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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).〔("BEF44: Population 1st January, by urban areas" ) database from Statistics Denmark〕 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. As of 2014 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. ==History== Rønne 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. As its trade prospered, by the beginning of the 15th century Rønne was repeatedly plundered and burnt by the Lübeckers from northern Germany.〔("Rønne i Middelalderen" ) Retrieved 28 May 2010.〕 In 1525, they took control of Bornholm as compensation for the large debts that Denmark was unable to repay. They even allowed their own merchants to establish businesses in Rønne. Though the Lübeckers contributed to the success of the fishing trade, they demanded ever-higher taxes from the local population. The citizens took revenge, chasing the Lübeckers off while allowing other German communities to remain. The result was that in 1576, control of Rønne returned to the Danish Crown. However the Baltic Sea had by this time lost much of its strategic importance. The fishing industry declined and after the town was twice struck by the plague in 1619 and 1655, it took decades for it to recover.〔("Lübeckertiden 1525–1576." ) Retrieved 28 May 2010.〕 A further setback occurred in April 1658 when, in the midst of the Dano-Swedish war, Denmark ceded Bornholm to Sweden under the Treaty of Roskilde. The occupation was however short-lived as the Swedes were overcome by the local population in December of the same year.〔(Bornholms besættelse 1658 ). Retrieved 28 May 2010.〕 In 1834, Rønne Town Hall was built on the ''Store Torv'', the town's main square. This important building was the centre of administration in Rønne and Bornholm for many years, and the island's courthouse and jail were there.〔Bender & O'Brien (2005), p.169〕 At the end of World War II, on 7 and 8 May 1945, the town was bombed by Soviet aircraft when the commandant of the German occupying forces refused to surrender.〔〔Bender & O'Brien (2005), p.171〕 The air raid destroyed 212 houses,〔Andreas Haller: ''Bornholm'', p. 82. Erlangen 2013〕 but only ten civilians were killed, having the population been alerted in advance. Although the rest of Denmark had been liberated on 4 May, the Soviets occupied Bornholm on 9 May, sending the Germans back to Germany. The Soviet Union did not leave until 5 April 1946 when an agreement was reached with the Danish authorities and the island finally came under Danish rule once more.〔 〕 Most of the houses in Rønne were destroyed or damaged by the bombs and it took several years to rebuild the town, retaining its traditional architecture, quaint streets and half-timbered houses.〔 The Swedes contributed 300 timber houses to the town while the rest of Denmark including Greenland and the Faroes raised the considerable sum of 8 million Danish kroner to help rebuild the town. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rønne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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