Lemvig Market Town

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.

Lemvig today

The town is today characterised by buildings from the last 150 years and, despite its modest size of approx. 7000 inhabitants, is a lively commercial and tourist town. A new harbour pier, where many foundation piles had to be driven more than 90 metres into the mud of the tunnel valley, was a necessity after the ravages of storm “Bodil” in December 2013. A climate wall, which protects the town against new floods and protects against future sea level rises, has become a tourist attraction. Lemvig Municipality, in collaboration with local interest organisations, has secured the surrounding glacial landscape with 2 large conservation areas in Sødalen and at Kabbel, respectively, where marked hiking trails and information boards have been established. Lemvig's visitor value is immediately the eye-catching experience of the small, compact market town in the striking tunnel valley landscape. In the town, you can experience a vibrant environment in the town centre with a connection between the pedestrian street and the renovated harbour environment.

Lemvig Museum is a small local museum with research into and dissemination of the cultural history of West Jutland. The museum of religious art is based on a core collection, but changing exhibitions are made at a high, not only national, but also international level. The extensive coastal protection projects on the west coast have been carried out since the 1870s by the "Vandbygningsvæset", which established facilities along the coast and developed coastal protection techniques, which are still being developed further. This institution is today the "Kystdirektoratet" (under the Ministry of Environment and Food), which handles all matters concerning Denmark's coasts, and which is currently based in Lemvig.