298km (186 miles) W of Copenhagen; 58km (36 miles) W of Randers; 66km (41 miles) NW of Århus
"Viborg is like a mother to Jutland," wrote a historian some 4 centuries ago. That could still be true today. It's been called "Jutland in a nutshell," and a "cocktail of all good things from sea to sea on the Jutland peninsula." To the west of Viborg is rolling countryside, dominated by pine forests. The east side of town offers hilly, fertile farmland, with the Nørreå River meandering through the valley.
South of town lies a deep lake, Hald Sø, at the foot of Dollerup Bakker, an area dominated by Denmark's largest oak forest and ancient beech woods. Viborg itself doesn't open onto the sea, however, even though Limfjord tries to reach Viborg with its salty tongue, Hjarbæk Fjord. The hamlet of Hjarbæk, to the north of town, is Viborg's link with the sea today, and Hjarbæk is also home to a unique fleet of skiffs -- the brown-sailed fjord boats.
A stroll through the town will give you a sense of its history, which was launched in the Middle Ages, although settlements here may date from as far back as 700. Once the town was called Wibjerg; wi is the old Viking word for sacred, and it is believed that the site of present-day Viborg was once a pagan center of worship. By 1065 Viborg was the see of a bishop. At that time it was also the capital of Jutland. Today it's a lively town of commerce and industry.
