Vordingborg

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For other uses, see Vordingborg Municipality and Vordingborg Castle.
Vordingborg
View of the city from the Goose Tower.
View of the city from the Goose Tower.
Coat of arms of Vordingborg
Coat of arms
Vordingborg is located in Denmark
Vordingborg
Vordingborg
Location in Denmark
Coordinates: 55°00′29″N 11°54′40″E / 55.008°N 11.911°E / 55.008; 11.911
CountryDenmark
RegionZealand (Sjælland)
MunicipalityVordingborg
Government
 • MayorHenrik Holmer
Population
 (2024)[1]
 • Total18,286
 • Urban area
12,397
 • Municipality
45,751
Time zoneUTC+1 (Central Europe Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2
Websitewww.vordingborg.dk

Vordingborg (Danish pronunciation: [ˌvɒːte̝ŋˈpɒˀ]) is a market town and old ferry town on the south coast of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three satellite towns (former villages) have emerged around the town. Within the ring of estates, the town has a population of 12,397 (1 January 2024),[1] and a population of 18,286 when including the three satellite towns of Ørslev, Nyråd, and Stensved, situated 1, 3 and 5 kilometres, respectively, from the town of Vordingborg. Vordingborg is located in Vordingborg Municipality in Region Zealand. Vordingborg Municipality (Kommune) has a population of 45,751.

Vordingborg is situated on the southern coast of the island of Zealand. It lies adjacent to the Storstrømmen, a strait separating the island of Zealand from the island of Falster.

History

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Ruins of Vordingborg Castle.

It is uncertain when the oldest castle was built on the castle hill in Vordingborg, but King Valdemar the Great built a castle on the site in 1157. From Valdemar the Great's founding of the castle until King Valdemar Atterdag's death in 1375, the kings often stayed at the castle and Vordingborg was at the center of Denmark's foreign policy. King Valdemar the Great died at his castle in Worthing in 1182.

The town of Vordingborg itself probably emerged at the beginning of the 12th century, but only gained significant importance with the construction of the castle. In 1415, during the reign of Eric of Pomerania, Vordingborg was given the status of a market town.

Prospect of Vordingborg in 1783.

Geography

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Aerial photograph of the Storstrømmen strait, the Storstrøm Bridge, Masnedø and Vordingborg in the background.

Vordingborg is situated 37 km from Nykøbing Falster, roughly 50 km from Gedser, and roughly 100 km from Copenhagen and Odense. The town is situated on the island of Zealand and is linked to the island of Falster with Farø Bridges and Storstrøm Bridge.

Economy

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Vordingborg Municipality is home to 9,500 jobs.[2] Companies headquartered in Vordingborg include Vordingborg Køkkener, a kitchen manufacturer.[3] Udbetaling Danmark, a public institution under ARP, has one of its five regional centres in the town.[4]

Government

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The former town hall at Algade in Vordingborg.

On 1 January 2007, the old Vordingborg municipality was, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with Langebæk, Møn, and Præstø municipalities to form an enlarged Vordingborg municipality.

Transportation and Infrastructure

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Vordingborg railway station in 2021.

Vordingborg is served by Vordingborg railway station which is located on the South Line which connects Copenhagen with the islands of Falster and Lolland. It offers direct regional rail services to Copenhagen and Nykøbing Falster.[5] From the station there is also bus connection to the towns of Stege, Præstø, Næstved and Maribo, as well as city bus lines.

Vordingborg is located on European route E47 connecting Lübeck in Germany to Helsingborg in Sweden via Copenhagen. Danish national road 22 connects Vordingborg with Kalundborg by way of Næstved and Slagelse, and Danish national road 59 connects Vordingborg with Stege on the island of Møn.

Attractions

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The Goose Tower (Gåsetårnet) spire in Vordingborg, Denmark. (2005)

The ruins of Vordingborg Castle, the old royal castle which was built around 1364, is the town's most famous attraction. The only fully remaining part of the castle, the 26 meter tall Goose Tower (Gåsetårnet), is the symbol of the city. It is the largest of King Valdemar Atterdag's nine main castle towers. The name comes from the golden goose perched on top of the tower's spire. Legend has it that Valdemar Atterdag used the symbol to taunt the Hanseatic League. The current goose was put there in 1871. It is not certain what was on top of the tower before 1871 and maybe it was just a weather vane made of gold.[6] The tower was transferred into the national trust on 24 December 1808 and is thus the first protected historic monument in Denmark.

A historic garden is also located on the site of the ruin.

Vordingborg is the home of the South Zealand Museum (Sydsjællands Museum).

The city holds an annual festival, Vordingborg Fest Week (Vordingborg Festuge) in July.

The Vordingborg Transmitter is one of the tallest towers in Denmark.

The Danish Army operates a barracks facility on the edge of town, known as Vordingborg Kaserne.

Notable people

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Academics, educators and scholars

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  • Jacob Baden (1735 in Vordingborg – 1804) a philologist, pedagogue, critic and academic
  • N. F. S. Grundtvig (1783 in Udby near Vordingborg – 1872) a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian and politician
  • Martin Hammerich (1811 - 1881 in Iselingen) an art historian, educator, author and translator.
  • Frederik Christian Kielsen (1774-1850), a Danish schoolmaster, published copiously illustrated books on natural history; he lectured at the Latin School in Vordingborg from 1819 to 1833
  • Carl Lange (1834 in Vordingborg – 1900), a physician, worked on neurology, psychiatry and psychology
  • Julius Lange (1838 in Vordingborg – 1896), a Danish art historian and critic

Architecture and design

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Artists

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Businesspeople

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Music

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  • Anders Trentemøller (born 1974 in Vordingborg) an electronic music producer and multi-instrumentalist

Politics and activism

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Astrid Stampe Feddersen, 1910

Royalty and nobility

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Sport

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Morten Olsen, 2012

Writers

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Meïr Aron Goldschmidt

Other

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  • Jacob Ellehammer (1871 in Bakkebølle – 1946) a Danish watchmaker, inventor and contributor to powered flight
  • Jesper Juul (born 1948 in Vordingborg) a family therapist and author on parenting

Twin towns

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Vordingborg is twinned with:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark
  2. ^ "Høj eksport og stabil beskæftigelse" (in Danish). sn.dk. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Nyt hovedsæde til Vordingborg Køkkenet" (in Danish). Sydsjællands Tidende. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Mikkelsen Arkitekter får arkitekturpris for Udbetaling Danmark" (in Danish). Mikkelsen Arkitekter. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Vordingborg Station" (in Danish). DSB. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  6. ^ Gåsetårnet
  7. ^ Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Valdemar II." . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). pp. 841–842.
  8. ^ "Goldschmidt, Meier Aaron" . Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. XIII. 1920.
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Media related to Vordingborg at Wikimedia Commons

55°00′00″N 11°54′00″E / 55.00000°N 11.90000°E / 55.00000; 11.90000

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