Holstebro

Holstebro arose beside a ford on the Storå in western Jutland, where a bridge later crossed the river. It is first mentioned in a letter of 1274 from Thyge, bishop of Ribe. Fire destroyed many of its older buildings in 1552. Farther south, the royal castle of Lundenæs guarded a crossing of the Skjern river, controlling both the road and the waterway.

At Lundenæs in 1340, Niels Ebbesen defeated forces of the Holstein counts during the Danish rising. Queen Margaret I redeemed the mortgaged castle in 1407. It was burned during the Count's Feud in 1534 and again in 1621; a replacement was built on the edge of the river valley. The crown sold Lundenæs in 1661, ending its long association with royal administration in the district.