Esbjerg Docks

Facts

Cradle of Esbjerg

By Richard Bøllund, Cand.mag. i samfundsfag og historie (8 stories)

In the Second Schleswig War of 1864, Denmark lost South Schleswig and Hamburg, which was an important port for exports. This led King Christian IX to sign the 1868 bill to establish what is now the Port of Esbjerg. The port was to be Denmark's new gateway to the west for exports of agricultural products to England. The harbour was turned into a dock with a seaward gate, which served to retain the water in the harbour when the tide changed. The dock was the nucleus for the town of Esbjerg, which until then had been a desolate and almost unpopulated area.

Public place

Selected entry

Denmark's Chicago

Story written by Richard Bøllund

Time / Periode 1874

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Esbjerg is nicknamed Denmark's Chicago because in its first decades after the opening of the dock, the town underwent high growth and a rapid population increase. By the time Esbjerg gained market town status in 1899, its population had increased to around 13,000. A great many of the migrants to Esbjerg were fishermen, who came from the whole of the west coast of Jutland with an eye on the opportunities presented by the new harbour. The railway reached the town simultaneously with the inauguration of the dock in 1874, which made it possible to sell and export fish. Although never the plan, Esbjerg went on to become Denmark's largest fishing port. Port of Esbjerg has been extended many times over, but the dock still exists and is referred to as the cradle of Esbjerg.