Gangut-class battleship

The Gangut-class, also known as the Sevastopol-class, were the first dreadnoughts built for the Imperial Russian Navy before World War I. They had a convoluted design history involving several British companies, evolving requirements, an international design competition, and foreign protests. Four ships were ordered in 1909, Gangut, Poltava, Petropavlovsk, and Sevastopol. Construction was delayed by financing problems until the Duma formally authorized the ships in 1911. They were delivered from December 1914 through January 1915, although they still needed work on the gun turrets and fire-control systems until mid-1915. Their role was to defend the mouth of the Gulf of Finland against the Germans, who never tried to enter, so the ships spent their time training and providing cover for minelaying operations. Their crews participated in the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet after the February Revolution in 1917, and joined the Bolsheviks the following year.

All of the dreadnoughts except for Petropavlovsk were laid up in late 1918 for lack of manpower and Poltava was severely damaged by a fire while laid up. Petropavlovsk was retained in commission to defend Kronstadt and Leningrad against the British forces supporting the White Russians although she also helped to suppress a mutiny by the garrison of Fort Krasnaya Gorka in 1919. Her crew, and that of Sevastopol, joined the Kronstadt Rebellion of March 1921. After it was bloodily crushed, those ships were given proper 'revolutionary' names, with Petropavlovsk being renamed Marat and Sevastopol renamed to Parizhskaya Kommuna. The other two serviceable vessels were recommissioned and renamed in 1925–1926. Gangut was renamed Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya and Poltava was renamed Frunze. Parizhskaya Kommuna was modified in 1928 to improve her sea-keeping abilities so that she could be transferred to the Black Sea Fleet. This proved to be the first of a series of modernizations where each ship of the class was progressively reconstructed and improved, with the exception of Frunze. A number of proposals were made in the 1930s to rebuild Frunze, but these came to naught and she was hulked preparatory to scrapping.

The two ships of the Baltic Fleet did not play a prominent role in the Winter War, but did have their anti-aircraft guns significantly increased before Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Marat had her bow blown off and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya was badly damaged by multiple bomb hits in September. The former was sunk, but later raised and became a floating battery for the duration of the Siege of Leningrad while the latter spent over a year under repair. Both ships bombarded German troops so long as they remained within reach, but Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya did not venture away from Kronstadt for the duration of the war. Parizhskaya Kommuna remained in Sevastopol until forced to evacuate by advancing German troops. She made one trip to besieged Sevastopol in December 1941 and made a number of bombardments in support of the Kerch Offensive during January–March 1942. She was withdrawn from combat in April as German aerial supremacy had made it too dangerous to risk such a large target.

Parizhskaya Kommuna and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya remained on the active list after the end of the war although little is known of their activities. Both were reclassified as 'school battleships' (uchebnyi lineinyi korabl) in 1954 and stricken in 1956 after which they were slowly scrapped. There were several plans to reconstruct Petropavlovsk using the bow of Frunze, but they were not accepted and were formally cancelled on 29 June 1948. She was renamed Volkhov in 1950 and served as a stationary training ship until stricken in 1953 and subsequently broken up. Frunze was finally scrapped beginning in 1949.

## Design and development

After the end of the Russo-Japanese War the Imperial Russian Navy was in a state of confusion. Its leadership, tactics and ship designs had all been cast into disrepute by its repeated defeats by the Japanese at the Battle of Tsushima, Battle off Ulsan and the Battle of the Yellow Sea. The Navy took quite some time to absorb the design lessons from the war while the government reformed the Naval Ministry and forced many of its more conservative officers to retire. It conducted a design contest for a dreadnought in 1906, but the Duma refused to authorize it, preferring to spend the money on rebuilding the Army.

