Hjejlen ("The Golden Plover") is a 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.

Location of Silkeborg in Denmark

Silkeborg (Danish pronunciation: [ˈselɡəˌbɒːˀ]) is a city in central Denmark. Located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, the city has a population of 42,807 (1 January 2012).^[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 a lake, the Silkeborg Langsø, which at the eastern side of the city, resolves into the Guden River (Gudenaa).

Silkeborg municipality has a population of 89,328 (2012). The municipality is also a part of the East Jutland metropolitan area, which has 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, who is kept in the Silkeborg Museum.

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

During World War II the German Wehrmacht (Army) had its Jutlandic headquarter 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 Museum Jorn, Silkeborg 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[link]

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 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 and many more... It is per Tradition, that regatta starts on a Wednesday and ends on a saturday. 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.

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[link]

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[link]

• Alphabeat (Pop band)
• Asger Jorn (Artist)
• Jesper Asholt (Actor)
• Lars Ytting Bak (Cyclist)
• Peter Sørensen (Retired footballer and present coach)
• Simon Kvamm (Singer)
• Thomas Bjørn (Golfer)

Notable mentions in popular culture[link]

• In the 1973 film The Day of the Jackal, 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.

Friendship cities[link]

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

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Silkeborg

• Official municipality website
• Silkeborg.com
• Hjejlen.com
• Byopgørelsen (inhabitants cities) latest publications
• Museum Jorn, Silkeborg
• Travel to Silkeborg

v t e 50 most populous urban areas in the Nordic countries  Denmark  Finland  Iceland  Norway  Sweden 1.  Stockholm 1,372,565 2.  Copenhagen 1,199,224 3.  Helsinki 1,061,798 4.  Oslo 907,288 5.  Gothenburg 549,839 6.  Malmö 280,415 7.  Turku 253,332 8.  Aarhus 252,107 9.  Bergen 234,800 10.  Stavanger 221,616 11.  Tampere 215,337 12.  Reykjavik 195,000 13.  Odense 167,615 14.  Trondheim 160,072 15.  Oulu 144,114 16.  Uppsala 140,454 17.  Jyväskylä 132,115 18.  Fredrikstad 126,971 19.  Aalborg 124,921 20.  Västerås 110,877 21.  Örebro 107,038 22.  Linköping 104,232 23.  Lahti 102,383 24.  Drammen 100,023 25.  Kuopio 97,610 26.  Helsingborg 97,122 27.  Jönköping 89,396 28.  Kouvola 87,548 29.  Norrköping 87,247 30.  Skien 86,923 31.  Pori 83,156 32.  Lund 82,800 33.  Umeå 79,594 34.  Joensuu 73,807 35.  Lappeenranta 72,156 36.  Esbjerg 71,576 37.  Gävle 71,033 38.  Kristiansand 67,547 39.  Hämeenlinna 67,293 40.  Tromsø 66,669 41.  Borås 66,273 42.  Eskilstuna 64,679 43.  Södertälje 64,619 44.  Karlstad 61,685 45.  Täby 61,272 46.  Rovaniemi 60,699 47.  Randers 60,656 48.  Vaasa 60,491 49.  Seinäjoki 58,836 50.  Halmstad 58,577

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