Herning (Danish pronunciation:[ˈhɛɐ̯ne̝ŋ]) is aDanish town in theCentral Denmark Region of theJutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat ofHerning Municipality. Herning has a population of 51,312 (1 January 2024)^[1] including the suburbs of Tjørring, Snejbjerg, Lind, Birk, Hammerum, and Gjellerup, making Herning the 12thmost populous urban area in Denmark.

Herning
Panorama of Herning
Coat of arms
Herning Location in Denmark Show map of Denmark Herning Herning (Denmark Central Denmark Region) Show map of Denmark Central Denmark Region
Coordinates:56°08′19″N8°59′23″E / 56.13861°N 8.98972°E /56.13861; 8.98972
Country	Denmark
Region	Mid Jutland (Midtjylland)
Municipality	Herning
Government
• Mayor	Dorte West
Area
• Urban	33 km2 (13 sq mi)
• Municipality	1,323.5 km2 (511.0 sq mi)
Elevation	58 m (190 ft)
Population  (2024)[1]
• Urban	51,312
• Urban density	1,600/km2 (4,000/sq mi)
• Gender[2]	25,497 males and 25,815 females
• Municipality	89,848
Demonym	Herningbo Herningenser
Time zone	UTC+1 (Central Europe Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2
Postal code	DK-7400 Herning
Area code	(+45) 9
Website	www.herning.dk

Herning was established at the beginning of the 1790s, during the period of heath reclamation, as a commercial centre providing goods and services to the farmers in the area. A textile industry later developed in and around the town. This industry was once Herning's principal economic activity. Today, the town has a more diversified industrial base. Herning became a market town in 1913. Herning has twice been awarded the title of Danish City of the Year.

There are many small furniture and textile businesses in and around Herning.^[3]

Herning is home toMessecenter Herning, the largest exhibition centre inScandinavia, which hosts many trade fairs.

Carl-Henning Pedersen andElse Alfelt's Museum of Art (also known as Herning Art Museum) is located in the city.

The city is the site of three buildings designed by the architectJørn Utzon. One is publicly owned and two are privately owned.

The town is also home to sculptorIngvar Cronhammar's monumental workElia. The sculpture is located near the Herning Art Museum.

The old Herningsholm Estate in Herning is open to the public for touring. Classensborg Estate, now called Skarrildhus, is located 25 km south of the town, but is closed to the public because it is a private hotel and educational facility. The grounds, however, can be toured and are known for their beautiful rhododendron displays during the spring.

The Herning Museum displays a history of Herning, as well as the development of moorland agriculture and ancient textile production.^[4][5] The museum operates traveling educational exhibits.^[6]

Herning Blue Fox is aDanish professional ice hockey team playing in the top Danishice hockey league, theOddset Ligaen. Having won 16 championships and 29 medals in all (following the 2011–2012 season), Herning Blue Fox has accumulated the greatest number of victories in the history of professional ice hockey in Denmark.

FC Midtjylland is a football team playing in theDanish Superliga. It was formed in 1999 following a merger of Herning Fremad and Ikast FS and won the national championship of Denmark for the first time in 2015 having twice been the runner up. The club's fourth championship title was won following the conclusion of the2023-24 Danish Superliga season. FC Midtjylland play their home matches atMCH Arena, which is situated next to the largest sports and concert venue in Denmark,Jyske Bank Boxen.

Herning also is a centre of Danish cycling. TheGP Herning is a professional bicycle race held annually in Herning. The2012 Giro d'Italia started in Herning.Bjarne Riis, first Dane to win theTour de France, was born in Herning. Fourteen years after his win, Riis admitted using illegal performance-enhancing drugs for the competition; however, he retained the Trikot since the statute of limitations had already expired prior to his admission.^{[citation needed]}

The final of the2019 World Men's Handball Championship was played inJyske Bank Boxen.

Herning hosted theFEI World Championships in 2022, which saw international equestrians compete in jumping, dressage, para-dressage and vaulting at the MCH Messecenter Herning.

