Vejle
Vejle is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark. The city has a population of 62,011, making it the ninth largest city in Denmark.
Vejle Municipality has a population of 122,433, making it the fifth most populous municipality in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Fredericia. Vejle is located 110 kilometres north of Germany, 70 kilometres from Aarhus and 240 kilometres from the capital Copenhagen.
Vejle is most known for its forested hills, wetlands, Vejle fjord, harbour, shopping, pedestrian street, windmill, and newly built award winning architecture.
Etymology
The name "Vejle" derives from the Old Danish word wæthel, meaning "ford" or "wading place" due to its location at a busy crossing over the Vejle River.The name has also been through a lot of evolution in spelling since Wæthel, as seen on maps throughout history, and in documents referring to the town/city, some examples are such as:
- Wæthel
- Wedel
- Vedel
- Weile
- Veyle
- Veile
- Vejle
- Wellea
- Weilensis
History
Origins
Vejle was originally built on a small islet that was surrounded by Omløbsåen to the west, Mølleåen to the east, and Vejle River to the south. It was only after the Industrial Revolution, that the city expanded beyond the river borders.During Viking times, the wetlands around Vejle had to be crossed at the Ravning Bridge, a 760 meter long wooden boardwalk, built around 980 ad, located west of the current city.
Archaeological digs near St. Nicolai Church in downtown Vejle have shown that there were residences in the area as far back as 1100. The first recorded mention of the town is from 1256, and the first known merchant town privileges were issued by King Valdemar III in 1327.
Middle ages
During the Middle Ages, Vejle was a prominent market town. It developed slowly, only having small setbacks from the Black Death during the 14th century. Vejle traditionally traded with cities such as Lübeck, Aarhus and Flensburg, located in the old duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, and other cities on the Baltic coast.Vejle used to be protected by two castles:
Castrum Wæthel
The Vejle castle was constructed out of wood and lay just outside the city, where Vejle railway station is located today. It was constructed to protect the city and the Vejle River. The architecture of the castle indicates it was built in the 14th century, but by the year 1473 the castle had most likely been decommissioned. being turned into fields. The last remnants of the castle disappeared through the construction of the railway in the 19th century.
Rosborg
Rosborg was located in the marshlands of the Vejle valley, located a couple hundred meters west of the city. It sat atop a manmade hill around 1.75 meters high, 40 meters long, and 25 meters wide. There had been multiple buildings in the castle, the oldest of these being seemingly made of wood and possibly burning down; later another was made of stone. During an excavation in 1912, there were found multiple sets of pottery from the Rhine, one with a very distinctive face of a bearded man.
Early modern period
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Vejle's population was diminished as a consequence of plague and war. In 1796, though, Vejle was made the seat of the newly founded Vejle County.Industrialisation
Throughout the 19th century, the town benefited from improvements such as a new harbour on the fjord, a railway station, and modern utilities. From the mid-19th century into the 20th century, Vejle developed from a provincial market town into a busy industrial centre, eventually becoming known as the "Manchester of Denmark" for its many cotton mills.Geography
Topography
Downtown Vejle was built on an island of glacial till in Vejle River remaining from a hill formed during the last ice age.In a country where the highest natural elevation is only about 170 m above sea level, Vejle is known for the forested hills that rise to the north and south of the town and fjord.
The valleys of the two rivers that converge at Vejle are both unique in Denmark: Vejle River Valley is the longest tunnel valley in Denmark, and the Grejs Valley is the largest ravine in Denmark.
Both empty into Vejle Fjord, which connects Vejle by water through the Little Belt strait to the Baltic Sea, and through the Kattegat and Skagerrak straits to the Atlantic Ocean.
Cityscape
Development of new architecture, art and alternative town spaces throughout the 1990s has made the city an attraction. Vejle was the first city in Denmark, which had its own official architecture policy to set high standards for the urban development. The fjord is also the site of the modern wave-shaped apartment complex known as The Wave.Neighbourhoods
Many of Vejle's neighbourhoods began as separate towns or villages that merged with the city as it grew. Søndermarken, Nørremarken, and Grejsdalen, however, were all founded as extensions of the city onto the surrounding hillsides.Vejle's neighbourhoods include:
- Vejle centre
- Bredballe - east of downtown and north of Vejle Fjord; considered an affluent neighbourhood
- Grejsdalen - northernmost part of the city, located in the long, narrow valley of the same name
- Hover - west of Grejsdalen
- Lille Grundet - north of downtown in the northwest corner of Nørremarken, relatively new
- Løget - southernmost part of the city
- Store Grundet - established in 2000, north of Lille Grundet
- Mølholm - southeast of the centre
- Nørremarken - northeast of the centre, including the North Woods and Vejle Stadium
- Uhrhøj, Uhre, Petersminde
- Vinding - southeast, next to Mølholm
- Skibet, Knabberup - westernmost part of the city
- Søndermarken - to the southwest, located on land belonging to the former Petersholm manor
- Trædballe - north-west corner of centre
Economy
Industry
During the Industrial Revolution, Vejle was known as the "Manchester of Denmark" due to its extensive textile mills. The local rivers provided water power to mills, including the extensive facilities of De Danske Bomuldsspinderier. In the first half of the 20th century, Vejle was something of a behemoth within the Danish textile industry, with some 25% of the city's workers employed in the industry.Despite the decline in the industry in Denmark, the last cotton mill in Vejle remained open until 1993. Today, many of the old mill buildings are used for art studios, office space, and, more recently, apartments.
