Silkeborg

Denmark
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://mainten.top/place/Silkeborg
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Silkeborg, city, eastern Jutland, Denmark, on the Gudenå River and Langsø, a small lake, west of Århus. An episcopal town of some importance in the Middle Ages, its castle became a royal hunting and fishing base after the Reformation. The present city, dating from 1845 (chartered 1900), grew up around a paper mill. Now a rail junction, its products include farm machinery, electronics, and beer. It is also a noted health resort and a centre for the Silkeborg lakes, a chain of lakes on the Gudenå. The surrounding well-wooded country, the heather, and the hills, including Himmelbjerget (“Hill of Heaven”; 482 ft [147 m]) and Yding Forest Hill (Denmark’s highest point; 568 ft [173 m]), make this one of the country’s most scenic and popular resort districts. A few miles west of Silkeborg is a memorial to Denmark’s distinguished dramatist Kaj Munk, who was murdered there by the Nazis in 1944. Pop. (2008 est.) city, 41,674; (2005 est.) mun., 84,167.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.