Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,902 (2024). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of Svendborg and 21 km south of Kerteminde. It also connects to Korsør through the Great Belt Bridge. Nyborg is the seat of Nyborg Municipality, and until 1793 it was also the seat of Nyborg County.
The city was founded in the 1200s, built up around Nyborg Castle. The castle holds a central place in Nyborg geographically, historically and culturally. Nyborg was first mentioned in 1193 as ‘Nyburg’, which translates to ‘new castle’ in Danish.
Nyborg Castle is located near the center of Nyborg city, and is surrounded by fortifications, the ‘castle lake’ and a moat that run along the center of the city. The castle if first mentioned in 1193, when Canute VI held a meeting in it. Before then, the king were housed in Hjulby, outside Nyborg, and the castle was established in that period. A curtain wall was built, and there has likely been several wooden buildings within the walls. In the first half of the 1200s, a building was constructed in two floors, much of which still remain today. The king likely held his meetings in the upper floor of this construction. During the 1300s and 1400s, the castle was improve upon, with a new floor and several new buildings. In 1282, Eric V completed the constitution of Denmark in Nyborg Castle. In 1287, Eric V’s alleged murderers were sentenced on the castle. In the 1520s, Frederick I planned to make Nyborg his official residence, but that never happened. Signs of his plans were obvious, however, with major projects on the castle planned. After the Dano-Swedish War, where the castle was captured and later turned into an armory, the importance of the castle fell. The garrison was disestablished in 1913. The castle was turned into a museum, which it has been since then. In 2017, a large project to renovate and expand the museum was begun, with plans to finish in 2023. The fortifications, ramparts and moats surrounding Nyborg Castle stretch out along the center of the city. The moats appear as they did in the Middle Ages, with the same water regulation systems still in use. Three of the original bulwarks still exist, with the remaining having been torn down during city expansions. Two of those bulwarks are located around Nyborg Castle, and are known as the Queen’s Bulwark (Danish: Dronningens Bastion) and the Crown Prince’s Bulwark (Danish: Kronprinsens Bastion). Those are surrounded by the original ramparts, which today act as park areas. On the Queen’s Bulwark is a water tower from 1899, built by Emil Swanenflügel. The water tower was protected in 1997. The third bulwark is called Prince Carl’s Bulwark (Danish: Prins Carls Bastion), and is slightly smaller. It also acts as a park area.
Nyborg Church (also known as Church of Our Lady. Danish: Vor Frue Kirke) is located in the center of Nyborg, and was built in 1375–1428. It was renovated in the 1970s and again in 2005. The church has two organs, from 1973 by Poul-Gerhard Andersen and 1830 by P.U.F. Demant. The crucifix is the only piece of inventory from the church’s opening in 1428. It is decorated with biblical depictions. Maja Lisa Engelhardt created the altar crucifix, of gilded bronze, in 2011. Maja Lisa Engelhardt also created a mosaic for the church in 2015. The largest of the church’s chandeliers was donated in 1640 by the mayor’s widow, Sidsel Knudsdatter. The other chandelier was donated by mayor Mads Lerke in 1589. The renaissance baptismal font was donated to the church in 1585 by mayor Peder Jensen Skriver. The other baptismal font is Romanesque style in granite, from 1100. Inside the church is a gate from 1649, built by Christian IV’s smith, Caspar Fincke. The pulpit is from 1653, made by Anders Mortensen in Odense. The pulpit’s staircase is even older. The church has a set of wooden figures of John the Apostle and Jeremiah. Like the pulpit, they were also carved by Anders Mortensen. A candle globe, made by local artisan Flemming Knudsen, was added to the church in 2008. The church’s turret clock, nicknamed “the Syrian tank” (Danish: Den syriske kampvogn) was replaced by an electric movement in 1972. The original mechanical movement was built by Henrik Kyhl from Copenhagen, and initially created for Viborg Cathedral, who couldn’t afford it. It was instead bought by Nyborg Church. In 2002 it was donated to Post- og Telemuseet in Copenhagen.