Herning is the hub for both road and rail transport in central Jutland. The rail lines crossing the peninsula intersect atHerning railway station, the principal railway station of the town, with connections toVejle,Århus,Esbjerg andHolstebro. There are also several daily trains toCopenhagen.^[8][9] The town is also served by therailway haltsBirk Centerpark andHerning Messecenter.

Herning lies at the intersection of three major roads:Route 18, that traverses the Jutland Peninsula from southeast to northwest;Route 15, that crosses the peninsula from Aarhus in the east toRingkobing in the west; andRoute 12, from Esbjerg in the southwest to Viborg to the northeast. A small part ofRoute 34 lies within city limits.

•  Primærrute 12, runs southwest to northeast through Herning. The road start atEsbjerg to the south and goes toViborg in the north.
•  Primærrute 15 runs east to west through Herning. To the east, National Road 15 goes throughSilkeborg toAarhus and to the west, Route 15 goes throughVidbaek and end atRingkobing.
•  Primærrute 18 runs southeast to northwest through Herning. Route 18 starts atVejle in the south and passes throughBrande before reaching Herning. Route 18 then continues northward until it reachesHolstebro.
•  Primærrute 34, a small part of Route 34 lies on the northeastern edge of Herning. The road goes north throughHaderup before reachingSkive.

Herning is served byKarup Airport situated 25 km (16 mi) to the northeast of the city. There are several flights a day connecting it toCopenhagen Airport.

• Anton Marius Jenssen (1879–1967), Norwegian merchant and politician.
• ProfessorGudmund Hatt (1884 in Vildbjerg – 1960), archaeologist and cultural geographer
• CaptainRichard Gustav Borgelin (1887–1966), company commander of theDanish-Baltic Auxiliary Corps
• Børge Møller Grimstrup (1906 in Timring – 1972), film actor^[10]
• Niels Holst-Sørensen (born 1922), former athlete, air force officer and commander-in-chief of theRoyal Danish Air Force
• Eva Sørensen (1940–2019), sculptor and ceramist of granite and marble works
• Lars Larsen (born 1948 in Arnborg), businessman, owner and founder ofJysk
• Helge Sander (born 1950 in Ørre), national politician and Mayor of Herning 1998 to 2001
• Kristine Jensen (born 1956), architect who has specialized in landscape architecture
• Claus Pilgaard (born 1965 in Tjørring), musician and entertainer^[11]
• Jesper Baehrenz (born 1965), radio & TV host, producer and board game developer^[12]
• Søren Pind (born 1969), lawyer andVenstre politician
• Dorthe Nors (born 1970), writer
• Ellen Trane Nørby (born 1980),Venstre politician,Minister of Health

• Otto Jensen (1893–1972), cyclist, competed in the1912 Summer Olympics
• Kristen Nygaard (born 1949 in Sunds), former footballer, 363 club caps and 36 forDenmark
• Bjarne Riis (born 1964), former professional road bicycle racer
• Claus Elming (born 1969), former Danish American football player, TV host onTV 2 Sport
• Gitte Madsen [born 1969), former team handball player, team gold medallist at the1996 Summer Olympics
• Michael Blaudzun (born 1973), former professional road bicycle racer
• Kenneth Jonassen (born 1974), badminton player
• Jesper Nøddesbo (born 1980), Danish-Norwegian handball player for FC Barcelona and Denmark
• Rasmus Ankersen (born 1983), Chairman ofFC Midtjylland and a Director of Football atBrentford F.C. and author
• Frans Nielsen (born 1984), hockey player for theDetroit Red Wings, the first DanishNHL player
• Michael Pedersen (born 1986), cricketer and former national team captain
• Frederik Andersen (born 1989), goaltender for theCarolina Hurricanes
• Kim Astrup (born 1992), badminton player
• Nicklas Jensen (born 1993), hockey player currently playing forJokerit of theKHL
• Nicklas Porsing (born 1993), speedway rider
• Oliver Bjorkstrand (born 1995), ice hockey player

• Webpage of Herning Municipality

56°08′N8°59′E / 56.133°N 8.983°E /56.133; 8.983