55°43N 9°30E, pop (2000e) 52 900. Seaport and manufacturing town, capital of Vejle county, E Jutland, Denmark, at head of Vejle Fjord; railway; engineering, foodstuffs; 13th-c St Nicholas's Church; 28 km/17 mi W is Billund, with Legoland®, a miniature town built of Lego® plastic bricks; 14 km/9 mi NW is Jelling, with 10th-c burial mounds of King Gorm and Queen Thyra.
Vejle – in IPA: /ˈvai le/ – town in Denmark and site of the council of both Vejle municipality (kommune) and Vejle County (amt), located in southeast of Jutland peninsula.
Vejle is a picturesque town located at the head of Vejle Fjord, and for a country where the highest natural elevation is only about 170 m above sea level, Vejle is well known for the forested hills that rise up to the north and south of the town and fjord. The older, central part of town features a sizeable cobblestone pedestrian mall leading past the former Town Hall, built in 1878-79. Other prominent landmarks are St. Nikolai's Church, from the mid 13th century, and a windmill built on the slopes of the hills to the south, which, visible from almost everywhere in town, is a symbol of the town.
History
The oldest form of the name Vejle was Wæthelæ, meaning ford, due to its location at an important crossroads at a ford over Vejle River.
Vejle was first established on an islet where the small Vejle and Grejs Rivers converged before emptying into Vejle Fjord. Contemporary Vejle's oldest building, St. Nikolai's Church, was built during the mid 13th century.
During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Vejle's population suffered considerably from bouts of the plague and war. However, in 1796, Vejle was made the seat of the newly founded Vejle County, and the town expanded throughout the 19th century, benefiting from technological advances such as a new harbor on the fjord, a railroad station, and modern utilities.
From the mid 19th century into the 20th century, Vejle successfully converted from a provincial market town into a busy industrial center. Because of the many wool mills, the town was at one point known as the "Manchester of Denmark", although the town's metal works also formed an important sector.
With the industrial expansion, Vejle's residential areas also increased in size, and the town expanded into the hills surrounding it. Traffic congestion has also increased with the population, and in 1975, the Vejle Fjord Bridge was constructed over the fjord as part of a highway along Jutland's east coast so that through traffic would no longer have to be routed through Vejle's center.
Sports and culture
Vejle is home to the Vejle Boldklub (Vejle Football Club), which has won many Danish soccer (football) championships throughout the years. Vejle has fostered many great football players among them one of the few worldwide stars of Danish soccer history: Allan Simonsen, who was named Europe's best soccer player in 1977.
In the arts, Vejle was home to one of the most well known Danish composers, Jacob Gade, who wrote, among many other things, the Tango Jalousie.
In the mid-20th century, the town had several popular cultural attractions, such as the restaurant Trædballehus, where popular musicians such as Jacob Gade would play.
Anders Sørensen Vedel (1542–1616) who translated Gesta Danorum into Danish was from Vejle.
User Comments Add a comment…