Esbjerg
Esbjerg is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,554 it is the fifth-largest city in Denmark, and the largest in West Jutland.
Before a decision was made to establish a harbour at Esbjerg in 1868, the area consisted of only a few farms. Esbjerg developed quickly with the population rising to 13,000 by 1901 and 70,000 by 1970. In addition to its fishing and shipping activities, it also became an important centre for agricultural exports. Over the years, many of the city's visitors have arrived by ferry from Harwich, Essex, England, but this service closed in September 2014 having run since 1875. The harbour facilities are being expanded to answer the needs of the wind-turbine industry and container shipping traffic.
The town has several notable museums and entertainment venues, including Esbjerg Art Museum, Esbjerg Museum and the privately owned Fisheries and Maritime Museum. The Esbjerg Performing Arts Centre was completed in 1997 to designs by Jan and Jørn Utzon. When approached by sea, the Man Meets the Sea is one of the prominent monuments, consisting of four white-coloured men, overlooking Sædding Beach. The sculpture was designed by Svend Wiig Hansen and installed in 1995. Esbjerg hosts branches of the University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University, and is increasingly recognized for its university facilities and sporting activities. It is home to the Danish football club Esbjerg fB, who play their home matches at Blue Water Arena, and also has an ice hockey division called Esbjerg Elite Ishockey, which plays at the Granly Hockey Arena.
History and economy
The town itself was not established until 1868 when it was built as a replacement for the harbour in Altona, which had previously been Denmark's most important North Sea port but came under German control after the Second Schleswig War in 1864. At the time, Esbjerg consisted of only a few farms. Developed under royal decree from 1868 until 1874, the harbour was officially opened in 1874, with rail connections to Varde and to Fredericia, an important hub on the east coast of Jutland. Initial planning of the town was conducted by chartered surveyor H. Wilkens in 1870 with streets laid out in the form of a rectangular grid. The market square was positioned at the centre, midway between the harbour and the railway station. From only 400 inhabitants at the beginning of the 1870s, the town and its population grew rapidly, with 1,529 residents mentioned in 1880, and 4,211 in 1890.In 1893, Esbjerg became a municipality in its own right, receiving the status and privileges of a market town in 1899 and incorporating the parish of Jerne in 1945. A number of institutions and facilities were soon established, including the courthouse and town hall, the gas and waterworks and the power plant. From the beginning of the 20th century, Esbjerg prospered not only as a fishing port but also as one of the country's major export centres. Established in 1895 by nine local dairies, the butter-packaging factory, Dansk Andels Smørpakkeri, employed some 150 workers until 1920, packing and dispatching butter for the London market. It was later extended to include egg marketing under the name Dansk Andels Ægeksport. Ultimately, it handled produce from 140 dairies spread across the whole of Jutland. After the Second World War, the town developed several agricultural industries, especially meat processing and packaging with a plant employing over 300. The slaughterhouse and meat packaging facility, Esbjerg Andels-Slagteri, established in 1887, became Denmark's sixth largest by 1962. It later became part of Vestjyske Slagterier in 1986, and in 2001, it was acquired by Danish Crown.
Once Denmark's principal fishing port, the Port of Esbjerg is still a driving force for the town's economy. While it has a long history of ferry services to England, the town is by no means a tourist destination. Lonely Planet remarked that "nobody comes to Esbjerg for a holiday, in fact, as with many industrial ports, most visitors rush through as quickly as possible". Esbjerg is the main town for Denmark's oil and offshore activities, with companies like Maersk, Ramboll, Stimwell Services, ABB, Schlumberger, COWI and Atkins all having offshore-related activities in the town. Halliburton has an office in Esbjerg. The port has served the Danish offshore industry since oil and gas were first extracted from the North Sea in the early 1970s. More recently, it has become a centre for shipping offshore wind turbines. In addition to handling 65 percent of all Danish wind turbines, which supply of offshore wind power, components have been shipped to various British wind farms. In order to cope with enormous future increases in Danish offshore wind power, 12 companies, including DONG Energy and Bluewater Energy Services are already planning the establishment of a Green Offshore Centre in Esbjerg. In connection with this, in June 2013, the port was significantly expanded with the opening of the Østhavn, covering an area of.
Historically, in addition to its success as a fishing port, Esbjerg established its position as one of the country's major export centres. Before World War II, there was a large butter factory, Dansk Andels Smørpakkeri, employing some 150 workers while after the war the town developed agricultural industries, especially for meat processing and packaging with a plant employing over 300. Latterly owned by Danish Crown and employing 500, the plant closed in May 2012.
More recently, Esbjerg has grown into an important centre for education with campuses belonging to the University of Southern Denmark and Aalborg University. The town holds an annual music festival spanning two weekends in mid-August. It is focused around the central Torvet Square which hosts the main stage. The music includes everything from church concerts to opera and pop.
