Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Slagelse

City in Region Zealand, Denmark

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Slagelse (Danish pronunciation: [ˈslɛːjl̩sə]) is a town located on the southwestern part of Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Kalundborg and 14 km west of Sorø.

01History

Slagelse has been inhabited since at least the Viking Age, where it was a Pagan site. Trelleborg, a ring castle, was built near the current location of Slagelse in 980, which made the location strategically important. A church was built at Slagelse's current location in the 1000s. Around this time, coins were minted in Slagelse.

Antvorskov was built in the 1100s by Valdemar I, who had recently acquired Zealand. He built the monastery in an attempt to gain control and favor with the locals. The monastery was used by the Knights Hospitaller.

Slagelse was granted the status of a market town in 1288 by Eric V. This gave the town a series of privileges, though eventually put it in competition with the neighboring market towns of Korsør and Skælskør. In the 1780s a road from Copenhagen to Korsør was built, and this road ran through Slagelse.

Effects from collection at Trelleborg
Effects from collection at Trelleborg

02Sights

Trelleborg viking fortress

Explore the Viking era site up close at the UNESCO site of the Viking fortress Trelleborg, located near Slagelse in West Zealand County. Built around 980 by King Harald Bluetooth, Trelleborg is a remarkable example of a ring fortress from the Viking Age. The impressive remains of this ancient royal stronghold are still visible in the picturesque Tude ådal landscape.

Park

Slagelse Park (Danish: Slagelse Lystanlæg) is a park located centrally in Slagelse. It is a green recreational area, with lakes, playgrounds and a maze.

Museum

  • Slagelse Museum is located centrally in Slagelse. The museum focuses mainly on trade and artisanry. It includes a reconstruction of a shop from the 1940-1950s, as well as sections on local history. A part of the museum is dedicated to H. C. Andersen, who went to school in Slagelse.
  • Panzermuseum East is located approximately 13 kilometers south of Slagelse, is a Danish military museum that showcases a variety of military vehicles. The museum's main emphasis is on displaying the military equipment of the ,Warsaw Pact countries which could have potentially been utilized in Denmark during the Cold War. The museum officially opened its doors on 3 May 2014, and is housed in a 4500 m2 building.

Antvorskov

The Antvorskov Monastery Ruins are located in southern Slagelse. They are the ruins of Antvorskov Monastery, a monastery built in 1164 by Valdemar I. It was the first Knights Hospitaller monastery in Denmark, and was used as monastery until 1536 when the crown took over ownership and turned into a castle. Frederik II used the castle between 1580 and 1584. After that it was used by fief lords until 1717, when it became a ryttergods - a location for the Danish cavalry. It was sold in 1774 and most of the castle was torn down in 1816.

Slagelse Museum
Slagelse Museum

03Schools

  • SDU Slagelse.
  • ZBC Slagelse.
  • Professionshøjskolen Absalon.

04Transportation

Rail

Slagelse is located on the main line Copenhagen-Fredericia railway from Copenhagen to Funen and Jutland, and the Tølløse Line connects Slagelse with Tølløse on the Northwest Line. Slagelse railway station is the principal railway station of the town, and offers direct InterCity services to Copenhagen, Funen and Jutland, regional train services to Copenhagen and Odense operated by the national railway company DSB and local train services to Tølløse operated by the regional railway company Lokaltog.

Slagelse railway station.
Slagelse railway station.

05Notable residents

Public service and politics

Art

Science

Sport

Watch videos about SlagelseExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Slagelse, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.