The lively port of Kolding nestles among hills on the fjord of the same name on the east coast of Jutland. This region is an angler's paradise.
History
The oldest privileges enjoyed by the town date from 1321. Where the little Kolding Au flows into the fjord was the junction of several roads from the interior in the Middle Ages. In 1248 the Danish King had Koldinghus Castle erected here and this was later rebuilt on several occasions. In the 16th and early 17th C. the cattle trade in Kolding was very profitable. The customs boundary with the Duchy of Schleswig lay immediately south of the town.
During the 17th C. Kolding suffered severe war damage. In the 19th C. the castle was burned down, and in both the wars against Schleswig-Holstein Kolding was occupied by German troops. After the Treaty of Vienna in 1864 a new customs boundary was drawn between Denmark and Germany. In the second half of the 19th C. the harbor was extended and industry came to the town.
Economy
Kolding is Denmark's largest export market for cattle. As well as abattoirs the town has textile, engineering and iron industries.
Near Vejen south of Kolding is situated the Askov People's College, the model for other such institutions in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. After the first Danish adult college in Rodding had closed down as a result of the German-Danish War, instruction continued in Askov until 1865. At first an old farmhouse was used, then new buildings were erected earlier this century.
Worth a visit is the Geographical Garden (Geografisk Have og Rosehave) on the southern edge of Kolding, which adjoins a rose garden. This garden was laid out by Axel Olsen, owner of a tree nursery, and now has some 2,000 species of trees and shrubs from all over the world, including North and South America, China and Burma. The garden is designed on geographical lines, and includes a herb garden and the longest bamboo grove in northern Europe.
Address: Geografisk Have, Christian 4 Vej 23, DK-6000 Kolking, Denmark
Hours:
May 1 to September 30: 10am-6pm
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
The Neo-Romanesque Town Hall (1973-5) stands in the marketplace; in the stairwell can be seen a mural by Otto Bache, "Attack by the Hussars on the German trenches 23.4.1849". Opposite the Town Hall lies Borchs Gård, a beautiful timbered house (1595), formerly a pharmacy, with carved beams.
"Skamlingsbanken", to the south of Kolding, is 113m/370ft high, making it the highest point in the south of Jutland and offering a fine view. About 1850 the Danish Language and Culture Society used to meet here.
To the west of Kolding lies the town of Vejen, visited mainly for its Art Gallery, which houses sculptures by Niels Hansen-Jacobsen (1861-1941) and drawings by Jens Lund. In front of the museum stands the sculpture "Trold, der vejrer Kristenkød" (Troll, who scents human flesh), by Hansen-Jacobsen; in the municipal park is the bronze sculpture "Militarismen".
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Trapholt Museum
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Vejen, Denmark
Kolding
