Hørsholm

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Hørsholm is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Frederiksborg County in the northern part of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 31 km², and has a total population of 24,292 (2005). Its mayor is Uffe Thorndal, a member of the Conservative People's Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti) political party.

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Hørsholm.

Neighboring municipalities, in line with the Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007), will be Fredensborg municipality (formerly Fredensborg-Humlebæk and Karlebo) to the north, Allerød Municipality to the west, and Rudersdal municipality (formerly Birkerød and Søllerod) to the south. To the east is the Øresund, the strait that separates Denmark from Sweden. The distance to Sweden from the coast at Hørsholm is ca. 17 km to Landskrona or ca. 9 km to the Swedish island of Ven.

Hørsholm and its smaller suburb, Rungsted (which is a separate town, but under the Hørsholm commune) has one of the highest income rates per citizen in the country, and has a reputation of being inhabited by the jetsetting community.

Hørsholm municipality will not be merged with other municipalities by January 1, 2007 as the result of nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007).

[edit] History

Hørsholm was the site of the infamous Hirschholm Palace, which served as the summer retreat for King Christian VII and his court in 1771, when his consort, Queen Caroline Matilda, gave birth to her child by Johann Friedrich Struensee, Princess Louise Augusta. The castle, referred to as the "Versailles of the North", was neglected after that fateful year and torn down by Frederick VI, the King's son, in order to provide building materials for Christiansborg Castle, which had burned down in 1794.

Hørsholm Church, built in 1832 and designed by Christian Frederik Hansen, is now found on the spot where the castle once stood.

Local museum Hørsholm Egns Museum ("Hørsholm Local Museum") has a display dedicated to the palace and its fate.