|
Seeby (Sea town) is Sæby's original name. The town by the sea took form around the mouth of the stream of Sæby Å, which provided natural shelter and the opportunity to establish a harbour. Remains of wooden wharfs dating back to the Viking Age have been found at the edge of the course of the stream.
|
The Sæbygård estate was owned by the Bishop of Børglum, the biggest landowner and most powerful man in North Jutland in the period prior to the Reformation. The bishop's main episcopal residence was the Premonstratensian monastery Børglum Kloster on North Jutland's west coast. At Sæby the bishop had his "summer residences", Sæbygård and Voergård. From here the bishop could keep an eye on the harbour, Sæby Havn, from where he exported a great deal of the farming produce he received in "tithes" or taxes from the peasants. From here the vital salt from the island of Læsø was also exported, whilst tar, timber and iron was imported from Norway.
|
The period of the monastery and royal borough privileges In the 1460s the bishop received the Pope's permission to build a Carmelite monastery at the harbour. The Carmelite monks, who came from all over Europe, considerably extended the parish church in both length and height as one of the four wings in the large monastery, of which only Sæby Klosterkirke, Sct. Mariæ Kirke, is still standing today. The monastery brought great activity to the town in the form of craftsmen, a school and a hospital. In 1524 the powerful bishop of Børglum, Stygge Krumpen, made sure that Frederik I, whom the bishop had just helped to gain power, bestowed the coveted privileges of a royal borough onto Sæby, which further contributed to the importance and wealth of the town. The royal borough rights meant that the town's citizens now had a monopoly on all trade and craftsmanship in the area. The large merchant estates were established and a toll was even charged at the town's borders. The town also received its own bylaws and district court. During the monastery period Sæby was given the name Mariested at the request of the Carmelite monks, who worshipped the Virgin Mary. Sæby's town arms, which depicts the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, also originates from this period. |
|
The monks gradually disappearedThe Reformation took place – unlike at other places in Vendsyssel - relatively peacefully in Sæby, which had of course benefited greatly from being the Bishop of Børglum's town. The monastery's last prior also became - very pragmatically - the first Protestant cleric in Sæby.
The monks now began to gradually disappear from Sæby, and the monastery buildings, which the town's citizens could not afford to maintain, were gradually torn down and used as building material for the houses in Strandgade and Algade.
Following the Reformation, Sæby lost a great deal of its importance. The church's assets, including Sæbygård, were transferred to the King, who sold the manor house to the nobility a number of years later.
Sæby lost ground in the 17th centuryThe harbour, Sæby Havn, still had a strategically good location, however - right in the centre of the Danish kingdom. No less than three admirals and sea heroes thereafter came to occupy Sæbygård: Otto Rud, Peder Munk and Niels Juel.
The town's citizens, however, found it difficult to keep the harbour free of sand and to maintain it from decay, and from the end of the 17th century Sæby began to lose ground in relation to the new port in Fladstrand - which later became Frederikshavn.
Only right at the end of the 19th century did Sæby begin to flourish once more. The harbour was brought up to standard, the railway came to the town and a lot of small industries were established.
|
Artists discovered the little townDuring the middle of the 19th century the first artists discovered the small town by the sea with its charming small-town environment and the many idyllic subjects in the forest of Sæbygård Skov. Painters such as P.C. Skovgaard, Peter Mønsted, Chr. Zacho, Holger Drachmann and writers such as Herman Bang, Gustav Wied and Henrik Ibsen were among the artists that were inspired to produce well-known works in Sæby. Chr. Zacho thus wrote from his home in Italy: "I'd willingly give all the splendour of the South for the sight of Sæbygaard Skov in leaf." The less well-known Adda Ravnkilde (1862-1883), daughter of the mayor of Sæby and one of the modern breakthrough female authors, also wrote from here in her stories "Tantaluskvaler", "En pyrrhussejr" and "Judith Fürste", before she took her own life at the tender age of 21. In her burning desire for freedom and artistic development, she was way ahead of the contemporary view of women.
