Sorø

Sister cities

• Wakuya

History

The site of Sorø was first settled c. 1140, following the establishment of a Benedictine monastery by Jarl Asser Rig on the site. However, the initial Benedictine order was replaced by the jarl's son, bishop Absalon, with an order of Cistercians in 1161. Allegedly, Absalon choose to replace the Benedictine order as they were ill-equipped to run the monastery grounds, and the Cistercians had more experience with land management. Sorø Abbey became the largest and wealthiest monastic site in Denmark, complete with a school for the training of clergy. The abbey's status, however, did not last. By the time of the reformation in 1536, the monastery was used exclusively as a retirement home for monks. Sorø was allowed to remain a Protestant monastery to administer its large land possessions. In 1586, King Frederik II formally abolished the monastery, foundeding a boarding school on the site for the boys of the bourgeoisie and nobility, which eventually became known as Sorø Academy. The school's first independent buildings were constructed in 1747 following the bequest of most of Ludvig Holberg's estate to the academy. The forests, lakes, and marshes which surround Sorø made it difficult to establish trade routes through the settlement. A small urban community with a number of craftsmen had grown in Sorø following its market town privileges, but most farmers in the area still preferred to travel to older markets to trade their harvests, and so the town struggled to maintain a significant trade. In contrast to most other Danish towns, the arrival of the railway did not result in a significant increase in industrialisation, and the town remained dominated by the academy, and other schools which had been founded in the area. The population of Sorø did expand as a result of the…