Farum

Farum is a town in the northeast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, 20 km northwest of Copenhagen. The town has a population of 18,105 (2006). [ [http://dst.dk/HomeUK.aspx Statistics Denmark] ]

The town is part of Furesø municipality. Until 2006 it constituted Farum municipality.

History

Farum has existed for more than a thousand years. The name Farum means 'the place by the passage', referring to the ford between the two lakes Furesø and Farum Sø. Around 1100 the first stone church was built in the community, parts of which remain in the present church of Farum. In the 1300s a damming project flooded the old ford and redirected much of the traffic bound for Copenhagen towards Fiskebæk a short distance further south.

During recurrent wars with Sweden in the 1600s the area suffered enormous damage.

In 1800 the town was transferred from Copenhagen "knight district" to Frederiksborg County. Around this time the economy of the area revived with renewed cultivation of the fertile agricultural land. Throughout the 19th century the community expanded economically. In 1906 the community was linked to the capital by the railway between Copenhagen and Slangerup, which in 1977 became the Hareskovbanen radial of Copenhagen's S-train system.

In the early 1950s the population was ca. 4000. Through the 1960s and 1970s the community turned into a commuter town due to its proximity to Copenhagen and the population expanded past 10,000. By 1980 the population was over 16,000.

Today Farum is divided into three parts. Farum West, Farum East and the Midpoint. Farum East and Farum West are separated by the Highway which effectively divides the city. The Midpoint (Danish Midtpunktet) is a large complex of arpartments built in a very special way. One third of the population lives in these blocks, which houses most of Farums immigrants.

Farum West is the old part of Farum with the old village and Church. The area has grown over the years, and most of the sport facillities are situated here. To the north of Farum West lies the High-Tech industrial area.

Today Farum is very influenced by the large number of immigrants living in the city. In the Midpoint over 50 different languages are spoken. The majority of the immigrants are Turks and people from the middle-east. This has given Farum a large number of exciting shops and exotic food. In the later years many from eastern Europe have settled in the town.

Farum is also the hometown of the football club FC Nordsjælland, which plays in the best Danish league, Danish Superliga. They play at Farum Park, situated in Farum West.

See also

* Farum station

References