Port of Odense

Odense Harbour ("Odense Havn") is the port of Odense, Denmark. Founded in 1803, Denmark's only canal harbour is the country's seventh largest commercial port in terms of turnover. It consists primarily of Inner Harbour, at the end of Odense Canal, and Odense Steel Terminal of Munkebo, which is located adjacent to the Odense Steel Shipyard. The port has a land area of approximately 4,000,000 square metres (43,000,000 sq ft) and a water area of almost 1,000,000 square metres (11,000,000 sq ft). Its industrial importance has declined since the 1960s, but a transformation is underway, including new residential and small business areas.

In 2012, Port of Odense purchased the site of the former Odense Steel Shipyard which had been Denmark's second-largest shipbuilding facility. Lindø Industrial Park is now being developed on the site with an emphasis on companies working in the off-shore sector.

Odense's inland location became an ever more serious problem for the city with the development of industry and commerce in the 18th century. Towards the end of the century, the prefect Friedrich Buchwald (1747–1814) suggested connecting it to the sea by means of a canal. A huge undertaking at the time, it took some 200 workers eight years to complete the 5 km (3 mi) of excavation work, largely using spades and barrows. The canal was completed in October 1807 when the yacht Neptunus was able to sail into the new harbour. By 1805, up to 12 vessels could be seen in the small dock.

The canal contributed to the city's growing prosperity as warehouses and customs offices were built along the quayside. But by the second half of the 19th century, with the advent of larger ships, there was need for expansion. In 1885, a new basin opened east of the old one and in 1904 the canal was deepened and widened, this time with the help of steam-driven equipment. The harbour became a major hub for the import and export of coal and was a regular destination for steamships.

Despite a serious fire in 1925, the port continued to prosper. Fine new warehouses were constructed, many of which can still be seen today. The harbour quarter of Nørrebro developed with sailors' taverns and important new industries in the electrical, milling and foodstuffs sectors and last but not least in shipbuilding with A.P Møller's Odense Stålskibsværft founded in 1918. During the German occupation of Denmark in the Second World War, shortly before work on the mine-layer Linz was completed, the ship was sabotaged by Sigurd Weber, an electrician. When the Germans attempted to have the work completed under armed guard, the workers went on strike. The revolt soon spread to other industries and towns, resulting in the termination of the Danish government's cooperation with the Germans on 29 August 1943.

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