Askov

The village that grew from the pond and into the history of the folk high school. 

Askov is a living oasis where community and culture merge. In Askov, you are met by a village-like idyll with two culture-bearing buildings; The folk high school and the church, located around the pond in the city center. The village of Askov was one of several small villages in Malt parish. The pond was located in the middle of the village, which after the relocation only had 3 farms left in the village itself.

But the defeat of the war in 1864 was a decisive turning point. It was no longer possible to run a free folk high school at Denmark's oldest folk high school in Rødding. The principal Ludvig Schrøder and a group of teachers with him had the opportunity to start a new folk high school in Askov.

The new school was located by the pond. In 1900, the church was added, and thus the centre of the old village also became the centre of the school and knowledge town that was now developing. The church was originally built as an elective parish church, but since 1972 it has been the church for Askov, which in 1986 was separated from Malt Parish.

The folk high school attracted academically highly competent teachers; this led to the establishment of the experimental station for agriculture. Poul la Cour, one of the folk high school teachers, constructed the first working electric wind turbine in Denmark. Both the experimental station and Poul la Cour's mill – and museum – are still in the town.

Trade and crafts also flourished, including the Crafts and Woodwork Teachers' School established by Marie and Anders Lervad. The name Lervad is also known today for its looms and woodwork benches. Today, Sløjdskolen has moved, but the town's amateur stage, Sløjdscenen, takes its name from here. Although Askov today has almost grown together with Vejen, the town has managed to maintain its identity as a culture-bearing town in the municipality.