Triangle Region (Denmark)
The Triangle Region began as the general term for the industrial and communications hubs of Kolding, Vejle and Fredericia in the early 1960s.
The three cities (thus ‘triangle’) originally worked together to coordinate and collaborate locally, but have since expanded into a cooperation between seven municipalities, which together have 421,480 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2018) and cover an area of 4,266.0 km2.
The Triangle Region was historically an industrial area with an emphasis on production and logistics but more recently, it has become a hub for entrepreneurs, tourism and energy companies.
The city has traditionally been famed for the manufacture of refined petroleum, chemicals, textiles, frozen fish, machinery, and tobacco, as well as import from especially Asia and the now closed ship yard.
Taulov, located halfway between Fredericia and Kolding, is the main village of a parish that historically was home to a local vassal, making it the administrative center of the area known as Elbo Herred.
Despite recent finds of significant burial mounds and farm houses dating back to the Danish Iron Age,[2] the village itself has little to no significance and was a small railway town with its own municipality until the 1970s, after which it became part of Fredericia Municipality and the arrival of the motorway gave the village a growth spur.
The combination of the railroad and motorway has made Taulov an important focal point for the Triangle Region in terms of infrastructure, as the area is unique in having railroad and motorway junctions connecting the area to all of Denmark, Germany and the rest of Scandinavia, and the proximity to one of Denmark's largest harbors and the nearby Billund Airport.
The earliest record mentioning the settlement is in 1231 but from the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century, Middelfart was famed for its local fishermen who were also whale hunters in winter.
In the 20th century, hunting was resumed during the two world wars and two memorial stones now stand where the hunters landed the whales and where blubber was prepared.
In the North Mound, built between 958 and 959 CE (possibly for King Gorm the Old of Denmark), an empty burial chamber was found.
Near the stones, Gorm's son King Harald Bluetooth, the man who brought Christianity to Denmark, built a wooden church (965).
The Triangle Region is located at the western tip of the Island of Funen and the eastern shore of the Jutland peninsula, where the Little Belt Strait is at its most narrow.
Winter in Denmark tends to be cold, with temperatures averaging at zero degrees Celsius and days that are dark and short between October and March.
The Triangle Region’s coastline is sprinkled with numerous fine sandy beaches where the water is shallow and the sea is calm.
Koldinghus in Kolding is where the Danish King built a fortress in 1268 to guard the border between the Kingdom of Denmark and the Duchy of Schleswig.
The Moravian Church in Christiansfeld is a popular tourist destination and was nominated as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
In the North Mound, built between 958 and 959 CE (possibly for King Gorm of Denmark), an empty burial chamber was found.
Gorm's son King Harald “Bluetooth” I of Denmark built a wooden church (965) on the site and beneath it re-interred (965–966) the remains of his father.
The Triangle Region's annual Kulturligt Festival combines theatre, music, food, drink, craft, lectures and cultural excursions.
Fredericia Theatre is famed for its musicals and developing new works as well as hosting more than 100 events annually, ranging from opera to stand-up and concerts (www.fredericiateater.dk).
The LEGO Foundation set up the International School of Billund in August 2013 to cater for students aged 3 to 9 years with children up to 16 invited to join from 2015.
[8] The University of Southern Denmark in Kolding focuses on design oriented research and education plus collaboration with the local business community and public institutions.
[9] The Triangle Region area has a well-established transportation infrastructure making it a hub for most of Denmark, as a Connection between North, South, East and West, and Germany and the rest of Scandinavia.
Set up by the LEGO family in the 1960s, it is now run independently though its proximity to LEGOLAND makes the airport popular during the summer months with many major airlines operating a service.
