History of Frederikshavn
The area around Frederikshavn in North Jutland has been inhabited for many millennia . There are numerous archaeological finds from the Stone Age and the Viking Age in the urban area , including numerous burial mounds. The settlements of Fladstrand and Bangsbo emerged in the Middle Ages . 1818 Fladstrand received by King Frederik VI. the city charter and was renamed Frederikshavn .
First settlement
The location on the Kattegat was decisive for the first residential areas in what is now Frederikshavn. So inshore fishing was possible. There is evidence of a Mesolithic settlement from the 7th millennium BC. At the Donbækgårdene there are more than 60 burial mounds from later times. In Gærum graves exist from the Bronze Age . In Tolne remains were from the Iron Age discovered dwellings. Most of these finds are from stone-built cellars at Løgten Mark , which were probably used as storage space.
Two ship finds date from the Middle Ages : A ship that was found in a river near Elling . It was dated to 1164 and is built similar to a Viking ship. You can see it in the Bangsbomuseum . Another ship, dated 1346, was found in the mouth of the Elling Å . Manor houses such as Bangsbo Herregård , which was first mentioned in 1364, and Knivholt Herregård were built as a result of increasing agricultural use . During this time the first churches were built around what would later become Frederikshavn. The position was usually chosen in such a way that the towers served as landmarks and navigation marks at the same time. The first of these churches is the Skærum Kirke (1150–1250), the Flade Kirke , Gærum Kirke , Åsted Kirke and Elling Kirke , built after 1200, are clearly similar to it.
In the 16th century, the small villages Bangsbostrand, Nyholmstrand, Båder and Fladstrand were built around Knivholt Herregård in the north and Bangsbo Herregård in the south, with Bangsbostrand consisting of 10 and Fladstrand 16 in 1568.
Fladstrand
Fladstrand originally consisted of a few fishermen's huts. Some typical Fiskerklyngen can still be found today . Due to the defeat of the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV in the Thirty Years War , it became necessary to protect the port of Fladstrand. For this reason the Nørdre Skanse was laid out in 1627. The original hill was built by Germans who held Jutland during this time. In 1629 Denmark was left by the German troops. During the Skåne War the Nørdre Skanse was modernized and the Søndre Skanse was created in the south of Fladstrands . In the following years, Norway was supplied with grain by ship from Fladstrand, so that further security by a fortress was necessary. A round stone tower was built in 1686 on a peninsula in the south of Fladstrand, which defended the harbor with cannons. This Krudtårnet can still be viewed today, but is no longer in its original position. Now Fladstrand and its harbor was in a bay between the Nørdre Skanse and the Krudtårnet , and further south was the Søndre Skanse .
Due to the well-protected harbor, trade increased, so that in 1681 the customs administration was moved from Sæby to Fladstrand. In 1690 this place got its own church, the Fladstrand Kirke .
In the Great Northern War from 1709 to 1720, Peter Wessel used Tordenskiold Fladstrand as the starting point for numerous convoy trips to Norway and his attacks on Sweden. In 1719 Tordenskjold was able to take the Swedish fortress Marstrand by a ruse with only 700 soldiers . This event is commemorated annually in Frederikshavn on the Tordensklold days.
With the onset of the war against England from 1807 to 1814, a harbor was built south of Krudtårnet , including for warships. This was decided as early as 1805, but was not implemented until 1810 to 1812.
Fladstrand becomes Frederikshavn
Fladstrand grew rapidly and became an important trading post in northern Denmark thanks to the fortified and militarily secured harbor. On September 23, 1818 Fladstrand received by King Frederik VI. the Kaufstadtsrechte and was renamed Frederikshavn. The port was expanded by the merchant Frantz Übersax as early as the thirties of the 17th century . The city received a pharmacy and other representative buildings such as a customs house, a court and merchants' houses. Country roads towards Skagen in the north, Hjørring and Sæby in the south have been laid.