In 1975 United Trailer Factories was founded by brothers Niels and Jens Buhl. The company, now known as ‘Variant’ like its products, has grown in strength to become one of the biggest quality trailer manufacturers in Europe.
Later on, newer industries took root in Vejle. The city is home to one of the largest chewing gum factories in the world, producing Stimorol brand chewing gum.
The Tulip slaughterhouses were also an important employer in the city. Today, Tulip has closed its factory at the harbour, but still maintains production in northern Vejle.
Today, Vejle's economy is shifting out of the industrial sector and into the high-tech sector, with a number of software companies operating out of the city.
Shopping
Vejle is known regionally as a vibrant shopping town with various chain and specialty shops primarily located along the city's central pedestrian street. Recently, the town has invested in several public works projects to improve the city's appearance, including lengthening the pedestrian Street, developing new public art and architecture, and uncovering and beautifying Grejs River, which until recently ran in a culvert underneath downtown.In addition to the shopping experiences in the city, Vejle also has its own shopping centre, the Bryggen shopping centre, located in the center of the city. It contains 38 stores and two restaurants and lies within the pedestrian street.
Street food concepts can also be experienced at the Paladspassagen Social Dining at the former Mary's Shoppingcenter.
Government and politics
Vejle is located in and is the seat of Vejle Municipality which in its current configuration was formed under the Municipal Reform of 2007. Vejle's municipal council consists of 31 members, elected every four years.Ever since Social Democrat Christian Jacobsen became Vejle's first elected mayor in 1919, the town has been a stronghold for the Social Democrats and trade unions. The longest serving Social Democratic mayor was Willy Sørensen, a union leader who joined the city council in 1937 and held the mayor's post for 31 years, from 1946 until his death in 1978.
In 1993, the Social Democratic dynasty was broken, when a candidate from a coalition of opposition parties, Flemming Christiansen, became mayor. In 2009, the Social Democrats were out of power again when Liberal candidate Arne Sigtenbjerggaard won the elections.
Several natives of Vejle have also made a career in national politics, including former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the former Minister of the Treasury Troels Lund Poulsen, former Minister of Health Torben Lund, and former Minister of Transportation Flemming Hansen.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Historically speaking, Vejle's development has been guided by the city's central location in the country and its location on Vejle Fjord. Vejle's pedestrian street today runs along the same course as some of the earliest paths through town - glass panels set into Torvegade allow pedestrians to see the historical market road a few meters under the current street surface.The European route E45 motorway passes close to downtown Vejle on the Vejle Fjord Bridge. Vejle is also known for motorway exit 59, also called Exxit 59, where few fast food chains such as KFC, McDonald's Enzo & C are located here, and the motorway exit is also known for carpooling. The Exit 59 is also known to be called Gateaway E45, because of its huge cargo- and transportation center, called Denmarks Transport Center, DTC.
Vejle is also located on Primary Route 28, and the Mid-Jutland Highway from Herning.
is the principal transport hub for public transport in Vejle, which provides nine city bus lines to various neighbourhoods, as well as national and international coach and train services.
Vejle railway station first opened in 1868, and is today a central station in the Danish train network.
Vejle railway station is also a hub for merging two railway lines. The East Jutland railway, from Aarhus to Vejle, and The Central Jutland railway, from Struer to Vejle. From Vejle going south or east, the next main train station, is Fredericia station. Here the trains can depart to either Copenhagen through Odense station, to Esbjerg through Kolding railway station, or to Hamburg in Germany, also through Kolding railway station.
However, the station is currently the subject of political debate, due to a desire on the part of some politicians to reduce train travel time between Odense and Århus to one hour. This may mean that a second bridge will be built over Vejle Fjord, bypassing Vejle Station.
The Port of Vejle, in its current location, was inaugurated in 1827. In the years following World War II, it grew to become the second largest port in Denmark after the Port of Copenhagen. Up until 1932, the steamboats Hvidbjerg and Jeppe Jensen plied the waters between Vejle Harbour and Munkebjerg, Tirsbæk, Ulbækhus, and Fakkegrav. The harbour is currently profitable, although there are plans to convert the northern section of the harbour into a park and residential area, which would reconnect the town with the fjord.
Vejle Municipality is part-owner of Denmark's second-largest airport, Billund Airport, located near the Lego Group's headquarters some from the centre of Vejle. Airport buses run regularly to Billund Airport from Vejle Transit Centre.