The metamorphosis of a town

For years Esbjerg has been fighting to get rid of its die-hard image as a fishing town, but its citizens know full well that oil and gas long ago have overtaken fishing as the key activity of this most international town.

As late as in 1969 Esbjeg could still boast of being the home port of more than 600 fishing vessels and the largest fishing harbour in Denmark. Its seven yards and repair shops were busy serving the local market situated only a few basins away.

But the following year the decline of fishing set in. Fish meal factories merged, service companies went bankrupt, and Esbjerg had to find new activities, as the fishing vessels were scuttled at a worrying pace.

Denmark’s fifth largest and westernmost city since then has experienced a change of its commercial structure not found anywhere else in Denmark.

A few years ago Museum Director Morten Hahn-Pedersen mapped the importance of the oil and gas industry to Esbjerg and Ribe county as part of the comprehensive structural reform leading to Region Southern Denmark. He estimated that the offshore activities provided jobs for 6,000-7,000 persons per year in Ribe county and created a turn-over of some 6-7 billion DKK. Esbjerg’s dominating position is furthermore increased by the fact that the municipality now comprising of Bramming and Ribe, too, has increased to 114,000 inhabitants.

From fishing to offshore town
Offshore has placed its stamp on the town seen from a commercial and cultural point of view, and the international aura is part of the identity and strategy of Esbjerg.

“In no other town in Denmark English is spoken so much as here so we consider once more establishing an international school in the town. Till now we have earmarked 50,000 DKK for the demand to be analysed,” states Esbjerg’s Mayor since January 1st 1994, Johnny Søtrup.

He gives the offshore industry credit for Esbjerg having the largest booking of hotel rooms next to Copenhagen. The harbour meant that the town was used to foreign guests, but the tendency has grown stronger during the last dozen of years.

“The many thousand jobs offshore have had en enormous impact on the local society, and the many gloomy predictions that production in the North Sea will dwindle away fortunately have proved to be unfounded.”

For years Esbjerg has been fighting to rid itself of its rather old-fashioned image as a fishing town, and even if the fans of visiting football and ice hockey teams may use the derogatory terms of proud, bygone days, the battle is worth fighting.

“It is important that we increase Esbjerg’s visibility as an offshore town,” states Managing Director Søren Fløe Knudsen, Danbor Service AS. “Having foreigners living in the houses and at the hotels of the town is creating an international image.”

The unique language of the town
This international aura was very much felt by the Director of the Fishing and Maritime Museum, Morten Hahn-Petersen, when at Christmas 1987 he was driving around the town to find some entertainment for a sick child.

“I discovered that in this town a kiosk was called a drugstore, and lots of other expressions were related to offshore. The oil and gas industry had created a language of its own, and when the then Varde Bank published a guide to the various offshore terms, 12,000 copies were grabbed away within a fortnight. The offshore language became most fashionable, and where else would you have pubs called Drilling Rig 1 and 2?” asks Morten Hahn-Petersen. In addition to British-inspired pubs culture has benefited from the influx of more highly educated citizens settling in the town. The Music House Esbjerg and the centre for rhythmical music, Tobakken, have contributed to creating a more subtle image of the windblown wild west town.

“We are pleased with the type of jobs provided by the offshore industry,” states Mayor Johnny Søtrup, not blind to the attractive tax revenue. “They generate development in many other sectors.”

 
Museum Director Morten Hahn-Pedersen:
“I discovered that in this town a kiosk
was called a drugstore, and lots of other
expressions were related to offshore.
The oil and gas industry had created a
language of its own”.
Photo: Niels Husted

“Esbjerg is, what Esbjerg has become thanks to the offshore industry,” states Managing Director Dan Madsen, Ramboll Oil&Gas. “Offshore has created the many know-how environments. There are relatively many highly educated citizens in the town, at least many more than we would have had if it had not been for the offshore industry. When we talk offshore the town is not lying in a faraway corner of Denmark. It is situated exactly where it should be.”

Facts about Esbjerg:

Young town: As one of the youngest towns in Denmark Esbjerg has managed to grow to its more than 80,000 inhabitants within 100 years. As a part of the comprehensive structural reform the number of municipalities by January 1st this year was reduced to a third, resulting in Esbjerg merging with industrial Bramming and the oldest town in the North, Ribe, increasing the total number of inhabitants to 114,000. Newcomers, whether they are Danes or from other countries, will find that Esbjerg is an easy-going and open town not hampered by old family ties and their traditions. Read more on esbjergkommune.dk.

Infrastructure: Esbjerg Harbour was constructed in 1874 in order to facilitate the export of agricultural products to Great Britain. Since then its 10 km jetties and 3.5 million square meters of available area have been paramount to the development of the town – first creating the right conditions for goods and passenger transport as well as fishing, and later as an important base harbour for the oil and gas activities of the North Sea. The town is situated close to a motorway only an hour’s drive from Germany, and even closer to the international airport of Billund. From the local airport east of the town daily departures call at the offshore towns of Aberdeen and Stavanger as well as London. In addition to that, helicopters depart some 15-20 times per day for the installations in the North Sea and the windfarm at Horn’s Reef.

Hotels: Esbjerg has five hotels at or near the centre and the town boasting of a capacity of 380 rooms, and a few kilometres further away another three inns or hotels provide an additional 65 rooms. The price of a single room with a bath is 525-1250 DKK, and of a double room 645-1450 DKK. In addition to that Danhostel Esbjerg can accommodate 130 guests in 34 rooms, and Esbjerg Højskole has available 167 rooms. In all the total capacity of the town is 1044 beds.

Education: Esbjerg has more than 50 higher education units with more than 500 students, one of them being an offshore master’s degree at Aalborg University Esbjerg and other oil and gas related subjects at Erhvervsakademi Vest. In addition to that a maritime research centre has been established at Syddansk Universitet, Esbjerg. A thriving sports life placing a number of the clubs among the best in Denmark, a research and development park close to the two universities, adequate housing for the students, and an attractive entertainment environment are underlining the attractions of the town to new students. Read more on StudiebyenEsbjerg.dk.

Culture: Once Esbjerg was called the Liverpool of Denmark. Even if the music of the 60es has been revived and is still going strong, the cultural spectrum of the town has grown broader during the years. Places like Tobakken, Musikhuset Esbjerg and Den Nye Opera are cultural lighthouses supported by the local academy of music, Esbjerg Ensemble, the largest theatre club in Denmark and a number of small scenes around the town.

Sports: Esbjerg is in the top league when talking football, ice hockey, swimming and ladies handball, and the municipality is aiming at being the best sports town in Denmark. More than 100 clubs with some 30,000 members indicate the wide range covered. The swimming hall is the largest in the country, and British Golf Magazine has nominated the golf courses at Esbjerg some of the best ones in the country.