Vejle

Coat of arms
Vejle Fjord Bridge
Vejle windmill is a symbol of the town

Vejle (Danish pronunciation: [ˈvaile]) is a town in Denmark and the site of the council of both Vejle Municipality (kommune) and Region Syddanmark, located in southeast of Jutland Peninsula.

The city itself has a population of 50,832 (1 January 2010)[1] and the Vejle Municipality has a population of 106,383 (2010).

The municipality is also a part of the East Jutland metropolitan area with 1.2 million inhabitants. [2].

Contents

Vejle is a picturesque town located at the head of Vejle Fjord, and for a country where the highest natural elevation is only about 170 m (558 ft) above sea level, Vejle is known for the forested hills that rise to the north and south of the town and fjord. The older, central part of town features a sizeable cobblestone pedestrian mall leading past the former Town Hall, built in 1878-79. Other prominent landmarks are St. Nicolai Church, from the mid 13th century, and a windmill built on the slopes of the hills to the south, which, visible from almost everywhere in town, is a symbol of the town. The town is also an industrial center and has a large shipping port.

History

Vejle [left center] is southwest of Horsens and north of Kolding, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.

The oldest form of the name "Vejle" was "Wæthelæ", meaning ford, due to its location at an important crossroads at a ford over Vejle River. Throughout its history, it has played a significant role as a merchant town at a busy crossroads – today it is still an important junction for road and rail transport. Vejle was first established on an islet where the small Vejle and Grejs Rivers converged before emptying into Vejle Fjord. The first recorded mention of the town is from 1256, and the first known municipal charter was granted in 1327, although the town itself is probably older. Contemporary Vejle's oldest building, St. Nicolai Church, was built during the mid 13th century. The church tower is 27.2 meters (89 ft) in height and the exterior brick wall of the north transept has an interesting feature of 23 spherical indentations approximately 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter (Hogan, 2006), which are the result of incorporation of 23 skulls of robbers into the wall. The most notable aspect of the church is the display of the Haraldskær Woman ("bog woman") in the north transept. The body is of the Iron Age, and is remarkably preserved with skin intact, a consequence of preservation in a peat bog.

During the Middle Ages, Vejle was important as a market town for traders and artisans, and it developed along those lines up to the mid 17th century. During these years the town developed its trade in agriculture and livestock, and traded with cities such as Lübeck and Flensburg, in what is now Germany.

In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Vejle's population was diminished as a consequence of plague and war. In 1796, though, Vejle was made the seat of the newly founded Vejle County, and the town expanded throughout the 19th century, benefiting from improvements such as a new harbor on the fjord, a railroad station, and modern utilities.

From the mid 19th century into the 20th century, Vejle developed from a provincial market town into a busy industrial center. Because of the many wool mills, the town was at one point known as the "Manchester of Denmark", although the town's metal works also became an important sector of the local economy.

More recently, however, Vejle's industry has moved into food production – it boasts one of the world's largest chewing gum factories, which produces Gumlink brand gum; Stimorol gum is also produced there. Even so, industry has become less important in recent years, and as this has happened, other sectors, such as data technology and communications, have gained in strength.

With the industrial expansion, Vejle's residential areas increased in size, and the town expanded into the hills surrounding it. Traffic congestion increased with the population, and in 1980, the Vejle Fjord Bridge was opened over the fjord as part of a highway along Jutland's east coast so that through-traffic would no longer have to be routed through Vejle's center.

Sports and culture

Vejle's town hall from 1878

Vejle is home to the Vejle Boldklub (Vejle Football Club), which has won several Danish soccer (football) championships throughout the years. Vejle has fostered many great football players, among them one of the few worldwide stars of Danish soccer history: Allan Simonsen, who was named Europe's best soccer player in 1977. Thomas Gravesen, former HSV, Everton, Real Madrid, Celtic, now retired is also a native son.

In the arts, Vejle was home to one of the most well known Danish composers, Jacob Gade, who wrote, among many other things, the "Tango Jalousie". The writers Ulrik Gräs and Harald Kidde have also called Vejle home.

In the mid-20th century, the town had several popular cultural attractions, such as the restaurant Trædballehus, where popular musicians such as Jacob Gade would play. The Munkebjerg Casino, a bit out-of-town on the coast of the fjord, was also a popular getaway in its heyday – at one point featuring Europe's longest wooden escalator, carrying guests from the beach up to the hilltop casino. The Munkebjerg casino still stands, and is a modern hotel and conference center.

Education in Vejle

The headquarters of University College Lillebaelt (Danish: University College Lillebælt) can be found in Vejle.

Twin towns

View to Vejle's windmill from pedestrian mall

Vejle currently has the following 6 friendship cities:

Famous people from Vejle

Gallery

Saint Nikolaj Church

The old goldsmith

Strøget

Vejle Vindmølle

See also

References

  1. ↑ [1]
  2. ↑ [2]

Much of the content of this article is derived from the equivalent Danish-language and German-language Wikipedia articles on Vejle, retrieved 31 March 2005.

Also referenced

External links

30 most populous urban areas of Denmark
as of 1 January 2010, according to Statistics Denmark [3]
1. Copenhagen 1,181,239
2. Århus 242,914
3. Odense 166,305
4. Aalborg 123,432
5. Esbjerg 71,459
6. Randers 60,227
7. Kolding 57,087
8. Horsens 52,998
9. Vejle 50,832
10. Roskilde 46,701
11. Helsingør 46,189
12. Herning 45,890
13. Hørsholm 45,816
14. Silkeborg 42,396
15. Næstved 41,729
16. Fredericia 39,513
17. Viborg 35,656
18. Køge 34,937
19. Holstebro 34,024
20. Taastrup 32,260
21. Slagelse 31,918
22. Hillerød 29,951
23. Sønderborg 27,194
24. Holbæk 27,157
25. Svendborg 27,113
26. Hjørring 24,892
27. Frederikshavn 23,331
28. Haderslev 21,293
29. Ringsted 20,767
30. Ølstykke/Stenløse 20,648