Geography
The town is situated on the southwestern coast of Denmark, and is a port on the North Sea. By road, it is west of Kolding, southwest of Aarhus, west of Copenhagen and southwest of Aalborg. By sea, it is situated roughly northeast of Harwich, England. As a result of planned development, the older sections of the town look like a chessboard with long, wide streets with rectangular corners.The high ground of Esbjerg stretches along the east coast of the Wadden Sea between the rivers of Varde and Sneum, encompassing the coastal area of Ho Bugt and the seaside district of Hjerting to the north. Opposite Esbjerg, across Fanø Bay, is the island of Fanø,, with Nordby as its principal settlement, connected to Esbjerg by ferry. To the west of Esbjerg, the town boundary is defined by a number of small streams. The highest point is some above sea level. The town is located on top of steep slopes leading down to the flatlands of the harbour area. The built-up area itself is not very hilly but there are considerable differences in terrain. Apart from the cliff in the town park overlooking the harbour, the valley of Fourfelt Bæk, in length, is the main feature of the landscape, resulting in differences of up to with the surroundings.
Climate
Esbjerg experiences an oceanic climate due to its geographical location, being next to the North Sea. Due to the presence of the sea's temperate marine currents, the city sees warm summers and rather mild winters, moderating the weather in all seasons to be mild. Unlike Denmark's eastern portion, the city hardly sees any continental influences to its weather.Demographics and administration
As of 1 January 2019, Esbjerg has a population of 72,168, making it the fifth-largest city in Denmark, and the largest in west Jutland. Until the harbour was developed in the 1860s, the area was sparsely inhabited with just a few farms. Thereafter, it grew rapidly: by 1880, there were some 1,500 inhabitants, rising to some 13,000 by 1901 when it was already larger than neighbouring Varde and Ribe. By the end of the 1950s, with almost 60,000 inhabitants, it had become Denmark's fifth-largest city. By 1970, Esbjerg had seen a fivefold increase in population since 1901, reaching some 70,000. After 1970, the increase in population slowed, reaching a maximum of 73,422 in 1998.In contrast to Denmark's four largest cities where there were substantial increases in population between the first quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, Esbjerg Municipality experienced an increase of only 44 inhabitants over the same period. In May 2014, Esbjerg was noted to be one of the least attractive of Denmark's top 20 cities for house purchases and apartment rentals, dropping to 19th place, along with Herning.
Esbjerg's city council for the period January 2014 to December 2017 consists of 31 members, 15 of whom are Venstre, Liberal Party of Denmark and nine, Social Democrats. The mayor, also from the Venstre, Liberal Party, is Johnny Søtrup, who has been mayor of both the former municipality in the period 1994 to 2006 and subsequently in the expanded municipality since the beginning of 2007. There are also eight special committees which prepare the work of the council covering the areas of finance, labour market, health, children & family, culture & leisure, planning & environment, social services, and technology & supply.
Mayors of Esbjerg since 1898
Mayors of Esbjerg since 1898:Landmarks
The old Courthouse on the main square was designed by Hans Christian Amberg and completed in 1892 when the town had only 4,000 inhabitants. The red-brick building with stepped gables, round-arched windows and a tower reaching in height resembles a medieval castle. After comprehensive renovation work in 2010, it is now used as a venue for weddings and houses the tourist office.Man Meets the Sea is a monument of four white-coloured men located to the west of Esbjerg, overlooking Sædding Beach. One of the area's major tourist attractions, the sculpture was designed by Svend Wiig Hansen and installed on 28 October 1995. It was funded by the Esbjerg Municipality authorities, the Kunstfond arts foundation and private sponsors to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the municipality in 1994. The monument can be seen by ferry leaving or entering Esbjerg.
The Esbjerg Water Tower from 1895 was designed by Christian Hjerrild Clausen who had been inspired by Nuremberg's medieval Nassauer Haus. Standing at the top of a cliff, it commands excellent views of the city and the harbour from its platform which is open to the public. The imposing old Courthouse Building on the central square with its tall tower and stepped gables has recently been fully renovated. A bronze equestrian statue of Christian IX, the founder of Esbjerg, stands at the centre of the square.
The largest hotel in Esbjerg is Hotel Britannia. Other hotels in the city center includes Cabinn and Hotel Ansgar in Skolegade. Danhostel Esbjerg in a former high school is located about to the northwest of the city along Gammel Vardevej near sports facilities. An equivalent distance North are hotel and conference facilities at ECH Park. Most of the restaurants in Esbjerg are to the east of Torvet. Of particular note are Sand's Restaurant which serves Danish cuisine such as smørrebrød, meatballs, smoked eels and the fried beef patty pariserbof, and the Paddy Go Easy Irish pub near the main square. Housed in a listed building on the main square, Dronning Louise serves everything from full meals to sandwiches and occasionally offers live music.