The requirements for a new class of dreadnoughts were in a state of flux during 1907, but Vickers Ltd submitted a design that met the latest specifications and was very nearly accepted by the Navy for a 22,000-long-ton (22,000 t) ship with twelve 12-inch (305 mm) guns in triple superimposed turrets. However rumors of a contract with Vickers raised a public outcry as they had some problems with the armored cruiser Rurik then building in England. The Naval Ministry defused the situation on 30 December 1907 by announcing an international design contest with the ship built in Russia regardless of the nationality of the winning firm. By the deadline of 12 March 1908 a total of 51 designs had been submitted by 13 different shipyards. The winner of the competition was a design from the German firm of Blohm & Voss, but the French protested that they did not want to see any of the money that they had loaned Russia to build up its defenses in German pockets. The Russians bought the design for 250,000 rubles and shelved it to placate both sides. A design by the Baltic Works had been the runner-up and was revised for the Navy's updated requirements with a complete design to be presented by 22 March 1909. This was extended by a month to allow the Baltic Works to finalize its contract with the British firm of John Brown & Company for design assistance with the hull form and machinery.

The Naval General Staff believed that a speed advantage over the 21-knot (39 km/h; 24 mph) German battle fleet would prove very useful in battle, as demonstrated at the Battle of Tsushima, but use of the heavy and bulky Belleville Water-tube boilers, as insisted upon by the Engineering Section of the Naval Technical Committee, would prevent the new design from exceeding 21.25 knots itself. However, after John Brown indicated that the ship's turbines could deliver 45,000 shaft horsepower (33,556 kW) if supplied with enough steam and that the hull form could reach 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) with that amount of power, the Naval General Staff took the opportunity to get the speed it desired by using small-tube boilers. It convened a meeting of the Naval Technical Committee to discuss the issue, but packed it with engineers from the fleet who were in favor of small-tube boilers and the Engineering Section was outvoted. The Yarrow small-tube boiler was significantly smaller and lighter than Belleville large-tube boiler, but required more frequent cleaning and repair and their horsepower dropped off more rapidly with use.

The Russians did not believe that superfiring turrets offered any advantage as they discounted the value of axial fire, believed that broadside fire was much more important and also believed that super firing turrets could not fire while over the lower turret because of muzzle blast interfering with the open sighting hoods in the lower turret's roof. They therefore designed the ships with a 'linear' arrangement (lineinoe raspolozhenie) of turrets distributed over the length of the ship. This arrangement had several advantages because it reduced the stress on the ends of the ship since the turrets were not concentrated at the end of the ship, increased stability because the lack of elevated turrets and their barbettes, improved the survivability of the ship because the magazines were separated from each other and gave a lower silhouette. Disadvantages were that the magazines had to be put in the middle of all the machinery, which required steam pipes to be run through or around them and the lack of deck space free from blast. This greatly complicated the placement of the anti-torpedo boat guns which ultimately had to be mounted in the hull, closer to the water than was desirable.

### General characteristics

The Ganguts were 180 meters (590 ft) long at the waterline and 181.2 meters (594 ft 6 in) long overall. They had a beam of 26.9 meters (88 ft) and a draft of 8.99 meters (29 ft 6 in), 49 centimeters (1 ft 7 in) more than designed. They were overweight and their displacement was 24,800 metric tons (24,400 long tons) at load, over 1,500 t (1,500 long tons) more than their designed displacement of 23,288 metric tons (22,920 long tons). This reduced their freeboard by about 16 inches (41 cm) and gave them a slight bow trim that made them very wet ships.

High-tensile steel was used throughout the longitudinally-framed hull with mild steel used only in areas that did not contribute to structural strength. This, plus refinements in the design process, meant that the hull was 19% lighter than that of the preceding Andrei Pervozvanny-class pre-dreadnoughts. The hull was subdivided by 13 transverse watertight bulkheads and had a double bottom. The engine and condenser rooms were divided by two longitudinal bulkheads. They had two electrically driven rudders on the centerline, the main rudder abaft the smaller auxiliary rudder. Their designed metacentric height was 1.76 meters (5.8 ft).

