Fredericia Denmark
Denmark
8
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Azamara Club Cruises (1 Cruises)
Crystal Cruises (5 Cruises)
MSC Cruises (2 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
At the town quay, a five-minute walk from the star-shaped fortifications. Rarely has a Danish call asked so little effort for so much history: the ramparts begin almost at the foot of the gangway.
Because it was created from scratch in 1650 by King Frederik III, who wanted to lock down the narrowest passage of the Little Belt, the strait separating Jutland from Funen. The result: a fortress town with streets laid out by ruler, enclosed in zigzag ramparts among the best preserved in northern Europe.
The rampart circuit, a good hour at an unhurried pace, longer if the viewpoints hold you. Then the grid of the old town, the Brave Soldier statue and the white water tower, open in season. There is still time for a swim at Østerstrand.
High, regular earthworks crossed by a network of shaded paths, among lined-up cannons, pointed bastions and moats where ducks swim. From the top the view moves from the old town roofs to the waters of the strait, spanned in the distance by the two Little Belt bridges.
The Tapre Landsoldat, a bronze statue raised in 1858 near the main gate. It is reckoned the first monument anywhere dedicated to the ordinary soldier rather than a general, and commemorates the victorious sortie of 6 July 1849, when the besieged garrison drove back Schleswig-Holstein troops. Residents mark the date every year.
The entire fortified star, the strait and the Funen countryside on the far shore. The white building sits on the highest bastion and opens in season: check the hours before making the climb.
Yes. A few minutes east of the bastions, Østerstrand spreads a pale sand beach fitted with jetties, popular with residents from the first warm days. Swimming at the foot of a 17th-century fortress has a certain edge to it. The Little Belt water stays cool.
The Danish krone. Denmark has not adopted the euro. Cards work everywhere, including in the cafés on the squares and for the water tower visit.
Danish, with excellent English across the population. German is often understood. The town took in refugees of all faiths early on, French Huguenots among them, but that is history: French is no longer spoken here.
Yes, and at little cost. The ramparts are now a park where you walk between cannons and moats; Østerstrand beach is minutes away. It is a flat, short call with no transfer, easy to scale to any age.
