Frederikshavn, city (1992 pop. 24,930), Nordjylland co., N Denmark, a port on the Kattegat; chartered 1818. It is a commercial and industrial center, with ferry services, shipyards, engineering works, and a food processing industry.

Frederikshavn (originally named Fladstrand) is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbour".

Overview

Ferry service connects the town of Frederikshavn to the cities of Oslo and Larvik in Norway, Göteborg, Sweden and to Læsø.

Frederikshavn has a population of 23,636, and is an important traffic portal with its ferry connections to Sweden and Norway. The town is well known for fishing, and its fishing and industrial harbours. The Danish term "frederikshavner" (lit. "Someone from Frederikshavn") is used to denote a quality plaice fish, probably the most popular eating fish in Denmark.

Frederikshavn's oldest building, Fiskerklyngen, is originally from the mid-1500s, but the houses now there are from 1700s–1800s.

Big business in the area include MAN/BW Alpha, Martin, as well as the Navy Base Frederikshavn (Flådestation Frederikshavn), which is the home location for the training ship Danmark, the national icebreakers, and the royal yacht Dannebrog. Also AC-REN is a large employer in the area.

Frederikshavn, like the rest of North Jutland, was hit with hard unemployment. The city's largest workplace, the shipyard Danyard, closed in the late 1990s. This resulted in more than 2,000 workers being unemployed. Today there is still activity at the large ship building area, with many small companies renting space there. In summer 2008, the unemployment rate, like the rest of Denmark, fell to a minimum low record, aproximately 2%.

As with many provicial municipalities around the world, some of its young people leave to large urban cities. However, the municipality is currently engaged in many innovative projects which are attracting tourists and aim to retain population.

Frederikshavn is currently beginning a transition to make it the first medium-sized city in the world to rely exclusively on renewable energy resources for power, including transportation and cars. The process is expected to be completed by 2015.

History

Frederikshavn was originally called Fladstrand (lit. "Flat beach"), until 1818 when it received status as a merchant town under the name of Frederikshavn, after King Frederik VI.

Due to its advantageous proximity to the entrance to the Baltic Sea, Frederikshavn has historically been a naval base of some strategic importance. Tordenskjold barricaded himself here in the fortress German troops had already built in the 1600s.

The only old military installations remaining to this day are the Gunpowder Tower (Krudttårnet), constructed in 1688, and the Northern Entrenchment (Nordre Skanse). The Gunpowder Tower has been preserved, and is incorporated in the municipality's coat-of-arms.

The city was the setting of the 1987 movie Babette's Feast.

Harbours

The town has a number of harbours/marinas (listed in order from north to south):

• Rønner Harbour (Rønnerhavn): Pleasureboat, dinghy and fishing harbour
• Northern Entrenchment Harbour (Nordre Skanse Havn): Dinghy harbour
• Frederikshavn Harbour (Frederikshavn Havn): Commercial harbout
• Naval Harbour (Flådehavn): National warships, icebreakers, royal yacht and training ships
• Sea Sports Harbour (Søsportshavn): Pleasureboat, dinghy and houseboat harbour
• Neppen's Harbour (Neppens Havn): Dinghy harbour

Attractions

• From October 10 to the 26 The 2008 Light Festival
• The Palm Beach A beach with 100 palm trees planted by the local municipality.
• Bangsbo Museum
• Frederikshavn Art Museum (Frederikshavn Kunstmuseum)
• Frederikshavn Shipyard Historical Society (Værftshistorisk Selskab Frederikshavn)

The Tordenskiold Festival is celebrated since 1998. In 2008 it brought more than 30.000 people. Tordenskiold Festival

Friendship Towns

Frederikshavn has established the following friendship towns (venskabsbyer):

• Borlänge, Sweden
• Bremerhaven, Germany
• Frederikshåb, Greenland
• Larvik, Norway
• North Tyneside, England
• Riga, distrikt Zemgale, Latvia
• Rovaniemi, Finland
• Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

Famous People of/from the town

• Connie Nielsen, actress
• Erik Mortensen (April 26, 1926 - June 23, 1998), Danish haute couture designer for Balmain.
• Peter Møller, previous footballer

References