Ærøskøbing
Encyclopedia
Ærøskøbing is a town in central Denmark
, located in Ærø Municipality
on the island of Ærø
. The suffix
-købing means a trade town in the languages that derive from Old Norse
.
Ærøskøbing's houses and streets are delicately restored to retain the character of the Middle Ages. Most of them are one storey tall, and the oldest ones date back to 1645.
In the old part of the town are many fine examples of the work of skilled bricklayers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. Behind the idyllic facade of the town is a live and active town that has solved successive generations' housing needs for centuries.
Ærøskøbing was awarded the Europa Nostra
prize in 2002. The prize is awarded by the EU as a special appreciation of looking after cultural heritage.
, under which Ærø was incorporated until 1864, when Ærø was separate from Schleswig
. The town as it is today illustrates a continuous building culture that has developed over several centuries.
The suffix "-kobing", "-koping" in Swedish, is pronounced approximately "-sherping" (or "sherbing"); the "k" is not a hard sound.
the two old town pumps that supplied the town with water right up till 1952.
The Prior's house from 1690 is one of the town's oldest dated buildings. It was purchased and restored in 1917 by Alexis Prior.
The old harbour has been enlarged by a new marina and the beach at Vesterstrand with its colourful little beach huts is only a few minutes' walk from the town and the harbour.
The cook house: Until the middle of the nineteenth century it was forbidden to cook over an open fire on a ship moored in the harbour. The danger of fire on wooden ships was simply too great and the town cook house was built to serve as the harbour cooking facility. The small, whitewashed building is from 1810. The Ærøskøbing Association helped with its restoration in 2001, and now again it serves its original purpose as a place where yachtsmen can prepare food.
The town windmill (of Dutch origin from 1848) has become a landmark for the town, and is approached from the south by the main road.
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 Ærø Municipality
Ærø municipality
Ærø Municipality is a municipality occupying the island of Ærø in southern Denmark. The municipality belongs to Region of Southern Denmark....
on the island of Ærø
Ærø
Ærø is one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of Region of Southern Denmark. The western portion of the island was the municipality of Ærøskøbing; the eastern portion of the island was the municipality of Marstal...
. The suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
-købing means a trade town in the languages that derive from Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
.
Ærøskøbing's houses and streets are delicately restored to retain the character of the Middle Ages. Most of them are one storey tall, and the oldest ones date back to 1645.
In the old part of the town are many fine examples of the work of skilled bricklayers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. Behind the idyllic facade of the town is a live and active town that has solved successive generations' housing needs for centuries.
Ærøskøbing was awarded the Europa Nostra
Europa Nostra
Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, is the representative platform of 250 heritage NGOs active in 45 countries across Europe...
prize in 2002. The prize is awarded by the EU as a special appreciation of looking after cultural heritage.
History
From about 1250 Ærøskøbing was the centre for the island's commercial and maritime trade. A fire in 1629 destroyed a large number of houses, but after this the town experienced a renaissance. Old houses were rebuilt, but also new, larger houses were erected in styles owing much to traditions from Funen, northern Germany and the duchy of Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, under which Ærø was incorporated until 1864, when Ærø was separate from Schleswig
Schleswig
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...
. The town as it is today illustrates a continuous building culture that has developed over several centuries.
The suffix "-kobing", "-koping" in Swedish, is pronounced approximately "-sherping" (or "sherbing"); the "k" is not a hard sound.
Tourism
Ærøskøbing Church at the market square is the third church on that location and on the squarethe two old town pumps that supplied the town with water right up till 1952.
The Prior's house from 1690 is one of the town's oldest dated buildings. It was purchased and restored in 1917 by Alexis Prior.
The old harbour has been enlarged by a new marina and the beach at Vesterstrand with its colourful little beach huts is only a few minutes' walk from the town and the harbour.
The cook house: Until the middle of the nineteenth century it was forbidden to cook over an open fire on a ship moored in the harbour. The danger of fire on wooden ships was simply too great and the town cook house was built to serve as the harbour cooking facility. The small, whitewashed building is from 1810. The Ærøskøbing Association helped with its restoration in 2001, and now again it serves its original purpose as a place where yachtsmen can prepare food.
The town windmill (of Dutch origin from 1848) has become a landmark for the town, and is approached from the south by the main road.