Rønne

Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,579 (1 January 2015). Once a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a county (Danish: Bornholms Amt) with an area of 29.11 square kilometres (11.24 square miles), it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality. between 11,000 and 12,000 inhabitants live in Rønne Parish, which is a narrow piece of land on the westernmost of the island and stretching north and southward comprising around a third of the area of the former municipality. Knudsker Parish made up the rest of the former municipality.Owing to its natural harbour and its strategic position in the Baltic Sea, Rønne has an interesting history coming under German and Swedish influence during its development as a herring fishing port. Today, with its cobbled streets, half-timbered houses and interesting museums, it attracts visitors mainly from Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Poland.HistoryRønne probably originated around the year 1000 when a small fishing community grew up around the natural harbour. Around 1275, a small chapel dedicated to St Nicolas was built on the site where Rønne's church now stands. The community was soon granted the status of a market town with its own mayor and council and its own law court. However, by the beginning of the 14th century, the King of Denmark, the Archbishop of Lund and even various north German princes were all competing for control of the town. The Germans took a special interest in Bornholm because of its strategic position in the Baltic Sea between the German coast and Visby in Gotland, off the coast of southern Sweden, at times establishing their own interests in the town. After the church's expansion in 1360, the parish of Rønne was established.