A train excursion through Viborg

By Bymanden

Hop on the City train and ride along on a pleasant trip through the pedestrian streets and the old town. 

Summerseason: 
June 21st - August 17th. 

Prices: 
Train only: Adults: DKK 60,- / Children 4-12 years: DKK 40,-

In the period of July 1.st untill August 17.th it is possible to enjoy a combined trip by Train and Tourboat.
Price: Train + Tourboat: Adults: DKK 150,- / Children 4-12 years: DKK 75,- 

Both trips starts at Hjultorvet in the pedestrian streets.

_________________________________

Dear guests. You are about to go on a unique train ride through the past, the present and the future where you will explore the medieval Viborg, the trading Viborg and the city by the lakes. No other town offers you such a blend of variety. Enjoy!

1: Hjultorvet
Hjultorvet is the central square in Viborg. From here tradesmen traded from wagons on wheels. Before the reformation both a cemetery and the church of Sct. Mathias were located here. The large beautiful building on Hjultorvet did for centuries contain a culture-historical museum of the Viborg region, Viborg Museum. The museum has moved to another location in town and the building will soon house one of Viborg’s many banks.

2: St. Sct. Mikkels Gade
St. Sct. Mikkels Gade is a typical medieval street – narrow and very steep. As many of the old streets of Viborg, this one is also named after a church, Sct. Mikkels Kirke. The church was situated right outside the town’s gate and housed the sick and the poor.

3: Nytorv
During the catholic period, Viborg’s oldest parish church, Sct. Hans Church was situated here. The church and its cemetery prevented the medieval town in expanding to this area. It was here that kings were acclaimed. Back then, Viborg had a prestigious role to play in Danish society. You could not be-come a king in Denmark without going to Viborg and hoping that the free men of the town would ac-claim you at the Viborg County. So Nytorv became the settings in a 6 year old prince’s act. After the tribute the square was from then on used as a marketplace. Since 2017 the market moved back up here and is open every Saturday during the summer.
On the left is the chemist’s courtyard. It was for almost 400 years Viborg’s oldest ongoing business, Svaneapoteket, which was founded in 1573. On the square’s pavement you will find the town’s “0-kilometre stone” indicating the town’s geographical centre. When the Viborg Municipality recently reno-vated the marketplace Nytorv, archaeologists first had to remove 643 skeletons.
The former medieval cemetery is about to wake up to a new life with cafes and restaurants and the market is again held here every Saturday morning.

4: Sct. Kjelds Brønd
The well on your right is named St. Kjelds Brønd. By it the marked traders wifes could wash vegetables, while curious rock squirrels peered down at them. St Kjeld is Viborg’s own saint and also a bit of a miracle maker with water.

5: Kompagnistræde
Now the train takes you down Kompagnistræde. The street’s name could indicate that Viborg has been the hometown for military companies for many years but the real indication is that some moneymen en-tered partnership and constructed the building of Kompagnigården.
Behind the wall you will find one of Viborg’s lovely gardens, Latinerhaven. Originally the area held 3 es-tates before the fire in 1726. The estates were not rebuilt and the area was given to the Latin School as a garden – hence the name. When the school moved, the garden was given to the town. The garden is a small garden with many themes.

6: Sct. Mogens Gade
The street of Sct. Mogens Gade oozes of history. Here you will find that the old houses still lie close to one another. Behind the red brick wall with the beautiful wrought-iron lattices, you will find the idyllic museum garden where you may enjoy your picnic lunch. In the old days the garden was only for the prison in-mates.

7. Gammeltorv
This square has been the scenary of 1000 years of history. It is the oldest public square in Viborg. The ca-thedral Viborg Domkirke, the court and the markets attracted people from all over the country.
In the baroque building you will find the art museum, Skovgaard Museet, which provides an insight into the life of the Skovgaard Family as well as a collection of Danish graphic art.

8: The cathedral Viborg Domkirke and the Bishop’s Palace Bispegården
Viborg Domkirke and its two towers are the town’s symbol. The cathedral traces its history back to the 1100’s but after a number of fires, the latest in 1726, only the crypt remains. The present cathedral is 150 years old and is an attempt to recreate the original cathedral. The big monument on the left side of the cathedral testifies that the Danish Air Force has embraced the cathedral as its church. Notice the two li-ons and the two heads behind them. They are a relic from the original cathedral. The inside of the ca-thedral is known for the walls and vaults with Skovgaard’s colourful depiction of the Bible.
On the right side of the cathedral you will find Bispegården – the Bishop’s Palace. It is the oldest in Den-mark. All Bishops of Viborg have lived here since 1555. Apart from being home of the Bishops it also con-tains the administration and library of the diocese, the latter being the oldest public library in Jutland.

