Haderslev

Haderslev [lower left] is southeast of Esbjerg and north of Sønderborg, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.

Haderslev is a Danish town of Region Syddanmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Haderslev Municipality.

History

Overview

Haderslev is situated in a valley, leading from Vojens to Haderslev Fjord and the Baltic Sea. Haderslev was presumably founded by Vikings at least a century before it was granted status as royal borough in 1292. At that time, it had become one of the main trading centres in Southern Jutland. In 1327, Haderslevhus, the royal castle, was mentioned for the first time. It was situated east of the cathedral; an area still called Slotsgrunden. In the following centuries the city prospered, building both the Gothic Cathedral and the second castle of Hansborg (burnt in 1644), which was similar to Kronborg. Due to the plague in Copenhagen, King Christian IV was married there. In the 16th century, the city became one of the first Scandinavian places to embrace the Lutheran Reformation. From 1864 it was part of Prussia, and as such part of the North German Confederation, and from 1871 onwards, part of the German Empire. In the 1920 Schleswig Plebiscite that brought Northern Schleswig to Denmark, 38.6 % of Haderslev's inhabitants voted for remaining part of Germany and 61.4 % voted for the cession to Denmark.^[1] . It was formerly the capital of the German Kreis Hadersleben and the Danish Haderslev County.

Former municipality (1970-2006)

A kommune by the previous name existed 1970-2006. It belonged to South Jutland County and covered an area of 272 km² with a total population of 31,573 (2005). Its last mayor was Hans Peter Geil, a member of the liberal (Venstre) political party.

Neighboring municipalities were Christiansfeld to the north, Vojens to the west, Rødekro to the south, and Assens (on the island of Funen) to the East.

City Partnerships

Haderslev is twinned with:

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Haderslev

• Municipality's official website (Danish only)
• Haderslev tourism information in English
• The new Haderslev municipality's official website (Danish only)