Roskilde

Related Topics:
Roskilde :: Roskilde_Festival :: Roskilde_University

Roskilde is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Roskilde County 30 km west of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in east Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 81 km², and has a total population of 54,372 (2005). Its mayor is Bjørn Dahl, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.

It is also the name of the municipality's main city, and the site of its municipal council.

Neighboring municipalities are Greve to the southeast, Høje-Taastrup to the east, Gundsø to the northeast, Lejre to the west, and Ramsø to the south. To the west is Roskilde Fjord.

By January 1, 2007 Roskilde municipality will, as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), be merged with existing Gundsø and Ramsø municipalities to form the new Roskilde municipality.

The city of Roskilde

Roskilde is an ancient city, and was the capital of Denmark until about 1400, when that role transferred to Copenhagen. The Roskilde train station is a major stop between Copenhagen and the rest of the country west of the capital. Partly because of this, the city is a center of economics for the region with a central walking street (gågade) with a myriad of shops, restaurants and cafes running down the center of the city. Several tourist attractions draw visitors from around Denmark and the world, along with an education program inviting international students to attend the local university for a year.

Tourist Attractions

Roskilde Cathedral

The city's early importance is evident from the fact that the Roskilde Cathedral was the only cathedral in Zealand until the 20th century. Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, it was the first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick and its construction encouraged the spread of this style throughout northern Europe. The cathedral is the burial site for Danish monarchs and is a major tourist attraction attracting over 125,000 visitors annually. Since 1995 the cathedral has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A working church, it also hosts concerts throughout the year.

Connected to the church is a palace. Roskilde Palace was built between 1733-36. Built onto of the former location of another palace (that of a former bishop of Roskilde), it is today a museum and residence of the current bishop of Roskilde.

Viking Ships

Another attraction in the city is the Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibs Museet). The centrepieces of its collection are the well-preserved remains of five longships and Warships, excavated from nearby Roskilde Fjord in the late 1960s. The ships were scuttled there in the 11th century to block a navigation channel, thus protecting the city which was then the Danish capital, from seaborne assault. The museum also undertakes research in experimental archaeology centred on Viking shipbuilding and seaworthiness. These five ships represent two distinct classes of Viking Ships. The Longship and Warship. This does not exclude smaller fishing and ferryships, which range from 10 feet to 50 feet.

Roskilde Festival

Since 1971 the Roskilde Festival, a rock music festival, has been held annually on the fairgrounds near Roskilde. It has grown to become one of the biggest rock/pop festivals in Europe. All profits from this festival are donated to charities. The fairgrounds are also the site of regionally popular agricultural and animal exhibitions, as well as large flea markets.

Schools in Roskilde

Roskilde University

In the 20th century, Roskilde became a university city; Roskilde University (Danish: Roskilde Universitetscenter) was founded in 1972. Roskilde University (RUC) is located in a village east of Roskilde called Trekroner. From Roskilde station, Trekroner (literally Three Crowns) is one stop away. RUC hosts students from around the world and has dormitory style housing and apartments close by, however, many students come from Copenhagen to attend RUC.

VUC

VUC, meaning Voksen Uddannelse Center (Adult Education Center), is a school in the center of Roskilde. Privatized in 2004/2005, it administers several degree programs ranging from 2 year HF (Higher Preparatory Examination (HF)) programs, FVU (Forbedring Voksen Uddannelse:Supplementery Adult Education) classes and AVU (Almindlige Voksen Uddannelse:Normal Adult Education) classes.

Roskilde Library

Located close to the main walking avenue, Roskildes main library contains the everyday books one expects, but also a music and video library.

Roskilde University Center has a larger library than Roskildes main library, but it should be noted, libraries in Denmark will share and ship books on request, so there is little difference between going to RUCs open and public library and the Roskilde library.

Transportation

Train station

Roskilde has a seven platform train station which serves as a central hub connecting southern Zealand, the islands of Falster and Lolland, west Zealand and Jutland to Copenhagen.

Roskildestation.jpg

Airport

Built April 1, 1973, Roskilde has a small airport, serving light aircraft for training, taxi and flight instruction. There are existing plans to expand the airport for use by larger aircraft, which are pending an environmental impact assesment. The airport currently handles up to 100,000 operations (flights) per year.

External links

References

Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map

Municipalities of Denmark