Frederikshavn is a Danish small city in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbour". It was originally named Fladstrand.
Frederikshavn has a population of 23,636, and is an important traffic portal with its ferry connections to Sweden and Norway. The town is well known for fishing, and its fishing and industrial harbours. The Danish term "frederikshavner" (lit. "Someone from Frederikshavn") is used to denote a quality plaice fish, probably the most popular eating fish in Denmark.
Frederikshavn's oldest building, Fiskerklyngen, is originally from the mid-1500s, but the houses now there are from 1700s–1800s.
Big business in the area include MAN/BW Alpha, Martin, as well as the Navy Base Frederikshavn (Flådestation Frederikshavn), which is the home location for the training ship Danmark, the national icebreakers, and the royal yacht Dannebrog. Also AC-REN is a large employer in the area.
Frederikshavn, like the rest of North Jutland, was hit with hard unemployment. The city's largest workplace, the shipyard Danyard, closed in the late 1990s. This resulted in more than 2,000 workers being unemployed. Today there is still activity at the large ship building area, with many small companies renting space there. In summer 2008, the unemployment rate, like the rest of Denmark, fell to a minimum low record of approximately 2%.
As with many provincial municipalities around the world, some of its young people leave to large urban cities. However, the municipality is currently engaged in many innovative projects which are attracting tourists and aim to retain population.
Frederikshavn is currently beginning a transition to make it the first medium-sized city in the world to rely exclusively on renewable energy resources for power, including transportation and cars. The process is expected to be completed by 2015.
Ferry service connects the town of Frederikshavn to the cities of Oslo and Larvik in Norway, Göteborg, Sweden and to Læsø. |
