History Of Vejle
| From Ford to Industrial Town “Wæthlæ” and “Wæthelæ” are older versions of the name Vejle and mean ford. This became the name of the settlement that was established on an islet at the bottom of the valley of Vejle Ådal where the small river of Grejs Å converges with Vejle before the latter runs into Vejle Fjord. Vejle is mentioned for the first time in 1256, and King Valdemar III granted the oldest known municipal charter, on 16 August 1327 in Nyborg. But Vejle is, of course, older than this.
Today, the oldest building in Vejle is the Church of St. Nicolai, which dates back to the middle of the 13th century. It is situated east of the main streets of the town: Søndergade, Rådhustorvet, Torvegade and Nørregade. However, excavations in Klostergade indicate that Vejle had an earlier church, located at the highest point of the town where the Dominicans built a monastery in circa 1310. The construction of the mill, Vejle Mølle, and a canal, - Mølleåen - more than 700 metres long with a dam to the east, as well as the deepening of the small river of Midtåen, would have required such resources that the King was probably responsible for the impressive construction work. The establishment of the two canals was also for defensive purposes The King’s castle, Castrum Wæthel, was situated at the place near the bus station, which is still called “Borgvold” (Castle Ramparts). In the 15th century, the town grew beyond its old northern border, and houses were built in what is now Nørregade. Midtåen ceased to play a defensive role, and its width was gradually reduced from about 20 metres to one-two metres. It was in this period that the King’s castle was demolished.
witnessed improved standards of living and growth. Vejle had a significant export of oxen and traded with merchants in, for example, Flensburg and Lübeck. In the middle of the 16th century, Vejle had a population of about 1.500, but the plague in 1584 reduced this figure by one third, and even by 1627 the population of the town had not reached its size prior to the plague. The 17th century was a hard time for Vejle because of the many wars, and in 1654 Vejle only just avoided losing its municipal charter to Fredericia. In 1682, Vejle and 25 other market towns had to forego their right to appoint mayors and each had to make do with a town recorder. The 18th century was also hard on the citizens of Vejle. The Dano-Swedish Wars dealt a serious blow to the town. Competition from neighbouring towns was keen, and Vejle fared badly. Et was not until the end of the 18th century that developments started again. In 1800, Vejle was still a small and unimportant rural market town, and even as late as 1801, 40 per cent of the town’s properties had both stables and barn buildings. From the first census in 1769 until 1801, the population had grown from 967 to approx. 1.300 people. The agricultural reforms carried out in the latter half of the 18th century and the improved trading conditions for agriculture that followed were of great significance. Vejle’s traders saw increased business over a wider area, and then in 1796 Vejle was appointed county town in the newly established County of Vejle. When farmers were in Vejle with matters to settle with the authorities, it was natural for them to make their purchases at the same time.
The inadequate harbour facilities at Sønderbro had hampered the development of trade for a long time because even very small ships had to anchor out in the fjord and have their goods transported to the shore in small, flat-bottomed boats. In 1824, the town sought to solve this problem with the building of at new harbour to the east.  The harbour was already being used in 1826, but the official inauguration did not take place until the following year. The harbour provided good conditions for the continued development of Vejle’s trade and industry. In 1857, telegraph services improved communications with the outside world, as did the railway connection and the building of Vejle station in 1868, linking the town to the northern and southern parts of Jutland. In 1894 and 1897, two private railways were built, Vejle-Give and Vejle-Vandel respectively, which opened up transport with western Jutland. Other services were also established in this period such as, for example, the gas works in 1859, the water supply from Grejsdalen in 1867, the telephone services in 1885, etc. The industrial town of Vejle In 1850 the population of Vejle was approx. 3.300 but in the decades that followed the increase in the population was so rapid that by the turn of the century the number had grown to 14.600. Vejle was able to absorb this growth because of its smooth transition from being a town of traders and artisans to being a characteristic industrial town. From the middle of the 19th century, many companies were established, a number of which grew into major industrial enterprises. Vejle, as opposed to many other market towns, became well known for its large-scale industry
boundaries. New areas were established to meet the need for more housing. To begin with, more houses were provided by converting half-empty streets into built-up areas, by utilising backyards and by building additional floors on existing properties. In the 1890s, a new working-class area appeared in the western part of town. The workers settled in multi-storey houses in Vestbyen whereas a residential area, mostly with villas, was established in the parish of Vinding. In Mølholm, between Fredericiavej and the fjord, leading businessmen built their houses. Mølholm was not officially included in the Municipality of Vejle until 1970. In the 1970s and 1980s, residential areas mushroomed to both the north and south of Vejle and this almost explosive growth also meant, of course, much more traffic in the town centre. To relieve traffic congestion new streets have, from early on, continually been built, and from 1932 to 1938 Mølleåen were covered over. The new thoroughfare was named Dæmningen in memory of the old milldam. The bridge across Vejle Fjord was opened in 1980.
Asbjørn Hellum |
