September the 3rd 2006 Rolling Stones gave a concert in Horsens, for an audience of 85.000 people. A huge task for a town which only has 58.000 inhabitants. 10 days before, Madonna gave a similar concert in the Town.
Culture in Horsens
A blooming cultural town with international performers, exciting cultural events, newcomers and a booming business development.
From Prison town to cultural pearl
Just 7 years ago The Danish provincial town Horsens, was a dark spot on the map. Horsens was known for the large state prison and a high crime rate. The bad reputation caused problems for the local businesses, which had trouble attracting skilled labour. Nobody wanted to move to Horsens.
Today Horsens has turned a into a blooming cultural town with international performers, exciting cultural events, newcomers and a booming business development.
In 2002 52 pct. of the Danish said, “State Prison” when asked what they think of, when they hear the word: “Horsens”. In 2006 53 pct. replied “culture” when asked the exact same question. During the 90’s the population was dropping. During the last couple of years the population has grown with a 1.000 new citizens each year. The sale of commercial building plots has increased tenfold since the 90’s.
It has taken the town many years of hard, determined work and cooperation, to turn the image around.
In the 90’s the town took a chance by agreeing to host three large sports- and cultural events with only a few years interval. The events made thousands flock to Horsens. The preparation and processing of the events got the whole community involved. The local associations and clubs, emergency and security forces, the municipality, business community, retail trade and tourist association – everybody contributed to make the events run smoothly and it boosted the feeling of unity and pride among the citizens.
This generated four annual festivals, each attracting a large audience: a Medieval Festival, a Children’s Theatre Festival, a Crime Novels Festival and a Classical Music Festival.
13 managing directors of local businesses agreed to form a sponsoring club with the purpose of attracting large, international artists to perform in Horsens. Bob Dylan was the first to pay a visit, later followed Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, Robbie Williams, Bryan Adams, David Bowie, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Madonna and Dolly Parton. In a few years time Horsens became famous as a provincial town with great concerts.
World of Crime is the latest project, that involves the old - now empty state prison. The plan is to convert the historic prison dating back to 1853 into an international tourist attraction. This will end the circle. The town once famous for its prison will now be famous for a cultural attraction – the prison itself.
