Gjøl

Gjøl is a town on the north coast of the Limfjord in North Jutland, Denmark. It is located in Jammerbugt Municipality, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) west of Aalborg, extending along the base of a glacial moraine. The shallow part of the fjord to the west of the ridge, Gjøl Bredning, is a wildlife preserve.[2]

Gjøl
Village
Street in Gjøl
Street in Gjøl
Gjøl is located in North Jutland Region
Gjøl
Gjøl
Location in the North Jutland Region
Coordinates: 57°4′4″N 9°43′1″E
CountryDenmark
RegionNorth Jutland
MunicipalityJammerbugt
Population
 (2023)[1]
922
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

History

The placename is first recorded in 1231 as Giol and is related to the word gul (yellow), a reference to the chalky cliffs of the moraine.[2]

Until the early twentieth century, the site of the town was an island. Starting during the First World War, dams were constructed to create dry land from part of Gjøl Bredning and connect the island to the mainland, among them in 1914–1920 a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) long dam connecting Gjøl to the neighbouring island of Øland.[2]

Thomas Dam created the first troll dolls in Gjøl in the mid-1950s and the Dam Things company is still located in the town; in Denmark they are known as Gjøl trolls as well as Dam trolls.[3][4] The town is also known for mink farms.[2]

Church

Gjøl Church was built around 1150 and has a Romanesque nave and choir and late Gothic tower. The doorways were originally richly decorated with carvings; the signature of master carver Goti is preserved. The choir was decorated with frescos in the 1530s. It is the main church of Gjøl Sogn (parish).[2][5]

In media

Hans Kirk's 1928 novel Fiskerne (The Fishermen) is based on the true story of a group of fishermen from the North Sea coast who moved to Gjøl and came into conflict with those who lived there. Kirk had a connection to the area through his father, and wrote the book while living at the old inn in the town, Gjøl Kro.[6]

References
  1. BY3: Population 1st January, by urban areas The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark, retrieved 16 October 2023
  2. Egon Jensen, Horst Meesenburg and Ulla Kjær, "Gjøl", Den Store Danske online, 15 July 2014, retrieved 16 October 2020 (in Danish).
  3. "Trolls", Tim Walsh, Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them, Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 2005, ISBN 9780740755712, p. 187.
  4. "History of the Trolls", Dam Things Aps, retrieved 20 June 2017.
  5. "Gjøl Kirke", Danmarks Kirkehistorie, 2000, retrieved 20 June 2017 (in Danish).
  6. Morten Pedersen, "Gjøl fishermen hung out to dry?", 1001 Fortællinger om Danmark, Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces, retrieved 20 June 2017.

Media related to Gjøl at Wikimedia Commons

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