Esbjerg

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Coordinates: 55°29′N 8°27′E / 55.483, 8.45
Esbjerg Municipality
Municipality
none Esbjerg harbor from the watertower (May 2005)
Esbjerg harbor from the watertower (May 2005)
Country Denmark
Region Syddanmark
Elevation 50 m (164 ft)
Coordinates 55°29′N 8°27′E / 55.483, 8.45
Population 114,244 (2008)
Founded 1868
 - City charter 1899
 - Current municipality January 1, 2007
Mayor Johnny Søtrup
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Esbjerg (left center) in Denmark
Esbjerg (left center) in Denmark
Map of Esbjerg Municipality
Map of Esbjerg Municipality

Esbjerg (pronounced [ˈɛsˌb̥jaɐ̯ˀ]) is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Region Syddanmark ("South Denmark Region") on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre (Center-Right Party) political party. By January 1, 2007 the old Esbjerg municipality was, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with the former Bramming and Ribe municipalities to form the new Esbjerg municipality. This municipality has an area of 741 km² (286 sq. miles) and a total population of 114,244 (2008).

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Esbjerg - population 71,886 (2006), the fifth largest city in Denmark.

Neighboring municipalities with land connection are Tønder to the south, Haderslev to the southeast, Vejen to the east, and Varde to the north. The neighboring municipality to the west is Fanø, an island municipality located in Fanø Bay (Fanø Bugt). Beyond the island of Fanø and Fanø Bay is the North Sea.

Ferry services connect the Esbjerg via Ho Bay to Nordby on the island of Fanø via Scandlines, and over the North Sea to Harwich, England via DFDS Seaways.

Esbjerg railway station is operated by Danish State Railways. Esbjerg is the western terminus of InterCity trains from Copenhagen (operating every other hour), with the journey taking about three hours. DSB also operates local trains to Fredericia. Arriva operates Vestbanen local trains south to Ribe and Tønder and north to Struer.

The city of Esbjerg is a large transport hub for both rail and road traffic, and is an important port for Danish North Sea oil offshore activity. It has an airport, and is a center for machine building. The municipality has a number of museums, theatres (staging opera, ballet and drama), and several libraries.

[edit] The city of Esbjerg

The city of Esbjerg was established around the harbour, which the state had built in 1868 as a replacement for the harbour in Altona that had previously been Denmark's most important North Sea harbour. In 1874 Esbjerg was connected by rail to Fredericia and Varde.

The city has been voted "City of the Year" twice. The first time was in 1997 where the city was awarded the title because of the corporate work between public and private companies. In 2006 the city was again awarded "City of the Year". The second award was given due to the work and support of young talents. The talents in sports, artwork and music have been given good support and given the best facilities to develop their talent even further. The city holds an annual music festival spanning two weekends (nine days) during mid-August and is focused around the central Torvet Square which hosts the main stage. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006.

The city was once Denmark's biggest fishing harbour, and the harbour is still an economic driving force in the town. Besides the fishing industry Esbjerg is also the main city for Denmark's oil and offshore activities. Companies like Mærsk Oil & Gas, Ramboll Oil & Gas, ABB A/S,COWI and Atkins Denmark all have offshore related activities in the city.

Esbjerg is one of the central towns of the University of Southern Denmark, and is also home to a branch of Aalborg University.

[edit] References

Esbjerg (DenmarkCIAx)
Esbjerg
Esbjerg
Esbjerg with other towns in Denmark
Old watertower in Esbjerg (Det gamle vandtårn)
Old watertower in Esbjerg (Det gamle vandtårn)


[edit] External links

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30 most populous cities of Denmark (as of 1 Jan 2008 according to Statistics Denmark [1])
1. Copenhagen (1,153,615) · 2. Århus (237,551) · 3. Odense (158,163) · 4. Aalborg (121,818) · 5. Esbjerg (70,880) · 6. Randers (59,565) · 7. Kolding (55,596) · 8. Horsens (51,670) · 9. Vejle (50,213) · 10. Roskilde (45,824) · 11. Herning (44,763) · 12. Næstved (41,810) · 13. Silkeborg (41,674) · 14. Fredericia (39,391) · 15. Viborg (34,831) · 16. Køge (34,792) · 17. Helsingør (Elsinore) (34,350) · 18. Holstebro (33,939) · 19. Hørsholm (32,886) · 20. Taastrup (31,917) · 21. Slagelse (31,879) · 22. Hillerød (29,296) · 23. Svendborg (27,318) · 24. Sønderborg (27,286) · 25. Holbæk (26,267) · 26. Hjørring (24,815) · 27. Frederikshavn (23,551) · 28. Haderslev (21,279) · 29. Skive (20,643) · 30. Ringsted (20,188)