Silkeborg
Encyclopedia
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...
. Located in Silkeborg municipality
Silkeborg municipality
Silkeborg municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 857 km², and has a total population of 87,371 . Its mayor is Hanne Bæk Olsen, a member of the Social Democratic party...
in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
, the city has a population of 42,724 (1 January 2011). The development of Silkeborg as a modern city may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844. The city is divided north and south by a lake, the Silkeborg Langsø, which at the eastern side of the city, resolves into the Guden River (Gudenaa).
Silkeborg municipality
Silkeborg municipality
Silkeborg municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 857 km², and has a total population of 87,371 . Its mayor is Hanne Bæk Olsen, a member of the Social Democratic party...
has a population of 88,481 (2010).
The municipality is also a part of the East Jutland metropolitan area
East Jutland metropolitan area
East Jutland metropolitan area is a geographic term for an area in Jutland, Denmark.The term denotes a functional coherent urban area linked by both infrastructure and labour across municipal boundaries...
, which has 1.2 million inhabitants.
The city is notable for the large number of car dealerships located there, and the economically significant presence of the headquarters of Jyske Bank A/S
Jyske Bank
Jyske Bank A/S is the third largest Danish bank in terms of market share.The headquarters are located in Silkeborg, and the Bank has offices, branches, or subsidiaries in Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.Jyske Bank is number three in Denmark...
, Denmark's third largest bank.
At the end of June each year, the city is home to the Riverboat Jazz festival.
The city is home of the Tollund man
Tollund Man
The Tollund Man is the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the time period characterised in Scandinavia as the Pre-Roman Iron Age. He was found in 1950 buried in a peat bog on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, which preserved his body. Such a find is...
, who is kept in the Silkeborg Museum.
In 1944, the priest and playwright Kaj Munk
Kaj Munk
Kaj Harald Leininger Munk was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World War II...
was shot by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
nearby.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the German Wehrmacht (Army) had its Jutlandic headquarter at Silkeborg Bad, the city's former sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
known for its curative spring waters. It is now a municipal art centre, where it is possible to visit the wartime bunkers in the grounds.
Silkeborg was the home city of COBRA
COBRA (avant-garde movement)
COBRA was a European avant-garde movement active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen , Brussels , Amsterdam .-History:...
painter Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn
Asger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
, and has in addition to the above mentioned Silkeborg Bad art centre another art museum, the Museum Jorn, Silkeborg
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, is a Danish Art museum located in beautiful surroundings by Gudenåen in Silkeborg, Denmark....
with its large Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn
Asger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
collection.
Inspired by an Asger Jorn print in a band member's home in Dublin, Ireland, Silkeborg is now also the name of an Irish band http://www.myspace.com/silkeborg
Silkeborg has a ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
, with a nylon track so that one can enjoy going down the slopes all year round, and there is natural snow in winter.
Fireworks
Since 1899 Silkeborg has been hosting an event called "Ildfestregatta", which means "fire party regattaRegatta
A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...
". Currently this event is held every third year, where the last event was held on August 17–20, 2011.
At this event the streets are closed at night during the 4 days it lasts in mid-August. There is then held live music along with, an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
and many more...
It is per Tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, that regatta starts on a Wednesday
Wednesday
Wednesday is a day of the week in the Gregorian calendar. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. This day is between Tuesday and Thursday...
and ends on a saturday
Saturday
Saturday is the day of the week following Friday and preceding Sunday.Saturday is the last day of the week on many calendars and in conventions that consider the week as beginning on Sunday, or the sixth day of the week according to international standard ISO 8601 which was first published in...
.
Normally the three compteting firm, shoot of their firework shows, on the three firste days, while the show on saturday, are sponsor by Silkeborg Municipality
Silkeborg municipality
Silkeborg municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 857 km², and has a total population of 87,371 . Its mayor is Hanne Bæk Olsen, a member of the Social Democratic party...
.
Every night at 00:00 p.m there will be held an amazing show of fireworks. Every night the fireworks are sponsored by a different fireworks manufacturer, which is then competing against the other companies to have the prettiest show. This show is what the event "Ildfestregatta" is about.
Do note, that in previous years the fireworks, was started a 11:15 p.m. o'clock. But that has changed, also earlier the location, of fireing place of the fireworks, was in another place of the town center(Silkeborg's old paperfactory(Papirfabrikken), which is closed and now a small but strong neighborhood of the town).
This time and in 2008, it is located in, Silkeborg langsø, just of the town hall buildings, near the lakes springs, which are man made, and sometimes they are lighted up, by colored lighting. The reason for putting the fireworks, at the new location, was public safety. And to make it more visible.
The event's homepage (in Danish): ildefestregatta.dk
Location
Silkeborg is located in mid-eastern Jutland. The surrounding locations of Silkeborg are regarded among the most beautiful places in Denmark. The landscape is dominated by big lakes, forests and some of the highest points in Denmark, including HimmelbjergetHimmelbjerget
Himmelbjerget is a hill located in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. With a height of 147 meters it is one of the highest points of elevation, and commonly celebrated as the highest point, in Denmark, which it was believed to be until 1847...
. It is also one of the most expensive areas to live in, and the neighbouring towns Sejs is known for its mansions and villas at the lakeside.
Celebrities from Silkeborg
- AlphabeatAlphabeatAlphabeat are a Danish pop band from Silkeborg, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders SG and signed to Polydor Records. Their single "Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007 and a significant hit in the United Kingdom in 2008...
(Pop band) - Asger JornAsger JornAsger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
(Artist) - Dawn Of DemiseDawn Of DemiseDawn Of Demise is a Danish Death metal band formed in 2004, and consists of Scott Jensen , Martin Sørensen , Bjørn Jensen , Thomas Egede and Simon Blåbjerg -Biography:...
(Metal band) - Infernal Torment (Metal band)
- Simon KvammSimon KvammSimon Kvamm , is a Danish-Faroese actor and singer.He is most well known as member of the Danish rock band Nephew, where he is the lead vocalist and keyboard player. The band has had several hits in Denmark such as Igen & Igen &, Superliga, En Wannabe Darth Vader and Movie Klip, which have won them...
(Singer) - Thomas BjørnThomas BjørnThomas Bjørn is a professional golfer from Denmark who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won thirteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1999 he also became the first Dane to qualify for a European Ryder Cup team...
(Golfer) - Jesper Asholt (Actor)
- Lars Ytting Bak (Cyclist)
Notable mentions in popular culture
- In the 1973 film The Day of the JackalThe Day of the JackalThe Day of the Jackal is a thriller novel by English writer Frederick Forsyth, about a professional assassin who is contracted by the OAS, a French terrorist group of the early 1960s, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France....
, the main character dons a number of aliases throughout the story. One of them is a Danish schoolteacher named Per Lundqvist, who claims to herald from the town of Silkeborg.
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, Poland
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, Sweden
Sweden
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Germany
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