Fredericia

Facts

The town on Bersodde

By Søren Bitsch Christensen, Stadsarkivar (21 stories)

Fredericia, together with Copenhagen's Christianshavn neighbourhood, are the country's only two complete Renaissance developments. Fredericia was built by royal decree in 1650 as a military fortress on the Bersodde peninsula. The location was chosen for military reasons, and the town itself was built according to exacting military plans. Ramparts and moats surrounded the town and roads were straight as an arrow. To encourage development the king bestowed certain privileges, such as temporary tax exemption, on the town. Foreign criminals and those not belonging to the Lutheran faith could seek asylum in the town. Nevertheless growth ground to a halt in the 18th century. But a century later the town began to emerge as an important industrial and port city.

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The Battle of Fredericia

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Story written by Søren Bitsch Christensen

Time / Periode 1657

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On 24 August 1657, Sweden's King Carl X Gustav found himself staring down the barrel of Fredericia's newly built military defences. The enormous ramparts surprised him, but he ordered his armies to attack. It turned out that the moats closest to the Little Belt had not been finished and were dry. The Swedes were eventually beaten back, but instead the 8,000 soldiers plundered the surrounding villages. On 24 October, 5 o'clock in the morning, the Swedes began an all out assault. General Wrangel ordered his cavalry to outflank the ramparts by riding out to sea. In less than two hours the town had been captured, and the pillage, rape and torchings began. The Swedes left the town after a year and a half, but it wasn't until 1675 that Fredericia was itself again and began to take on its modern appearance.