Silkeborg

Hjejlen ("The Golden Plover") is an historic steamboat that sails from Silkeborg to Himmelbjerget. In the background can be seen the city's former Paper Mills, now home to the Radisson-SAS hotel and shops.

Silkeborg [upper left] is south of Viborg and west of Aarhus, on Denmark's Jutland peninsula.

Silkeborg (Danish pronunciation: [ˈselɡ̊əˌb̥ɒːˀ]) is a city in central Denmark, located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, with a population of 41 979 (1st January 2009) ^[1]. 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 the lake, the Silkeborg Langsø, which at the eastern side of the city, resolves into the Guden River (Gudenaa).

Silkeborg municipality has a population of 88,016 (2009). The municipality is also a part of the East Jutland metropolitan area with 1.2 million inhabitants. ^[2]

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, 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 which resides in the Silkeborg Museum.

In 1944, the priest and playwright Kaj Munk was shot by the Gestapo nearby.

The Germans had their headquarters in Jutland during World War II at Silkeborg Bad, the city's former sanatorium 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 painter Asger Jorn, and has in addition to the above mentioned Silkeborg Bad art centre another art museum, the Silkeborg Kunst Museum with its large Asger Jorn 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 [2]

Silkeborg has a ski resort, with a nylon track so that one can enjoy going down the slopes all year round, and there is natural snow in winter.^[3]

Fireworks

Since 1899 Silkeborg has been hosting an event called "Ildfestregatta", which means "fire party regatta". Currently this event is held every third year, where the last event was held on August 13-16, 2008.

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 laser shows, an amusement park and more...

Every night at 11:15 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.

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 Himmelbjerget. 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

• Alphabeat (Pop band)
• Asger Jorn (Artist)
• Dawn Of Demise (Metal band)
• Simon Kvamm (Singer)
• Thomas Bjørn (Golfplayer)
• Jesper Asholt (Actor)
• Lars Ytting Bak (Cyclist)
• Crematoria (Metal band)

Friendship cities

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Banja Luka
• Savonlinna, Finland
• Árborg, Iceland
• Arendal, Norway
• Giżycko, Poland
• Kalmar, Sweden
• Kaiserslautern, Germany
• Corona, United States

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Silkeborg

• Official municipality website
• Silkeborg.com
• Hjejlen.com
• Byopgørelsen (inhabitants cities) latest publications

References

v • d • e 50 most populous cities in the Nordic countries  Denmark ·  Finland ·  Iceland ·  Norway ·  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,252,000 2.  Copenhagen 1,167,569 3.  Helsinki 1,027,635 4.  Oslo 876,391 5.  Gothenburg 510,500 6.  Malmö 258,000 7.  Turku 248,598 8.  Århus 228,700 9.  Bergen 227,752 10.  Tampere 209,748 11.  Reykjavik 195,000 12.  Stavanger 189,828 13.  Trondheim 160,072 14.  Odense 152,100 15.  Uppsala 144,839 16.  Oulu 137,370 17.  Jyväskylä 128,114 18.  Aalborg 121,500 19.  Västerås 107,000 20.  Fredrikstad 101,698 21.  Lahti 100,444 22.  Örebro 98,200 23.  Linköping 97,400 24.  Drammen 96,563 25.  Kuopio 91,845 26.  Helsingborg 91,500 27.  Kouvola 88,396 28.  Skien 86,923 29.  Jönköping 84,400 30.  Norrköping 83,600 31.  Pori 75,562 32.  Lund 76,200 33.  Umeå 75,600 34.  Joensuu 72,167 35.  Esbjerg 71,900 36.  Lappeenranta 70,210 37.  Gävle 68,700 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 66,257 40.  Borås 63,400 41.  Södertälje 60,300 42.  Eskilstuna 60,200 43.  Randers 59,842 44.  Rovaniemi 59,274 45.  Vaasa 58,607 46.  Täby 58,593 47.  Karlstad 58,500 48.  Seinäjoki 56,578 49.  Kolding 56,249 50.  Halmstad 55,688

Coordinates: 56°10′N 9°34′E / 56.167°N 9.567°E / 56.167; 9.567