Lemvig Market Town
Lemvig is a medieval market town in a distinctive ice age landscape with a tunnel valley to the south and a cove to the north.
There is a port and road connections to the inland, which has made the city an important trading center – especially after Harboøre Tange was breached by the sea in 1825 and Lemvig thereby gained access to the North Sea. The surrounding landscape is also characterized by fertile fields on good moraine soil.
Historic
Lemvig is located at the bottom of Lem Vig at the foot of Sødalen and is a medieval market town from the 13th century. The town has great similarities with the East Jutland market towns, which are also well-protected at the bottom of a fjord or cove with port facilities and with a fertile catchment area and road connections inland. The town was first mentioned in written sources in 1234 and as a privileged market town in 1471. The town has been a trading and market town for the western Limfjord area, where the road connection from Thy over Harboøre-Aggertangen to the larger market town of Holstebro, passed through the town. Since sometime in the 12th century, Harboøre-Aggertangen has been closed, so shipping took place eastwards, where the Aalborg merchants controlled the trade and traffic. A significant part of the trade with the larger markets south of Denmark, including the export of steers, took place by road to Ringkøbing, from where there was a ship connection to the northern German area and not least to the Netherlands, where there were good sales opportunities for steers.
Burndown and resurgence
Lemvig burned to the ground in 1684, which marked the town far into the future. In 1801, the population was only 375. After the breakthrough of the Aggertangen in 1825, the town's trade and shipping flourished, and over the next 30 years, the entire town was literally rebuilt from the ground up. In 1850, a new port was built, and the population had increased to 859. The next boom came after the town had a railway in 1879. Important enterprises include a large brickworks that was in operation from 1851 to 1971. With a new fishing port in 1907, significant sea fishing in the North Sea from Lemvig began. After a period of decline between 1917 and the late 1940s, sea fishing began again. In the mid-1990s, there were approx. 50 North Sea cutters were based in Lemvig, but from the beginning of the 2000s, a crisis in the fishing industry meant that Lemvig's fleet of traditional blue wooden cutters disappeared.
Geological aspect
The city is built at the bottom of one of Denmark's most striking tunnel valleys – Sødalen with a lake in the transition between the city and the tunnel valley. The clayey and relatively smooth moraine above the city has been the basis for good urban fields. The fjord has provided good conditions for maritime trade, and after the breakthrough of the Harboøre-Aggertangen in 1825, the sea route to the world's oceans was open.