Skanderborg | |
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Town | |
 Skanderborg Castle Church | |
 Seal  Coat of arms | |
  Skanderborg Location in Denmark Show map of Denmark Skanderborg Skanderborg (Central Denmark Region) Show map of Central Denmark Region | |
| Coordinates:56°02′17″N9°55′31″E / 56.03806°N 9.92528°E /56.03806; 9.92528 | |
| Country | Denmark |
| Region | Mid Jutland (Midtjylland) |
| Municipality | Skanderborg |
| Parish | Parish of Skanderborg |
| Settled | Prehistory (unknown) |
| Municipal charter | 1583 |
| Equestrian district | 1717-1767[1] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Democratic representative electorate (4-year terms) |
| • Mayor | Jørgen Gaarde (A) |
| Area | |
| • Urban | 11.3 km2 (4.4 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2025)[2] | |
| • Urban | 20,360 |
| • Urban density | 1,800/km2 (4,670/sq mi) |
| • Gender[3] | 9,846 males and 10,514 females |
| Demonym | Skanderborgenser |
| Time zone | CET |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST |
| Postal code | 8660 |
| Website | www |
Skanderborg is a town inSkanderborg Municipality,Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks ofSkanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj Sø and the swampyboglands of Eskebæk Mose. Just north of the town on the other side of ExpresswayE45, is the archaeologically importantIllerup Ådal. Over time, the town has grown into a suburb ofAarhus to the north east, connected by the urban areas ofStilling,Hørning andHasselager.
Skanderborg is home to a population of 20,360 (1 January 2025),[2] out of Skanderborg Municipality's total population of 65,760 (2025).
Skanderborg is an old town and the area have revealed traces of human settlements, dating from the earliestNordic Stone Age. A seasonal camp from theErtebølle culture, was found here in the 1930s for example, near the former Ringkloster (English:Ring Abbey) on the southern brinks of Skanderborg Lake.[4][5]
The town sprawled around the former Skanderborg Castle, founded at some point during the earlyMiddle Ages[6] and in 1583 Skanderborg was granted amunicipal charter.[7]
The town of Skanderborg has attracted several religious communities over the years, especially in the earlyMiddle Ages. The long goneRing Abbey founded byBenedictine nuns in the 12th century, was once situated on the southeastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake. The last buildings burned down in 1715 and now there is a mansion at the site.[8] There also used to be aDominican monastery on the small islet of Kalvø in the middle of the lake.[9] The monastery was founded by theBlack Friar Order in the first half of the 12th century, along with a small harbour, but in 1168 there were only two monks left and theCistercian Order took over. The Cistercians came here after they had failed in founding a proper monastery at several nearby locations since 1165. In that year, they embarked on a mission fromVitskøl Abbey inHimmerland, to found a daughter community in thediocese of Aarhus and tried atSabro, at Sminge nearSilkeborg (Sminge Abbey), and then near the village of Veng (Veng Abbey). The Cistercians eventually felt too isolated on the small isle of Kalvø, often cut off from the mainland for days and weeks even when the weather was harsh, and after just four years, they gave up here, too, and moved to Rye betweenMossø andGudensø, a few kilometres west of Skanderborg. Here they foundedØm Abbey in 1172.[10][11]
The royal residence of Skanderborg Castle was arguably the most important and influential building in the history of Skanderborg, but it was demolished stone by stone during the 18th century. Founded at some point in the early Middle Ages around 1200, KingFrederik II had the old medieval castle radically rebuilt and expanded around 1570. His project was grandiose in scale. An entirely new largeRenaissance palace was erected and thedeer park of Skanderbrog Dyrehave was constructed nearby, amongst other undertakings. Stones from the demolishedØm Abbey west of Skanderborg were used as construction materials. Many of the original structures survived the project and were incorporated into the new buildings, amongst these the old castle chapel. In the 12th-16th centuries, Skanderborg Castle functioned as the traditional hunting retreat of the Danish kings.[7]
In the years of 1717–22, KingFrederik IV began demolishing the old original medieval structures and replaced the former fortifications withterraced gardens. Only the bell tower of the still existing castle church remained. In turn however, Skanderborg Castle saw a decline in popularity and attention by the royal family, and in 1767, the castle with associated gardens was sold at auction.Commoner Hans Lauritzen bought the royal property for the sum of 3004Rigsdaler, while the castle church with furnishings and bells was granted to the town of Skanderborg. In April 1768, the demolishing of Skanderborg Castle began and nothing remains of it today, except the old castle church.[7]
The town of Skanderborg has a total of three churches, and Skanderborg Castle Church used to be part of the former Skanderborg Castle.