From 1852 permanent ferry connections were established, first to Copenhagen , a few years later to Oslo , Nyborg , Kiel and from 1881 to Gothenburg . In 1871 the Jutland railway line via Hjørring to Aalborg was inaugurated. The railway to Skagen followed in 1890, and to Sæby in 1899. The station was built on the site of today's Frederikshavn Town Hall. With the closure of the line to Sæby in 1962, the station was relocated to the current area at Frederikshavn Kirke .
With the onset of industrialization in Denmark, the port was expanded and shipyards with suppliers were established. The Danyard and Frederikshavn Værft & Tørdok shipyards were established in 1871, and Burmeister & Wain's engine factory was built in 1883, which later became MAN B&W Alpha Diesel . Frederikshavn's population doubled between 1870 and 1890 as a result of the workers who moved there. The existing Fladstrand Kirke became too small, so that from 1890 to 1892 the much more representative Frederikshavn Kirke with over 1,100 seats was built. In 1902 another church was built in the south of the city, the Bangsbostrand Kirke .
Frederikshavn in the world wars
During the First World War , around 300 soldiers were stationed in Frederikshavn to protect the Kattegat coast. For this purpose, defenses were built on the Pikkerbakken hill near Bangsbostrand .
The Second World War was far more drastic for Frederikshavn. 1940 Denmark was by German troops occupied . They built bunkers and defenses on Pikkerbakken and on the north beach . The port was used as a base for warships that were used in battles on the Skagerrak and against Norway . An airfield ( Flughafen-Stützpunkt-Kommando 8 / XI ) was created west of Frederikshavn . Numerous bunkers, anti-tank trenches and mine barriers were built at the port and around the city. Frederikshavn received the status of a defense area . Only three other cities in Denmark received this status, Hanstholm , Esbjerg and Aalborg. Frederikshavn was part of the Atlantic Wall , Field Marshal Rommel inspected the facilities in Frederikshavn in 1943, from which positions throughout Vendsyssel were coordinated. Of the 350 systems in the Frederikshavn city area, around 250 are still preserved today.
In May 1945 Denmark was liberated by British troops. The consequences of the war can be seen in the Fladstrand Kirke cemetery, where there are numerous war graves.
Frederikshavn's recent history
After the war, Frederikshavn continued to grow. The naval port was expanded through the establishment of NATO . Later, the icebreakers for Greenland , as well as the sailing training ship Georg Stage , built in Frederikshavn in 1934, and the royal yacht Dannebrog were stationed here.
Although Frederikshavn was largely electrified as early as 1905, the changeover to alternating current took place in 1950. This was accompanied by an expansion of the shipyard and the construction of an ice factory, which ensured the cooling of fish.
Through the municipal reform in 1970, the municipalities of Flade , Gærum , Åsted , Skærum and Elling were assigned to the city of Frederikshavn. A new town hall was built.
In the 1980s the shipyard industry fell into a crisis, and tourism declined due to the abolition of duty-free shopping on the ferries in the 1990s. This has resulted in a rapid rise in unemployment. As a countermeasure, attempts were made to create incentives for tourism and trade, such as the expansion of the pedestrian zone. The hospital was expanded and is now one of the largest in northern Denmark.
The shipyard industry was revived, and wind turbines are being built in some of the shipyards. The port offers around 1,800 jobs.
In 2007 another local reform took place in Denmark. Since then the cities of Skagen and Sæby belong to Frederikshavn.
Web links
literature
- Christensen, Erik S .: Halvtredserne . In: Bangsbomuseet (ed.): Årbog 2000 . Frederikshavn 2000.
- Munk Petersen, Hans: Kirker i Frederikshavn commune . In: Bangsbomuseet (ed.): Årbog 1986 . Frederikshavn 1987.
- Kirkegaard, Jens: Frederikshavn Communal Atlas . Ed .: Skov- og Naturstyrelsen. København 1999 (Miljø- og Energieministeriet i samarbejde med Frederikshavn Municipality).