Middelfart

Middelfart is a town in central Denmark on the island of Funen, with a population of 16,958 as of January 2026, and is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality. It grew up at the narrowest point of the Little Belt, the strait between Funen and Jutland, and the name combines the old Danish words for middle and for way, first recorded in 1231 in Valdemar's Census Book. The town received its first privileges at the end of the 13th century, and fishing and a ferry link across the strait mattered early on. From the Middle Ages local fishermen also hunted harbour porpoises in winter, and cattle export became significant in the 16th century. A harbour was built in 1836 and the rail line to Nyborg opened in 1865. After the first Little Belt Bridge opened in 1935 the town became an important traffic hub between Jutland and Funen, and a motorway bridge followed in 1970.