Middelfart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, located in Middelfart municipality on the island of Funen (Danish: Fyn), with a population of 13.330 (2003).

Near it are two big bridges over the Little Belt sea strait. Middelfart is serviced by the passenger rail service between Copenhagen and Jutland.

Visitors to Middelfart should visit the Cultural Center on the shore front, the shorefront itself, and the downtown walking area.

The Cultural Center (Kulturøen; literally, The Culture Island), contains the town library, a cinema, a restaurant, a café, and the tourist office.

The name Middelfart might sound a little funny in English, but directly translated from Danish it means passage in the middle and refers to one of the three ferry links formerly connecting the island with the peninsula of Jutland.

Middelfart was founded around 1200 A.D. The first written account of Middelfart is the name Mæthælfart in Kong Valdemars Jordebog (13th century). Later this name was shortened to Melfar. This short form is still popular in names of shops, institutions and events, e.g. Melfar-Posten, a local weekly.

From the Middle Ages till the end of the 19th century the local fishermen were also whale hunters in winter. The only whale common in Danish waters is the Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocaena (in Danish marsvin, German Meerschwein), meaning "sea swine". The whale hunters linked their boats across the rather narrow Little Belt and by beating the sea by sticks and branches they directed the migrating porpoises to low water areas where they could be slaughtered. The whale blubber was used for lamps, indoors and outdoors, and the coming of electricity made whale hunting uneconomical. In the 20th century the hunt was resumed during the two world wars. In the winter 1854–55, 1742 whales were caught, but a normal winter's catch would only be half of this number or even less.

Two memorial stones are erected where the hunters landed the whales and where blubber was prepared.