Editing Vejle (section)

== History ==

=== Origins ===
[[File:Vejle map 1800.jpg|left|thumb|Map of Vejle, before the [[Industrial Revolution]]]]
Vejle was originally built on a small [[islet]] that was surrounded by [[Omløbsåen]] to the west, [[Mølleåen, Vejle|Mølleåen]] to the east, and [[Vejle River]] to the south. It was only after the [[Industrial Revolution]], that the city expanded beyond the river borders.

During [[Viking]] times, the wetlands around Vejle had to be crossed at the [[Ravning Bridge]], a 760 meter long wooden boardwalk, built around 980 ad, located west of the current city.

Archaeological digs near St. Nicolai Church in downtown Vejle have shown that there were residences in the area as far back as 1100. The first recorded mention of the town is from 1256, and the first known merchant town privileges were issued by [[Valdemar III of Denmark|King Valdemar III]] in 1327.

=== Middle ages ===
During the [[Middle Ages]], Vejle was a prominent [[market town]]. It developed slowly, only having small setbacks from the [[Black Death]] during the 14th century. Vejle traditionally traded with cities such as [[Lübeck]], [[Aarhus]] and [[Flensburg]], located in the old duchies of [[Schleswig]] and [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]], and other cities on the Baltic coast.

Vejle used to be protected by two castles:

[[Castrum Wæthel]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Borgvold - VejleWiki |url=https://www.vejlewiki.dk/index.php?title=Borgvold |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.vejlewiki.dk}}</ref> (Vejleborg) (Vejle castle)

The Vejle castle was constructed out of wood and lay just outside the city, where [[Vejle railway station]] is located today. It was constructed to protect the city and the [[Vejle River]]. The architecture of the castle indicates it was built in the 14th century, but by the year 1473 the castle had most likely been decommissioned. being turned into fields. The last remnants of the castle disappeared through the construction of the railway in the 19th century.

[[Rosborg]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rosborg - VejleWiki |url=https://www.vejlewiki.dk/index.php?title=Rosborg |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=www.vejlewiki.dk}}</ref>

Rosborg was located in the [[marshland]]s of the [[Vejle valley]], located a couple hundred meters west of the city. It sat atop a manmade hill around 1.75 meters high, 40 meters long, and 25 meters wide. There had been multiple buildings in the castle, the oldest of these being seemingly made of wood and possibly burning down; later another was made of stone. During an excavation in 1912, there were found multiple sets of pottery from the [[Rhine]], one with a very distinctive face of a bearded man.

=== Early modern period ===
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Vejle's population was diminished as a consequence of [[Plague (disease)|plague]] and war. In 1796, though, Vejle was made the seat of the newly founded [[Vejle County]].

=== Industrialisation ===
[[File:-Vejle1900.jpg|thumb|Map of Vejle, {{circa}} 1900.]]
Throughout the 19th century, the town benefited from improvements such as [[Port of Vejle|a new harbour]] on the fjord, [[Vejle railway station|a railway station]], and modern utilities. From the mid-19th century into the 20th century, Vejle developed from a provincial market town into a busy industrial centre, eventually becoming known as the "[[Manchester]] of Denmark" for its many [[cotton mill]]s.<ref name="stadsarkiv"/>