( 1560) is Svendborg's oldest residential building, now Svendborg Museum
Early history In the light of archaeological discoveries, Svendborg appears to have been established in the first half of the 12th century or even earlier. The first recorded mention of Svendborg occurred in 1229 in a deed of gift by
Valdemar the Victorious, where he refers to the fortification as Swinæburgh. The name is thought to consist of the elements "svin" meaning "pig" and "borg" meaning "fortification". In 1236, the
Greyfriars monastery in Svendborg was established. The
Greyfriars would be part of the city for the next 300 years, until the
Protestant reformation in 1536. The ruins of the monastery were partly excavated beside the railway in 2007.
Middle Ages In 1253, the city was granted
market town privileges by
King Christopher I. In the
Middle Ages, the city was fortified with walls and moats. The defense system also included a few of forts. Most historical facts about the medieval defense system, including the locations of fortifications, are disputed, as little archaeological evidence has been generated. In spite of this, it is a popular theory that the three towers in the coat of arms are the three fortifications ("Skattertårnet", "Kyseborg" and a third one unnamed). Thanks to its seafarers, in the late Middle Ages Svendborg became one of the most important trading centres in Scandinavia.
16th and 17th centuries During the time of the
Protestant reformation and the
Count's Feud in the 1530s, the citizens of Svendborg joined forces with the
King. Ørkild Castle, located just east of Svendborg, was property of the bishop of
Odense, who was less than popular among the citizens of the city. The tension resulted in the castle being seized and burned down by an angry mob in collaboration with the King's forces. The King's forces would later, after ending their north-going campaign on Funen, return to pillage and plunder Svendborg. After 1536, Svendborg went through a brief period of progress becoming the islands main port. But it would not last for long. In the following 250 years, the city faced various setbacks in its development, such as
plague, a major fire, and the effects of the
Swedish wars when Svendborg's ships were destroyed.
20th century to present The rapid increase in population continued at the beginning of the 20th century as Svendborg developed into an even more important industrial and educational centre. The food and metallurgy sectors became well established. The port prospered with new facilities, including shipyards such as Svendborg Skibsværft which was established in 1907 on an artificial island. On the educational front, a number of maritime and navigational schools were established. The shipyard, which had employed up to 800 in the 1980s finally closed in 2001, some of the facilities being taken over by
Vestas. In recent years, there has been a marked transition from industry into the service sector, the hospital now being one of the principal employers. Tourism has also prospered, especially for those arriving in pleasure boats. The German writer
Bertolt Brecht spent the first years of his exile from Nazi Germany in Svendborg. The town provided the title of a collection of Brecht's poems "
Svendborger Gedichte" (Svendborg Poems). ==Geography==