The cultural centre of Kulturhuset, located in Byparken (the city park) in the center of Skanderborg, was designed by native architectural firmKjær & Richter and built in 1998. It houses the former library of the town, theatre and concert halls, a cinema, a three-story foyer with changing exhibitions and a café. Surrounding the buildings, are aGreek theatre with 500 seats, a playground and abeach volley field, amongst other facilities, as the city park itself is perceived as part of the cultural centre.[12]
The square of Højvangens Torv, in the northeastern parts of the town, is the center of the educationalcampus known as Campus Højvangen. The campus is the site of educational institutions such as apublic school, abusiness college (anHHX institution),technical college (anHTX institution underAarhus Tech), an adult educational centre, SkanderborgGymnasium etc., situated in a sculpture park. The gymnasium was designed by architectural firmFriis & Moltke and built in 1973.[13][14][15]
The Village of Sølund is an accommodation facility and home for people with extensive physical and mental handicaps. It is located within the park of Skanderborg Dyrehave near the pond of Lillesø, close to town. The main buildings were erected in 1935 and designed by architectural firmC. F. Møller Architects.[16]
Skanderborg Museum has their headquarters at Adelgade 5, a formerbailiff (Danish:foged) house from the mid 18th century. The buildings are located in the oldest parts of the town, next to the pond of Lillesø. The Museum functions as anumbrella organisation for several museums in and around the town of Skanderborg, including Museet på Adelgade, Øm Kloster Museum, Museet på Gammel Rye Mølle, Ferskvandsmuseet and Skanderborg Bunkerne.[17] Skanderborg Bunkerne is aWorld War II museum, fitted out in the abandoned Germanbunkers in Skanderborg Dyrehave. The GermanLuftwaffe built their Danish headquarters here and one of the bunkers later found use as thecommand centre for thecivil defence agency during theCold War era.[18] Øm Kloster Museum is located outside the town, at the old ruins ofØm Abbey on the northern brink of lakeMossø. Skanderborg Museum is the responsible organisation forarchaeology and archiving of thecultural history within the municipality.[19]
In the southern part of the town is thedeer park of Skanderborg Dyrehave, located within Skanderborg Forest. The deer park was established around 1580 by KingFrederik II to facilitate his interest in hunting. The park area was fenced androe deer,red deer,wild boars andrabbits were released.Pheasants,gray partridge andturkeys were raised and pools and fishing ponds were dug.[20]
Skanderborg Sø (English:Skanderborg Lake) was created during thelast ice age and formed from a melting block of ice left behind; a so-calledkettle hole. The lake has an irregular shape divided into two larger lake-areas known as Hylke and Store Sø respectively, with a total surface area of 8.6 square kilometers. The lake has an average depth of 8 meters and up to 18.8 meters at the deepest spot. It holds approximately 49.3 million cubic meters of freshwater 23.5 meters above sea level[9][21] and empties intoMossø, by the short stream of Tåning Å in the west. There are a number of small isles in the lake; Kalvø, Æbelø, Sct. Thomas and Sct. Helene.[22]
Skanderborg is served bySkanderborg railway station. It is located on theFredericia–Aarhus andSkanderborg–Skjernrailway lines and offers directInterCity services toCopenhagen,Aarhus,Aalborg andFrederikshavn andregional train services toAarhus,Fredericia,Herning,Silkeborg andSkjern.
Since 1980, theSkanderborg Festival, an annualmusic festival, has been held in August in Skanderborg Dyrehave.
Every summer in June, Skanderborg also hosts a musical festival targeted specifically for people suffering fromarrested development. Organised by the institution of Sølund, it claims to be the largest festival in the world of its kind.[23]
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