Editing Middelfart

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Middelfart
| native_name =
|settlement_type = Town 
|image_skyline=MiddelfartKircheAussen.jpg|
|image_caption=Saint Nicolaus Church 
| image_blank_emblem = Coat of arms of Middelfart.svg
| blank_emblem_type = Coat of arms
| blank_emblem_size = 111px
| pushpin_mapsize = 270px
| pushpin_map = Denmark#Denmark Region of Southern Denmark
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Denmark
| subdivision_type = [[Lists of countries|Country]]
| subdivision_name = [[Denmark]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Denmark|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Region of Southern Denmark|Southern Denmark (''Syddanmark'')]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Municipalities of Denmark|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Middelfart Municipality|Middelfart]]
| established_type = First documented
| established_date = 1231
| established_title = as Mæthælfar
| established_date1 = 1496
| established_type1 = [[City charter]]
| established_title1 = as Middelfart
| established_type2 = Municipal charter
| established_title2 = Municipal
| established_date2 = 1970
| area_urban_km2  = 10.8
| population_as_of = 2024
| population_urban = 16,528
| population_density_urban_km2 = auto
| population_blank1_title      = Gender <ref>[https://m.statbank.dk/TableInfo/BY1?lang=en BY1: Population 1. January by urban areas, age and sex] The Mobile Statbank from [[Statistics Denmark]]</ref>
| population_blank1            = 7994 males and 8534 females
| population_demonym           = Middelfarter
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| area_code = (+45) 3
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 5500
| coordinates       = {{coord|55|29|55|N|9|44|40|E|display=inline,title}}
| website = [http://www.middelfart.dk/ www.middelfart.dk]
}}

'''Middelfart''' is a town in central [[Denmark]], with a population of 16,528 {{asof|January 2024|lc=y}}.<ref>[https://m.statbank.dk/TableInfo/BY3?lang=en BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density] The Mobile Statbank from [[Statistics Denmark]]</ref> The town is the municipal seat of [[Middelfart Municipality]] on the island of [[Funen]] ({{langx|da|Fyn}}).

==Etymology==
The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in [[Valdemar's Census Book]] in 1231, consists of the old Danish word ''mæthal'' meaning 'middle' and ''far'' meaning 'way'. This name originally referred to the [[strait]] ''Snævringen'' ('the narrowing'), which is the narrowest part of the [[Little Belt]], and was subsequently applied to the settlement as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://danmarkskirker.natmus.dk/uploads/tx_tcchurchsearch/Odense_2225-2396_01.pdf|title=Skt. Nikolaj Kirke|publisher=Danske Kirker: National Museet|access-date=11 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref><ref name=dcfb>{{cite web|url=http://dendigitalebyport.byhistorie.dk/koebstaeder/by.aspx?koebstadID=28|title=Købstæder: Middelfart|publisher=Dansk Center for Byhistorie|access-date=9 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref>

==History==
It is not known when the town was established but it certainly owes its existence to its location at the narrowest point across the [[Little Belt]]. The town was granted its first privileges at the end of the 13th century at a time when fishing played an important role in addition to its ferry link to [[Snoghøj]] in Jutland. From the [[Middle Ages]] the town appears to have specialized in catching [[harbour porpoise]]s. In the 16th century cattle export was also significant.<ref name=dcfb/>

[[File:Den_Gamle_Lillebæltsbro.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Old Little Belt Bridge]] just northwest of Middelfart]]
After the [[Dano-Swedish War (1657–58)|Swedish Wars]] in the 17th century the town suffered from losing its foreign export privileges and from competition from [[Fredericia]] on the other side of the belt, which not only had a ferry link to [[Strib]] but levied customs duties on traffic through the Little Belt. In the 18th century income from porpoise catches diminished but in the 19th century, with the establishment of its own harbour in 1836, conditions improved thanks in particular to the growing trade in agricultural products from the surrounding areas. From the mid-19th century small industries started to develop, especially the iron foundry. The [[Funen Main Line|rail link between Middelfart and Nyborg]] opened in 1865, bringing added prosperity despite the fact that it connected with the ferry from Strib rather than the one from Middelfart.<ref name=dcfb/>

By the beginning of the 20th century the iron foundry, with about a hundred workers, was the town's main industry. After the first [[Old Little Belt Bridge|Little Belt Bridge]] was completed in 1935 Middelfart became an important hub for traffic between Jutland and Funen. The population grew from 2,345 in 1880 to 11,056 in 1950 but in the second half of the 20th century the rate of growth declined. In 1970 a motorway bridge to Jutland was opened and in 2007 Middelfart became the seat of an expanded municipality, which included the former communes of [[Ejby Municipality|Ejby]] and [[Nørre Aaby Municipality|Nørre Aaby]].<ref name=dcfb/>

==Economy==
[[File:Middelfart_timber_framing.jpg|thumb|upright|The half-timbered Henner Friiser Hus, now a museum]]
Middelfart Municipality had a population of 37,685 in January 2014.

From the [[Middle Ages]] until the end of the 19th century the local fishermen were also [[whaling|whale hunters]] in winter. The only whale common in Danish waters is the [[harbour porpoise]] (''Phocoena phocaena''). The whale hunters linked their boats across the rather narrow [[Little Belt]] and by beating the sea with sticks and branches they directed the migrating porpoises to low water areas where they could be slaughtered. As the whale [[blubber]] was used for lamps, indoors and outdoors, the arrival of electricity made whale hunting uneconomical. In the winter of 1854–55, 1742 whales were caught, but a normal winter's catch would be half that or even less. In the 20th century the hunt was resumed during the two world wars. Two memorial stones now stand where the hunters landed the whales and where blubber was prepared.