Big impression
Her books and tragic fate made a strong impression on figures such as Georg Brandes and Herman Bang, and inspired the Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen to write the play "Fruen fra havet", which he wrote following a period spent in Sæby in 1887. Herman Bang : "Sommerglæder" (short story) Gustav Wied : "Centrum"(satirical play), "Da baby kom" (sketch), "En kanetur" (short story) Henrik Ibsen: "Fruen fra havet" (play) Adda Ravnkilde: " Tantaluskvaler", "En pyrrhussejr" and "Judith Fürste"
World War Two - escape route from Sæby During and after the Second World War Sæby became known as the escape route to Sweden for Jews and members of the resistance who had to flee from the Nazis. It was not least during the final months of the war that Sæby became the last available escape route, thanks to local fishermen who ran a great personal risk in ferrying refugees to Sweden. |
|
Literature list – Sæby's history
Egevang, Robert : "Det gamle Sæby", Nationalmuseet 1977 (80 p)
Egevang, Robert: "Das alte Sæby", Nationalmuseet 1977 (80 p)
Bach Rasmussen: "Ture i Sæby og andre steder i Vendsyssel" Dansk Folkeferie 1985 (51 p)
Bang, Bent: "Sæbygaard - herregård og stamhus", 1997 (64 p)
Bang, Bent: "Sæbymadonnaen" Sæby Museum 1989 (19 p)
Gregersen, Hans: "Købstadsliv i det gamle Sæby", 1977 (57 p)
Gregersen, Hans: "Personer og begivenheder omkring en herregård", 1977 (58 p)
Gregersen, Hans: "Karmelitter klosteret i Sæby - baggrund og historie" Grebo 1982 (76 p)
Gregersen, Hans: " Flugtruten fra Sæby til Sverige",Forlaget Tommeliden, 1999 (115 p)
Haagen, Peter: "Sæby - set med andre øjne", Nortryk 1974 (78 p)
|
|
Jakobsen, Anton: "Billeder og Interiør af Fortids Folkeliv i Sæby" Byhistorisk arkiv 1981 (28 p)
Jakobsen, Ejnar: "Blade af Sæbys historie" Sæby Museum 1979 (86 p)
Jakobsen, Ejnar: "Sæby Jernkilde" 1978 (44 p)
Jakobsen, Ejnar: "Sæby under besættelsen" 1970 (55 p)
Mehlsen, Erling: "En Ryesgade-dreng kom til Sæby" 1997 (112 p)
Moss, Kalle: "En fiskerdrengs oplevelser på ondt og godt", 1995 (111 p)
Rygind-Eriksen,K: "Sæbygård - bygningshistorie, indretning og godsdrift" Sæby Museum 1995 (168 p)
Sæby: "Festskrift ved Sæby Købstads 400 års Jubilæum 10.aug. 1924" (55 p)
Sæby Museum: "Omkring en havn - Sæby Havns historie", Sæby Museum 1987 (138 p)
Sæby Museum: "Folketællingen 1787" Sæby Museum, 1990 (178 p)
Sæby Museum: "Folketællingen 1850" Sæby Museum, 1985 (44 p)
Thyregod, Any: "Oprøret i Sæby" Gyldendal 1988 (100 p)
Ørberg, Poul G.: "En by ved havet. Sæby købstads historie" 1970, Vol. I and II (382p)
|
Tuesday, February 08 2011
The town by the seaDuring the Middle Ages, Sæby's great importance increased further due to the harbour and the strategically important location at the centre of the Danish kingdom, which at the time also included Norway and the western part of Sweden.
At that time there were only a handful of passable roads in the country and almost all transport therefore took place by ship.
Tourism The discovery of the health-gving iron source in 1883 and the establishment of a spa hotel in Sæby contributed to Sæby's identity as a spa resort and seaside town, and the first tourists began streaming to the idyllic little town looking for rest and relaxation.
Sæby - today Today the former Municipality of Sæby has around 18,000 inhabitants, of which about 8,000 live in Sæby itself. The municipality has a varied business and service structure. The biggest industrial enterprises include:
Danish Crown (500-900 employees)
Sæby Fiskefabrik (130 employees)
Maskinfabrikken Skjold Sæby A/S (162 employees)
Skofabrikken Brynje A/S (60 employees)
Automobilfirmaet IM Stiholt (195 employees)
Roblon (50-100 employees)
AVK-Tooling A/S (100 employees)
B6 A/S (64 employees).
There are also a considerable number of small and medium-sized businesses. These businesses, along with tourism, which accounts for than 500,000 overnight stays per year, help to generate the basis for a lively commercial environment throughout the year in the former royal borough that has managed to retain an integrated and charming urban environment which oozes history.
|
|