the provincial assembly of Funen.

Odense's most famous landmark was Odinstårnet (The Odin Tower) constructed in 1935, as the second-tallest tower in Europe, only surpassed by the Eiffel Tower. Odinstårnet was blown up by a Danish Nazi group in 1944 and has never been rebuilt. However, a miniature model of it now stands in the residential area Odinsparken in the area where the original tower was.

[edit] Famous residents of Odense

The famous author and poet Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense on April 2, 1805. A house in the old part of Odense has been turned into a museum with a large collection of his works and belongings. Also his childhood home is a museum.

Classical composer Carl Nielsen was also born near Odense, and the town houses a museum in his honour.

King Canute IV, (ca. 1043 - July 17, 1086), also known as Canute the Saint and Canute the Holy

Industrialist, Banker and philanthropist Carl Frederik Tietgen was born in Odense on March 19, 1829. Best known for establishing Denmark's first private bank and numerous conglomerates including DFDS, B&W, Danisco, and Tuborg.

Inventor and industrialist Thomas B. Thrige, he was born in Odense on May 5, 1866.

Actor Ove Sprogøe (December 21, 1919 - September 14, 2004), was a beloved cinema, stage and TV actor, and now has a square in the centre of town named after him.

New swimming sensation Louise Ørnstedt (born 1985) was born in Odense. She recently won gold at the European championships in Trieste, Italy in the 50m back crawl and silver in the 100m and the 200m back stroke.

One of the world's best female team handball players, Anja Andersen, was born in Odense on February 15, 1969. She now coaches the handball team Slagelse Dream Team, multiple winners of the Champions League.

Cartoonist Henrik Rehr was born in Odense on October 28th, 1964. He now resides in the U.S.A.

Odense is also the home of leading Danish sports star Hans N. Andersen. The 26 year-old speedway rider captained Denmark as they won the Speedway World Cup in 2006.

Andersen also won two rounds of the individual Speedway World Championship and helped two of his European teams, WTS Wroclaw (Poland) and Peterborough Panthers (England) win their domestic league titles.

[edit] Business

Odense Railroad Centre
Odense Railroad Centre
Odense Palace
Odense Palace

Several large industries are located in or near Odense. Denmark's biggest shipyard, Odense Steel Shipyard owned by the A.P. Møller-Mærsk Group is situated in the neighbouring town Munkebo. The biggest sales auction of vegetables, fruits and flowers (GASA) in Denmark is situated here. The Albani Brewery brews the local Odense Pilsner amongst others.

The commercial national television company TV 2 is based in Odense.

The main campus of the University of Southern Denmark is located in Odense.

Odense is the home of a number of football clubs, the most important are OB, B1909, B1913, Dalum IF.

[edit] Tourist attractions

Saint Knud's Cathedral, also known as Saint Canute's Cathedral, was formerly connected with the great Benedictine monastery of the same name, and is one of the largest and finest buildings of its kind in Denmark. It is constructed of brick in a pure Gothic style. Originally dating from 1081-1093, it was rebuilt in the 13th century. Under the altar lies Canute (Danish: Knud), the patron saint of Denmark, who had planned to conquer England from William of Normandy. He was slain in an insurrection at Odense in 1086. Odense is also the see of the bishop of Funen.

Kings John (Danish: Hans) and Christian II are buried in the city.

Our Lady's Church, built in the 13th century and restored in 1851-1852 and again in 1864, contains a carved 16th century altarpiece by Claus Berg of Lübeck.

Odense Palace was erected by King Frederick IV, who died there in 1730.

There is a theatre as well as a symphony orchestra, a zoo, and the Funen Village (Den Fynske Landsby) which is an open air museum with old houses typical for Funen.

Other attractions:

  • Odense City Museums
    • Hans Christian Andersen Museum
    • Hans Christian Andersen's Childhood home
    • The Funen Village
    • Carl Nielsen Museum
    • Carl Nielsen's Childhood home
    • Funen Art Museum
    • City Museum Møntergården
Odense Theatre
Odense Theatre

[edit] Population statistics

The population of Odense city, per January 1 of a given year, according to Danmarks Statistik.

Year Population
1976 138,348
1981 136,646
1986 137,286
1989 138,339
1990 138,986
1992 140,886
1994 143,029
1996 144,518
1997 145,354
1998 145,296
1999 144,940
2000 145,062
2001 144,849
2002 144,636
2003 145,374
2004 145,554

The land area of Odense is 304 km², with a population density of 611 per km² (2005 figures from Helsingin Seudun Aluesarjat).

[edit] Trivia

  • Public buses in Odense are painted dark red and the city's former street cars had the same colour. In Copenhagen and Århus, buses are yellow.
  • The City Hall has a small scar from a battle between Germans and members of the Danish Resistance on 5 May 1945. The city's coat of arms - located above the main entrance to City Hall - is damaged. On close inspection, the kneecap of Saint Canute is penetrated by a bullet.
  • The city's cathedral, Saint Canute's Church, has the skeletons of both the Saint / King and his brother on public display. The cathedral also boasts of one of Denmark's finest altarpieces, a magnificent triptych by Claus Berg. A large fragment of Byzantine cloth is displayed next to the two skeletons.

[edit] Twin cities

For a full list of twin cities, see Odense Municipality

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources and external links

Coordinates: 55°23′45.48″N, 10°23′18.73″E

v • d • e
25 biggest cities of Denmark (with number of inhabitants according to Statistics Denmark [1])

Copenhagen (1,084,900) · Århus (228,700) · Odense (152,100) · Aalborg (121,500) · Esbjerg (71,900) · Randers (55,900) · Kolding (55,000) · Horsens (51,000) · Vejle (49,900) · Roskilde (45,800) · Herning (44,400) · Silkeborg (41,300) · Næstved (41,200) · Greve Strand (41,100) · Hørsholm 37,100 · Fredericia (37,100) · Elsinore (35,100) · Køge (34,500) · Viborg (34,100) · Holstebro (32,000) · Slagelse (31,800) · Taastrup (31,100) · Hillerød (28,900) · Svendborg (27,200) · Sønderborg (27,000)

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