==Transportation==
[[File:Middelfart_Station.JPG|thumb|Street facade of [[Middelfart railway station]].]]
Middelfart is served by [[Middelfart railway station]] which is served by the passenger rail service between [[Copenhagen]] and [[Jutland]]. It is located on the [[Copenhagen–Fredericia/Taulov Line]] which connects the Danish capital, Copenhagen, and the [[Jutland]] peninsula by way of the islands of [[Zealand]] and [[Funen]]. It offers direct [[InterCity]] services to [[Copenhagen]], [[Odense]], [[Aalborg]], [[Aarhus]] and [[Esbjerg]] as well as [[regional train]] services to [[Fredericia]] and [[Odense]].<ref name=DSBMiddelfartStation>{{cite web|url=https://www.dsb.dk/kundeservice/stationer/middelfart/|title=Middelfart Station|publisher=DSB|language=da|accessdate=10 December 2023}}</ref>

''Gammel Havn'' (Old Harbour) dates from the 1830s. At the beginning of the 20th century it was extended and deepened to the east.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_geografi/Fyn/Fyn_-_byer/Middelfart|title=Middelfart|encyclopedia=Den Store Danske|access-date=10 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref>

==Landmarks==
Middelfart Church, dedicated to St Nicholas, is located close to the harbour at the end of Algade. Built in several stages, it has a [[Romanesque architecture|Late Romanesque]] [[chancel]], a tower first constructed in the 14th century and a nave with aisles from the late 15th century. The richly carved altarpiece is from 1650.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=da&u=http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Kunst_og_kultur/Arkitektur/Danske_kirker_M-M%25C3%25A5/Middelfart_Kirke&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmiddelfart%2Bkirke%2Bden%2Bstore%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D631|title=Middelfart Kirke|encyclopedia=Den Store Danske|access-date=11 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref>

Henner Friiser Hus, a half-timbered house on Brogade dating from around 1575, is now part of Middelfart Museum and contains exhibitions related to the history of the town. Restoration work on the building was completed in March 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visit-middelfart.com/ln-int/danmark/henner-friisers-hus-gdk725670|title=Middelfart Museum – Henner Friiser Hus|publisher=Visit Middelfart|access-date=11 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref>

The ''Kulturøen'' (literally, "Culture Island") Cultural Centre contains the public library, a cinema, a restaurant, a café and the tourist office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middelfartbibliotek.dk/Kultur%C3%98en.aspx?ID=41|title=KulturØen i Middelfart|publisher=Middelfart Bibliotek|access-date=10 July 2014|language=da|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714185957/http://www.middelfartbibliotek.dk/Kultur%C3%98en.aspx?ID=41|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Sport==
Middelfart is home to [[association football|football]] team [[Middelfart G&BK]]. Middelfart played host to the [[1998 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships|1998 UCI World Cyclocross championships]].

==Notable people==
[[File:Frederik Julius Bech av August Eiebakke, Eidsvoll 1814, EM.00682 (cropped).jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|Frederik Julius Bech, 1814]]
[[File:20140904 - Christian Eriksen (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|Christian Eriksen]]
* [[Frederik Julius Bech]] (1758 in Middelfart – 1822) was a Danish-Norwegian theologian and politician
* [[Frida Schmidt]] (1849 in Middelfart – 1934) a Danish teacher, suffragist and a pioneering activist for the [[Danish Women's Society]]
* [[Christian Schrøder]] (1869 in Middelfart – 1940) a film actor, screenwriter and director<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0775725/   IMDb Database]. Retrieved 8 May 2020</ref>
* [[John Wittig]] (1921 in Middelfart – 1987) a Danish film actor<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0937045/   IMDb Database]. Retrieved 8 May 2020</ref> 
* [[Poul Ove Jensen]] (born 1937 in Kauslunde) a Danish architect, particularly of bridges
* [[Pernille Weiss]] (born 1968 in Gamborg, Middelfart) a Danish politician, and businesswoman; [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]] and CEO of Archimed  
* [[Kristian Jensen]] (born 1971 in Middelfart) is a Danish politician and government Minister
* [[Lonnie Kjer]] (born 1972 in Middelfart) a Danish singer, represented Denmark in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1990]]
* [[Michael Eggert (businessman)|Michael Eggert]] (born 1975 in Middelfart) an entrepreneur in the rental market
* [[Else Schøtt]] (1895–1989), opera singer

=== Sport ===
* [[Christian Eriksen]] (born 1992 in Middelfart) a footballer
* [[Rasmus Falk]] (born 1992 in Middelfart) a footballer, with 260 club caps
* [[Rasmus Quist Hansen]] (born 1980 in Middelfart), a rower, gold and bronze Olympic medallist
* [[Søren Madsen]] (born 1976 in Middelfart) rower, bronze medallist at the [[2000 Summer Olympics]]
* [[Jan O. Pedersen]] (born 1962 in Middelfart) former speedway rider, 1991 World Champion

==Twin towns – sister cities==
Middelfart is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|SWE}} [[Oskarshamn]], Sweden<ref name="Oskarshamn twinning">{{cite web|url=http://www.oskarshamn.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=218 |title=Internationella frågor och vänorter |access-date=25 July 2013 |last=Lindquist |first=Ted |work=Oskarshamn Municipality |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812100450/http://oskarshamn.se/templates/Page.aspx?id=218 |archive-date=12 August 2013 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.middelfart.dk/ Middelfart municipality]

{{Middelfart Municipality}}
{{Funen}}
{{Municipal seats of Denmark}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Middelfart| ]]
[[Category:Municipal seats of the Region of Southern Denmark]]
[[Category:Municipal seats of Denmark]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in the Region of Southern Denmark]]
[[Category:Middelfart Municipality]]
[[Category:Populated places in Funen]]