9: The Parish’ Community
The yellow building is the Parish’s community centre of Viborg established in 1997. The large monument is a memorial to the ancient council in Viborg. At this place, kings were acclaimed for more than 600 years. Behind the trees you see the memorial for the casualties during World War Two.

 10: The High Court of Western Denmark
Almost as a manor house the building of the former court house Vestre Landsret is placed right after the green area. From ancient times Viborg has been the city of court. The court has moved to a new build-ing at the other side of the lakes. A bridge connects the former court building with the old town hall and a prison. Some people think that the building looks like an old station, but the style of the building is Ital-ian renaissance. The prison is still placed behind the old town hall. The inhabitants of Viborg named the bridge “Sukkenes Bro”, which translated into English means “Sighing Bridge”. The court house will soon open as the new City museum.

11: The old Town Hall
The old town Hall on the left was quickly outgrown by the city administration. In future the stately building will receive pilgrims along the Hærvejen and become the center of the Cathedral Quarter, which is a collaboration between the two museums, Viborg Municipality and Viborg Cathedral. The barred building hides defendants who are waiting to have their case decided at the High Court.

12: Sct. Nicolai Gade
On the right we pass the “English houses”, which lie like little pearls on a string. Their unremarkable fa-cades hide well-maintained two-story buildings. Further down to the right is the former military hospital, which is now also rental accommodation.

13: The street with no name – “Navnløs”
A Government official from Copenhagen named the small street in 1824. The street did not have a name on the city map when it was sent for approval in Copenhagen. Thereafter it was listed as “Navnløs” – Nameless in English.

14: Sct. Mogens Gade
We are once again in Sct. Mogens Street, one of the former main streets in the city. Tourists as well as lo-cals, who enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and the old buildings, often visit this street. The probably most known building in the street is Karnapgården - the house with the squared bay tower. It dates back to the mid-1600s and is built of bricks and stones from former churches and monasteries.

15: Rosenstræde
On the left you will find Viborg’s most photographed sign, saying that the baker is dead. The lane has presumably connected the old military road Hærvejen which went along the lakes to the street of Sct. Mogens Gade. Please notice the idyllic houses on your left side.

 16: Sct. Ibs Gade
Towards the lake of Nørresø, you will see a garden of willows, ”Pilehaven”. It is a small public garden, that was restored in 1996 with willow work, performed by basket maker Bent Vinkler. In the northern part of the area was a monastery, where Hans Tausen was deported to in 1525. Sct. Ibs Gade is yet another street in Viborg, named after a catholic Saint, Jacob the Older – Ib in Danish – the first of the apostles to suffer martyrdom. From the tomb in Santiago de Compostela in Spain the pilgrims carried home great shells, which were named The Jacob Shells. The large red building is the residential home, which was erected in 1919. It has been extended and mornised several times since then. Few years ago it closed and was turned into private flats.

17: The park of Borgvold
The park was founded in 1864. Since the establishment the park has been relaid and expanded some times. The park has received its name from the 12 meter high hill on your left. On top of the hill Erik Men-ved (Danish king from 1286 – 1319) constructed a castle after the farmer rebellion. He wanted to mark the importance of the King. In order to get water into the moat around the castle, the water level in both lakes was raised by 2 meters. As a result, the oldest part of Viborg, a tradesmen area in the northwest part of Søndersø was flooded.

18: Details of Borgvold
The fountain is named The Watergirl and is made by the German sculptor Ludwig von Schwanthaler. Humourous people call her “The Iron Lady”. It was placed at Borgvold in 1948, as a gift from former judge, Frants Thygesen. The music pavilion was rebuilt in 2008. During summer it is often used for concerts and other arrangements. The white house is the third building at this place. The first was built in 1867, but burned down during the Second World War in 1943 and replaced by another in 1956. Golf Salonen be-longs to the Golf Hotel Viborg and is a restaurant and conference centre.

19: The tourboat ”Margrethe I”
The boat came to the Viborg lakes in 1990. The roman numeral I (one) was suffixed, not only due to the boats’ premier position on the lakes, but also because of the close link Viborg had in history with the Danish Queen and ruler of the North. A trip on the lakes takes approx. one hour and the boat visits both lakes, Søndersø and Nørresø.

