Exhibition on Sæby’s market town history

For 500 years Sæby has been a market town. This great event was celebrated all over the town and at The Coastal Museum of North Jutland with an exhibition on Sæby as a maritime market town.

It was also a big event in 1524 when Sæby was appointed a market town. This gave the right to have trading activities and sailing. Sæby’s harbour and its association with the sea as a trade route formed the base for the town and with support from the bishops in the province, especially from the notorious Stygge Krumpen, the town achieved the sought-after privileges.

The privileges not only provided rights but also duties such as establishing a city court, keep law and order, maintain the harbour, take care of the poor, education and over time many other things. For a long time the town was governed by a Magistrate appointed by the king but during the 19^th century the citizens had more and more influence through elections to a city council.

Ever since the Middle Ages the harbour remained the lifeblood for the town. From here fishing started and merchant ships departed but gradually the town started growing into the country. Small workplaces became industries and with the introduction of the railway the development accelerated and a new era was born. Merchants and their goods had easy access to the town and this also applied to the summer guests and the artists who in increasing numbers discovered the town by the sea.

In the exhibition at the Coastal Museum of Sæby you can experience the development of Sæby as a market town through 500 years and find out what it means to be a market town and how this changed the town and its inhabitants who worked and lived here.

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