Editing Svendborg (section)

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Svendborg Teater.jpg|thumb|right|Svendborg Theatre]]
[[File:Svendborgsund Bridge-view towards Taasinge island.jpg|thumb|right|Svendborgsund Bridge]]

In 1253, the city was granted [[market town]] privileges by [[Christopher I of Denmark|King Christopher I]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.svendborghistorie.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164:svendborgs-forste-tid&catid=15:begivenheder&Itemid=14|title=Svendborgs første tid |publisher=Svendborg Historie|access-date=13 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref> In the [[Middle Ages]], the city was fortified with walls and moats. The defense system also included a few of forts. Most historical facts about the medieval defense system, including the locations of fortifications, are disputed, as little archaeological evidence has been generated. In spite of this, it is a popular theory that the three towers in the coat of arms are the three fortifications ("Skattertårnet", "Kyseborg" and a third one unnamed).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fynhistorie.dis-danmark.dk/node/27923|title=Skattertårnet|publisher=fynhistorie.dk|access-date=13 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref> Thanks to its seafarers, in the late Middle Ages Svendborg became one of the most important trading centres in Scandinavia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsvendborg.dk/fyn/historie/svendborg-hovedstaden-i-det-sydfynske-oehav|title=Allerede i 1200-tallet var Svendborg et betydeligt bysamfund, vokset op i ly af den beskyttede naturhavn, en lille bugt, der på det smalleste sted i Svendborgsund skærer sig ind i Fyn|publisher=Visit Svendborg|access-date=13 July 2014 }}</ref>