20: Hans Tausens Alle
Before leaving Borgvold you will see the Bible Garden in the SW corner of the park. Viborg has throughout 1000 years been an important city in religious terms and it was only natural, that the first Bible Garden was established here. The city gardener at the time Jacques Gustin established the garden in 1989 with private funding. The garden offers a unigue collection of herbs, buskes and trees, all mentioned in the Old and New Testaments.
On the other side you will find The Distillery. It was an operating distillery from 1811 - 1876. The building is one of the original estates in Viborg. Bought in 1992 by the local authorities and thoroughly restored, to-day the house is a cultural centre, and houses a variety of changing art exhibitions as well as art class-rooms.

21: Ll. Sct. Mikkels Gade
The street is named after Sct. Mikkels Church, which was situated on the eastern side of the street. Where we today see the restaurant “Tortilla Flats” was also a church, Sct. Stefan’s Church.

22: St. Sct. Mikkels Gade
The Odin Brewery was situated in the red building. Brewing started in 1832 and continued until 1988 when the brewery was closed down.
On this street you also find the church of Sortebrødre Kirke. The church is one of Viborg’s oldest and is beautifully decorated with a unique pre-reformatory alterpiece donated by Frederik 4th after the great fire en 1726. Originally the church was part of a large abbey complex belonging to the Dominicans.

23: St. Sct. Peder Stræde
The beautiful halftimbered house on your right is a formerly forge. Today it houses one of Viborgs many restaurants, a steakhouse Den Gyldne Okse (The Golden Ox). Further down the street, next to Vestjysk Bank, one of Viborg’s many monasteries, the nunnery Budolfi, was located back in the Middle Age. Exceptionally it survived the reformation, but was later demolished due to the increasing traffic through the street.

24: Sct. Mathias Gade
Now we drive on St. Mathias Gade. On your left you will see the indoor shopping centre St. Mathias Center with approx. 30 shops and four cafés, which welcome you, should you get caught in the rain.

25: The gate of Sct. Mathias Port
The entrance to the pedestrian area is named the port of Sct. Mathias. In the Middle Ages one of the town's five gates were found here. Please notice the pavement that consists of new and reused granite stone.

26: Gravene
When you look at the beautiful red building on the left corner you see Viborg Theatre, built in 1909 by Søren Vig-Nielsen. The building is really two parts. The private institution Viborg School of Music owns one part. The other part, the large music hall, is owned and run by Viborg Municipality. The building was in-augurated on 16 March 2002. The music hall holds 270 people. The School of Music, established in 1979 employs 40 teachers and about 1000 students attend the school.

 27: Grønnegade
From Ll. St. Hans Gade it is natural to continue to Grønnegade. When the street was established outside the old ramparts, everything was green here. The trade union FOA's house on the right has a past as public bathing resort, popularly called "Margrethes Vaskehus" (washing house) according to a local doc-tor and member of the city council. FOA build one extra floor on top of the existing building. The city's first real hospital was located here.

28: Ll. Sct. Hans Gade
On the right is the National Archives. The oldest part of the archive is among Viborg’s architecturl masterpieces. The builder is royal building inspector Hack Kampmann, who is best known for Aarhus Theater and Marselisborg Castle.

29: Gravene
Earlier the street of “Gravene” suffered from heavy traffic from the main road. The crossroad where Gravene meets the street of Sct. Mathias Gade was one of Jutland’s largest traffic centres.
In past times, in fact right up until the 1950s Gravene was the scene of a weekly horsemarket. Farmers and horse ranchers brought horses to the market in order to sell or buy a horse or two. The horses stood shoulder by shoulder in a long line from the top of Gravene all the way down past Viborg Theatre, while buyers and sellers wandered in between them, looking for the very best horse. When a deal was done and closed, it was celebrated with a handshake and a dram in one of the many pubs in the street.

30: Trappetorvet
The square of Trappetorvet after the theater used to be called “The Iron” because of the triangular shape. Since then the stairs and city bus terminal were added.

31: Vestergade
On the right you see the well, Sct. Kjelds Brønd. It has its name from the catholic Saint Kjeld. Here the wives of the tradesmen could wash their goods, when markets were held.
Since 1969 Vestergade has been part of the pedestrian area. In the 19th Century there were two farms situated here. Both of them were distilleries and had potatoes for fermentation in their courts. This and the smell from the stables have probably made a very special atmosphere. Therefore, the locals named the street “Distilled Spirits Street”.

32. Ll. Hjultorvsgyde
Ll. Hjultorvsgyde is the connection between Vestergade and Hjultorvet. Hjultorvet was for many years the place where butchers and farmers sold their animals at the weekly market. The animals were slaughtered in the square as they where sold. Today the square is an important part of Viborg and stage for Christmas for children during December and a city garden during summer.

We hope you enjoyed the train excursion through the streets of Viborg!