Holbæk

Holbæk
June 2007 aerial photograph
June 2007 aerial photograph
Official seal of Holbæk
Seal
Coat of arms of Holbæk
Coat of arms
Holbæk is located in Denmark
Holbæk
Holbæk
Location in Denmark
Holbæk is located in Denmark Region Zealand
Holbæk
Holbæk
Holbæk (Denmark Region Zealand)
Coordinates: 55°42′56″N 11°43′21″E / 55.71556°N 11.72250°E / 55.71556; 11.72250
CountryDenmark
RegionZealand (Sjælland)
MunicipalityHolbæk
Founded1236
Area
 • Urban
13.9 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
Elevation
11 m (36 ft)
Population
 (2024)[1]
 • Urban
30,503
 • Urban density2,200/km2 (5,700/sq mi)
 • Gender [2]
14,557 males and 15,946 females
 • Municipality
73,440
DemonymHolbækker
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
4300
Area code(+45) 00
Websitewww.holbaek.dk

Holbæk (Danish pronunciation: [ˈhʌlˀpek]) is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,503 (1 January 2024).[1] It is located in the northwestern part of Region Sjælland, Denmark.

Holbæk is located on Zealand, on the banks of Holbæk Fjord, an inlet of the larger Isefjord. Holbæk is a commercial and industrial center for the surrounding area. By rail, Holbæk is served by Danske Statsbaner's line from Roskilde to Kalundborg, which runs through the city. Vestsjællands Lokalbaner connects Holbæk by rail to Nykøbing Sjælland. The city is a major hub for the Movia bus routes. Holbæk has an active commercial seaport that serves as the harbor for the ferry to Orø (island). Near the harbor there is a substantial marina.

History

City Seal ca. 1400
A street market

Holbæk is first mentioned in official documents in Absalon's letter of 8 June 1199, in which he granted the majority of his estates to Sorø Klosterkirke in Sorø. It was called Holbækgaard, a larger farm belonging to a nobleman, around which the city eventually developed.

Next it appears in Valdemar the Victorious's book of properties (see Kong Valdemars Jordebog on the Danish Wikipedia) in 1231. Valdmar broke ground for Holbæk Slot (Holbæk Castle) in 1236.

Holbæk grew from then on but is not mentioned again until around 1400 when Margaret I came for a court proceeding that granted her territories in Jutland. The event may have triggered the creation of the first city seal, which shows the three trees by the water that are the prominent features of the current seal.

Economy

Companies headquartered in Holbæk include Sparekassen Sjælland-Fyn and Pharmacosmos

Culture

Culturally, Holbæk can be noted for Musikhus Elværket, a converted power station that serves as a concert venue for modern music.

Bogart, Book-café and more Books gets new life and people new energy at Bogart . For more than 40 years, Bogart was a traditional antiquarian in Holbæk. In 2021 new owners transformed the place into a book café and intimate stage with a mix of concerts, lectures and open mic.

Media

The local newspaper is Nordvestnyt, which is published Monday to Saturday and is published by Sjællandske Medier. In 2022, the newspaper had 39,000 weekly readers.[3]

Holbaekonline.dk is a local news website that brings news, sports, and entertainment from Holbæk and Holbæk Municipality.[4]

Holbæk Radio is a local radio station run by volunteers. It started in 2015. In addition to music, the radio station also provides local news, and citizens have the opportunity to create their own segments on the radio. Holbæk Radio can be heard on the FM band 104.7 as well as through online streaming.[5]

Sport

The city is home to the Holbæk B&I football club, who as of 2023 played in the fourth tier in the Danish football league system.[6] They have played at the Holbæk Sportsby (Sports City) football stadium since its construction in 2019.[7]

The Holbæk Sportsby (Sports City) was constructed in 2019 and has 23,000 square metres of space indoors over two floors and 47 hectares outdoors. It includes the new Sports City football stadium, athletics stadium, swimming pool, badminton hall, synthetic football pitches, tennis courts and the Padel Klub.[8]

The Holbæk Stadium was, which existed from 1948 to 2019, when it was demolished for housing, was the former home of Holbæk B&I. It was also an athletics stadium[9] and hosted motorcycle speedway between 1950 and 1954.[10] It held the final of the Danish Individual Speedway Championship in 1954.[11]

Transportation

Rail

Holbæk railway station.

The Northwest Line connects Holbæk with Kalundborg and Roskilde and the rest of the Danish rail network, and the Odsherred Line connects Holbæk with Nykøbing Sjælland. Holbæk railway station is the principal railway station of the town, and offers direct regional train services to Copenhagen, Roskilde and Kalundborg operated by the national railway company DSB[12] and local train services to Nykøbing Sjælland operated by the regional railway company Lokaltog.[13] The western part of the town is also served by the railway halt Stenhus.

Notable people

Ludvig Christian de Brinck Seidelin, 1832

Public Service & public thinking

Søren Reiff, 2015

The Arts

  • Paula Trock (1889–1979) a Danish weaver of curtains in distinguished places
  • Agnete Hoy (1914–2000) British/Danish potter; expertise in glazing and firing
  • Aage Stentoft (1914–1990) composer, film score composer and theatre director[15]
  • Dan Sterup-Hansen (1918–1995) painter and illustrator
  • Niels Bernhart (1946–2008) a Danish pianist, composer and lecturer
  • Inga Nielsen (1946–2008) soprano opera singer[16]
  • Søren Reiff (born 1962) guitarist, producer, composer and author
  • Cutfather (born 1968) stage name of Mich Hedin Hansen, a Danish music producer
  • Jim Lyngvild (born 1978) a Danish designer, writer, fashion columnist and TV personality[17]
  • Mikael Brandrup (born 1984) a Danish visual artist and graphic designer in the USA
Mads Mensah Larsen 2016

Sport

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Coat of arms at twin town Celle (Germany), granite artwork below signpost
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Denmark

Holbæk is twinned with:

Sources

Notes

  1. ^ a b BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density The Mobile StatBank from Statistics Denmark.
  2. ^ BY1: Population 1. January by urban areas, age and sex The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark
  3. ^ "Læsertal for dagblade for 2022m" (PDF) (in Danish). Kantar Gallup. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Om Holbaekonline.dk" (in Danish). Holbaekonline.dk. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Programoversigt" (in Danish). Holbæk Radio. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Holbæk sikrede sig oprykning" (in Danish). Holbaekonline.dk. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. ^ "FOOTBALL STADIUM". Holbæk Sportsby. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Sports complex brings together elite sports and rehabilitation under one roof". Troldtekt. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Holbæk Stadion". Nordic Stadiums. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Holbaek Speedway (Holbaek Stadium)". Speedway Life. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Individual Speedway Norwegian Championship". Historia Sportu Zuzlowego. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Holbæk Station" (in Danish). DSB. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Om Lokaltog". lokaltog.dk (in Danish). Lokaltog A/S. Archived from the original on 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  14. ^ Stephens, H. Morse. "Borgard, Albert" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 05. pp. 395–396.
  15. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 06 June 2020
  16. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 06 June 2020
  17. ^ IMDb Database retrieved 07 June 2020
  18. ^ "Stadt Celle". celle.de. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  19. ^ "Holbæk". Dorchester Town Council. 2007. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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