| Kolding | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Denmark |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Southern Denmark (Syddanmark) |
| Subdivision Type4: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name4: | Kolding |
| Pushpin Map: | Denmark#Denmark Region of Southern Denmark |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Kolding (left center) in Denmark |
| Coordinates: | 55.4917°N 9.5°W |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Knud Erik Langhoff |
| Established Title: | First documented |
| Established Date: | 1231[1] |
| Area Urban Km2: | 38.3 |
| Elevation M: | 50 |
| Population As Of: | 2024 |
| Population Urban: | 62444 |
| Population Density Urban Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Gender [2] |
| Population Blank1: | 30854 males and 31590 females |
| Population Demonym: | Koldingenser, Koldinger |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 6000 |
| Area Code: | (+45) 7 |
Kolding (in Danish pronounced as /ˈkʰʌle̝ŋ/) is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding. The manufacturing of machinery and textiles and livestock export are other economically significant activities.
With a population of 94,932 (1 January 2024), the Kolding municipality is the eleventh most populous in Denmark. The city itself has a population of 62,444 (1 January 2024)[3] and is the eighth largest city in Denmark.
The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Fredericia and Vejle.
Koldinghus would be besieged and presumably occupied by Holstein in 1369.
In the Battle of Kolding, fought on 25 December 1658, the allied Polish and Danish forces under hetman Stefan Czarniecki defeated the Swedish forces of Charles X Gustav of Sweden.
A battle between German and Danish forces took place near the town on 23 April 1849 during the First War of Schleswig.
On 9 September, 1955, Kolding was impacted by a high-end F2/T5 Tornado that displaced a car 20 meters into a yard.[4]
On 3 November 2004, the N. P. Johnsen's Fireworks Factory in the suburb of Seest exploded. One firefighter died, 85 people were injured, and around 2000 people were evacuated and some of them lost their homes during this disaster in this suburb of Kolding.
Located in Kolding is the former royal castle of Koldinghus. This was built in the 13th century by King Eric Klipping and is a museum with certain parts of the castle, including its chapel and hall, being used for governmental ceremonial events. It was the last royal residence in Jutland. Another notable site is the 13th century stone Church of Saint Nicholas (Danish: Sankt Nicolai), which is one of the oldest in Denmark.
The municipal museum, the Museet på Koldinghus, is located in the castle and former royal palace. It has a collection of Danish art from the late Middle Ages to the 1940s, miscellaneous artefacts of local interest, and an extensive collection of items in gold and silver.
The Trapholt art museum features many pieces primarily by Danish artists in its collections of arts from 1900 onwards and a smaller number of non-Danish exhibits. It also features a large collection of chairs.
Botanical garden Geografisk Have is a 14 hectares large park with more than 2000 different trees, bushes and plants organised in geographical areas,
Also Kolding houses the Danish Museum of Nurses (Danish: Dansk Sygeplejemuseum), which is situated in the reception building of the former tuberculosis sanatorium for children. The exhibition also include this past of the buildings. The main part of the sanatorium is now a hotel, situated in a minor forest and overlooking the water. The building itself is very beautiful and built to resemble a palace.
A branch of University College South (Danish: University College Syd) can be found in Kolding.
A branch campus of University of Southern Denmark (Danish: Syddansk Universitet) is located in the former hospital which was closed in 1975. The new Campus Kolding opened downtown in 2014.[5] The new building of University of Southern Denmark will be built further to the east at Grønborggrunden in central Kolding.[6]
Kolding is also home to Design School Kolding (Designskolen Kolding), a university design school, which was established in 1967 to provide undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the areas of fashion, graphic design and textiles.[7]
Kolding is twinned with the following towns.[8]
Kolding is served by Kolding railway station. It is located on the Fredericia-Flensburg railway line and offers direct InterCity services to Copenhagen, Hamburg, Sønderborg, Aarhus and Esbjerg as well as regional train services to Fredericia and Esbjerg.[9]