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Odense is the third largest city in Denmark with 145,554 inhabitants (Odense city January 1 2004) and the capital of the island of Funen. It is the seat of both Odense municipality and Funen County.

The city lies close to Odense Fjord on the Odense River (Odense Å). It is a station on the railway route between Copenhagen and Jutland. A canal dug from 1796 to 1806, 7.5 metre (25 ft.) deep, gives access to the town from the fjord.

Accessibility to Odense was greatly increased when ferry service between the two main Danish islands, Zealand and Funen was replaced by the Great Belt Bridge (opened in 1997 for rail traffic, 1998 for road traffic). The bridge is the second longest suspension bridge in the world. Its construction greatly cut transportation time between Odense and the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Copenhagen can now be reached by trains from Odense in 1 hour and 15 minutes.

History

Odense (from Odins Vi, i.e. "Odin's Sanctuary", referring to old Norse mythology), is one of the oldest cities of Denmark and celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 1988. The shrine of Saint Knud (also known as Saint Canute) was a great resort of pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages.

In the 16th century the town was the meeting-place of several parliaments, and down to 1805 it was the seat of the provincial assembly of Funen.

Odense's most famous landmark was Odinstårnet (The Odin Tower) constructed in 1935, as the second-tallest tower in Europe, only surpassed by the Eiffel Tower. Odinstårnet was blown up by a Danish Nazi group in 1944 and has never been rebuilt. However, a miniature model of it now stands in the residential area Odinsparken in the area where the original tower was.

Famous residents of Odense

The famous author and poet Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense on April 2 1805. A house in the old part of Odense has been turned into a museum with a large collection of his works and belongings. Also his childhood home is a museum.

Classical composer Carl Nielsen was also born near Odense, and the town houses a museum in his honour.

King Canute IV, (ca. 1043 - July 17, 1086), also known as Canute the Saint and Canute the Holy

Industrialist, Banker and philanthropist Carl Frederik Tietgen was born in Odense on March 19, 1829. Best known for establishing Denmark's first private bank and numerous conglomerates including DFDS, B&W, Danisco, and Tuborg.

Inventor and industrialist Thomas B. Thrige, he was born in Odense on May 5, 1866.

Actor Ove Sprogøe (December 21, 1919 - September 14, 2004), was a beloved cinema, stage and TV actor.

New swimming sensation Louise Ørnstedt (born 1980) was born in Odense. She recently won gold at the European championships in Trieste, Italy in the 50m back crawl and silver in the 100m and the 200m back stroke.

One of the world's best female team handball players, Anja Andersen, was born in Odense on February 15, 1969.

Business

Several large industries are located in or near Odense. Denmark's biggest shipyard, Odense Steel Shipyard owned by the A.P. Møller-Mærsk Group is situated in the neighbouring town Munkebo. The biggest sales auction of vegetables, fruits and flowers (GASA) in Denmark is situated here. The Albani Brewery brews the local Odense Pilsner amongst others.

The commercial national television company TV 2 is based in Odense.

The main campus of the University of Southern Denmark is located in Odense.

Odense is the home of a number of football clubs, the most important are OB, B1909, B1913, Dalum IF, and OKS.

Tourist attractions

Saint Knud's Cathedral, also known as Saint Canute's Cathedral, was formerly connected with the great Benedictine monastery of the same name, and is one of the largest and finest buildings of its kind in Denmark. It is constructed of brick in a pure Gothic style. Originally dating from 1081-1093, it was rebuilt in the 13th century. Under the altar lies Canute (Danish: Knud), the patron saint of Denmark, who had planned to conquer England from William of Normandy. He was slain in an insurrection at Odense in 1086. Odense is also the see of the bishop of Funen.

Kings John (Danish: Hans) and Christian II are buried in the city.

Our Lady's Church, built in the 13th century and restored in 1851-1852 and again in 1864, contains a carved 16th century altarpiece by Claus Berg of Lübeck.

Odense Palace was erected by King Frederick IV, who died there in 1730.

There is a theatre as well as a symphony orchestra, a zoo, and the Funen Village (Den Fynske Landsby) which is an open air museum with old houses typical for Funen.

Other attractions:

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Odense".

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