Fredericia on Foot

on foot

Frederica was founded in AD 1650 by King Frederik III as a stronghold against foreign incursions from the south. The town was, from the very beginning, a curious mix of village and fortress, with streets running on a perpendicular grid and the whole collection encircled by one of the most extensive rampart systems in Northern Europe and has a very special history for this reason. To encourage settlement here, the king granted generous privileges to the inhabitants, such as 10 years of tax exemption and complete freedom of religion—privileges that very much came to influence the town’s destiny.

Join your guide on the pier and set out to explore on foot. Walk along the massive ramparts encircling the Old Town and see the Prince’s Gate and the old Guard House from 1735.

A landmark statue of the Brave Foot Soldier commemorates Danish victory in the First Schleswig War of 1849. Visit the Protestant Trinitatis Church from 1690, and the cemetery where many military graves and memorials retain a record of the town’s conflict history. Freedom to practice any religion here attracted people from many different faiths to Fredericia. The Michaelis Church was built by the German congregation in 1667; the Reformed Church was founded by the French Huguenots in 1736; the Catholic Church of St. Knud was built in 1767; and although the old Synagogue no longer exists, Frederica still boasts the second largest Mosaisk Cemetery in the country.

Pass the Old Town centre and see the Frederica Town Hall. This building was the birth home of famous author Henrik Pontoppidan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1917. During your walk, your guide will point out many other significant landmarks en route.

At the end of this walking experience, you may wish to stay in town to shop or explore further independently, making your own way back to the ship once you are ready, or walk with your back to the port.