Varde

Varde
Church of Sct. Jacob in Varde
Seal Coat of arms
Motto: Varde, town of commerce or We in nature
Coordinates: 55°37′N 8°29′E / 55.617°N 8.483°E / 55.617; 8.483
Government
• Mayor	Erik Buhl Nielsen
Area
• Municipality of Varde	1,240 km2 (480 sq mi)
Population (2014/15)
• Total	13,771
• Municipality of Varde	50,122
Time zone	+1
Website	www.vardekommune.dk

Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old market environment and is located by Varde stream/river and is a short distance away from the beaches by the North Sea. These features make it a popular tourist destination. The age of Varde is not known precisely, but it is mentioned in written sources from 1107 A.D. and is therefore thought have been founded sometime in the early Middle Ages.

Early on the name of Varde is presented in 2 different versions "Warwath" and "Warwik." War is identical in both and is believed to mean grassland, maybe beach or in other ways uncultivated area. The suffixes "wath" and "wick" are believed to mean respectively ford and inlet. The differing versions of the name occur quite naturally, depending on where you are located "on ground" or "on water". As with other older Danish towns, Varde is located, where the countryside in different ways favors human settlement and other human activity. The town was founded near a stream allowing a convenient port for ships near a place, where north and south bound traffic by land had an important ford/crossing, which was later replaced with a bridge.Varde was from olden times protected against sudden attacks from outsiders, partly because of its distance from the shore and partly because of its neighbourship with the built royal castle/fortress/fort/estate (Vardehus). Vardehus was the administrative center of the district and from this base of power a royal official governed the shire of Varde a sizeable area corresponding to the former Ribe Amt. On the greater scale Varde has never been a big town, but the fact that Varde already in the early Middle Ages had 2 churches, means that it had some status.

Written sources from the 12th century repeatedly mention the royal official/caretaker in Varde. In his capacity of being the representative of the king in the shire of Varde, this high level official must have resided in the local royal estate/castle – Vardehus. The oldest castle lay to the vest of the town, by the stream/river of Varde.