Odense

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For other uses, see Odense (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 55°23′45.48″N 10°23′18.73″E / 55.3959667, 10.3885361

Odense

City

Saint Canute's Cathedral

Coat of arms

Country

Denmark

Region

Region Syddanmark

Municipality

Odense Municipality

Center

Flakhaven

- coordinates

55°23′45.48″N 10°23′18.73″E / 55.3959667, 10.3885361

Population

158,163 (2008)

First documented

988

- City charter

1355

- Current municipality

1970

Timezone

CET (UTC+1)

- summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal codes

5000, 5100, 5200, 5210, 5220, 5230, 5240, 5250, 5260, 5270

Odense (left center) in Denmark

Website: www.odense.dk

The city of Odense (Danish, pronounced [ˈoð̞ˀn̩sə] listen (help·info)) is the third largest city in Denmark. The name Odense comes from the Norse god Odin.

Odense city has 158,163 inhabitants, as of January 1, 2008 and is the main city of the island of Funen. It is the seat of Odense Municipality and was the seat of Odense County until 1970, and Funen County from 1970 until January 1, 2007 when the county became part of Region Syddanmark.

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

Accessibility to Odense was greatly increased when the 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. When the bridge opened, it was 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.

1 History
2 Famous residents of Odense
3 Business
4 Tourist attractions
5 Population statistics
6 Trivia
7 Twin cities
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[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" (Danish: Tusindårsskoven) was cultivated. The shrine of Saint Canute (Danish: Sankt Knud / Knud den Hellige) in Saint Canute's Cathedral held great attraction for 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.

Until the beginning of the Danish industrial revolution, Odense was also the 2nd largest city in modern Denmark, but has in recent times been overtaken by Aarhus.

[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.

Swimmer 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.

Norwegian missionary Paul Olaf Bodding is buried in Odense.

Her Royal Highness Birgitte, The Duchess of Gloucester was born and raised in Odense. She has been an active working member the British Royal Family since marrying His Royal Highness Prince Richard (first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II) in 1972.

[edit] Business

Odense Palace

Sign post

Pavement decoration from the 2005 Hans Christian Andersen year

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, FC FYN, B1909, B1913 and Dalum IF.

[edit] Tourist attractions

Saint Canute's Cathedral (Danish: Sankt Knuds Kirke) 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 Fjord
Churches & Cathedrals
- Saint Knud's Cathedral
- Saint Albani Church
- Vor Frue Church
- Saint Hans Church
Odense Zoo
Odense Central Library
Odense Sportspark
University of Southern Denmark previously known as Odense University
Odense Symphony Orchestra
Odense Music School
Danish Railway Museum
Nonnebakken

[edit] Population statistics

The land area of Odense is 304 km², with a population density of 611 per km² (2005 figures from Helsingin Seudun Aluesarjat). The population of Odense city, per January 1 of a given year, according to Danmarks Statistik.

Year	Population	Year	Population
1976^[1]	138,348	1999	144,940
1981	136,646	2000	145,062
1986	137,286	2001	144,849
1989	138,339	2002	144,636
1990	138,986	2003	145,374
1992	140,886	2004	145,554
1994	143,029	2006^[2]	152,060
1996	144,518	2007	158,453
1997	145,354	2008	158,163
1998	145,296	2009	-

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Public busses in Odense are painted light green, but were until 2007 bright red since the days when Odense abolished its tram network in the 1950's. In Copenhagen and Århus, busses 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.
Odense was known as Little Copenhagen in the 19th century.