Christiansfeld
Encyclopedia
Kolding Municipality
Kolding municipality is a municipality in Region Syddanmark on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southeast Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 640 km², and has a total population of 87,781 . Its mayor is Jørn Pedersen, a member of the Liberal Party political party...
in Southern Jutland
Southern Jutland
Southern Jutland is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark. The region north of the Kongeå is called Nørrejylland . Both territories had their own ting assemblies in the Middle Ages . South Jutland is mentioned for the first time in the Knýtlinga saga.In the 13th century...
in Region of Southern Denmark in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
The town was founded in the year 1773 by the Moravian Church and named after the Danish king Christian VII
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
.
History
Most of Christiansfeld was constructed in the years 1773-1800, following a strict city plan. To encourage construction, king Christian VII promised a ten-year tax holiday for the city and paid 10% of the construction costs of new houses. It was one of many towns in SchleswigSchleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
officially designated a small market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
(flække).
In 1864, Christiansfeld and the rest of Schleswig was ceeded to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
as a result of Denmark's defeat in the Second Schleswig War. It remained a part of Germany until 1920 when, as a part of a plebiscite called for by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, Northern Schleswig voted to rejoin Denmark. After reunification, the Moravian church lost some of the rights it had obtained as a part of the town's founding in the eighteen century. For example, it no longer had the ability to choose the towns leadership, paving the way for the town's first Danish mayor who was not a member of the church in 1920. The church also sold its schools at this time due to the declining membership of its congregation.
From 1970 to 2007, the town was the administrative seat of Christiansfeld Municipality
Christiansfeld Municipality
Christiansfeld Municipality existed until January 1, 2007, in South Jutland County. It was named after Christiansfeld. The municipality covered an area of 211 km², and had a total population of 9,585 . Its last mayor was Jørgen From, a member of the Venstre political party...
, but it lost this status and was placed in the Kolding Municipality
Kolding Municipality
Kolding municipality is a municipality in Region Syddanmark on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in southeast Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 640 km², and has a total population of 87,781 . Its mayor is Jørn Pedersen, a member of the Liberal Party political party...
as a part of the Municipal Reform of 2007 (Kommunalreformen 2007)
Municipalities of Denmark
This is a list of Municipalities of Denmark.-Region Hovedstaden:* Albertslund Municipality* Allerød Municipality* Ballerup Municipality* Bornholm Regional Municipality* Brøndby Municipality* Copenhagen Municipality* Dragør Municipality* Egedal Municipality...
.
Today, the city is a tourist attraction: the old city core, the Moravian Church with its light, simple and impressive hall and the special cemetery draw thousands of tourists each year. Its well preserved architecture is one of the reasons it was nominated as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in 1993.
The town is famed for its honey cakes. These are baked to a secret recipe from 1783. Until 2008, the cakes were baked in the original 18th century bakery, which has now been shut down to avoid the costs of fulfilling new sanitary standards.