### Propulsion

Two Parsons-type steam turbine sets drove the four propellers. The engine rooms were located between turrets three and four in three transverse compartments. The outer compartments each had a high-pressure ahead and reverse turbine for each wing propeller shaft. The central engine room had two each low-pressure ahead and astern turbines as well as two cruising turbines driving the two center shafts. The engines had a total designed output of 42,000 shaft horsepower (31,000 kW), but they produced 52,000 shp (39,000 kW) during Poltava's full-speed trials on 21 November 1915 and gave a top speed of 24.1 knots (44.6 km/h; 27.7 mph). Twenty-five Yarrow boilers provided steam to the engines at a designed working pressure of 17.5 atm (1,773 kPa; 257 psi). Each boiler was fitted with Thornycroft oil sprayers for mixed oil/coal burning. They were arranged in two groups. The forward group consisted of two boiler rooms in front of the second turret, the foremost of which had three boilers while the second one had six. The rear group was between the second and third turrets and comprised two compartments, each with eight boilers. At full load they carried 1,847.5 long tons (1,877.1 t) of coal and 700 long tons (710 t) of fuel oil and that provided them a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

### Armament

The main armament consisted of a dozen 52-caliber Obukhovskii 12-inch (305 mm) Pattern 1907 guns mounted in four electrically powered triple-gun turrets. The guns could be depressed to −5° and elevated to 25°. They could be loaded at any angle between −5° and +15°; their rate of fire was one round every 30 to 40 seconds up to 15° of elevation and one round per minute above that. The forward turret had an arc of fire of 330°, the second turret had a total of 280°, the third turret 310° and the aft turret 300°. They could elevate at 3–4° per second and traverse at a rate of 3.2° per second. 100 rounds per gun were carried at full load. The guns fired 470.9-kilogram (1,038 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 762 m/s (2,500 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of 23,230 meters (25,400 yd).

Sixteen manually operated 50-caliber 4.7-inch (120 mm) Pattern 1905 guns were mounted in the hull in casemates as the secondary battery intended to defend the ship against torpedo boats. Because of the lack of freeboard and a bow-heavy trim the forward casemates were often washed out in even moderate seas. All guns had a firing arc of 125°–30° and at least four could bear on any part of the horizon. Their maximum elevation was +25° and they could elevate at 3.5° per second. They could traverse at six to eight degrees per second. 300 rounds per gun were provided which was increased from 245 rounds during construction. As designed they were 15 feet (4.6 m) above the waterline, but this was reduced in service as the ships were overweight. The guns had a rate of fire of seven rounds per minute and a maximum range of about 16,800 yards (15,362 m) at 25° elevation with a 63.87-pound (28.97 kg) semi-armor-piercing Model 1911 shell at a muzzle velocity of 792.5 m/s (2,600 ft/s).

The Gangut-class ships were completed with only a single 30-caliber 3-inch (76 mm) Lender anti-aircraft (AA) gun mounted on the quarterdeck. This had a maximum depression of -5° and a maximum elevation of +65°. It fired a 14.33-pound (6.50 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 1,929 ft/s (588 m/s). It had a rate of fire of 10–12 rounds per minute and had a maximum ceiling of 19,000 ft (5,800 m). Other AA guns were probably added during the course of World War I, but details are lacking, although Conway's says that four 75-millimeter (3.0 in) guns were added to the roofs of the end turrets during the war. Four 17.7-inch (450 mm) submerged torpedo tubes were fitted with three torpedoes for each tube.

### Fire control

Two Zeiss 5-meter (16 ft 5 in) rangefinders were fitted on the conning towers and there was also a 4.5-foot (1.4 m) Barr & Stroud instrument, possibly for precise stationkeeping on the master ship when concentrating fire. Two Krylov stadimeters were situated in the lower level of the forward conning tower. These would provide data for the central artillery post to calculate with its imported Pollen Argo Mark V Clock, a mechanical fire-control computer, and then transmit the gun commands via the Geisler transmission system for the gun crew to follow. During the winter of 1915–1916 the Zeiss rangefinders were transferred to armored hoods on the rear of the fore and aft turrets and, at some point, 18-foot (5.5 m) Barr & Stroud rangefinders were added to the roofs of the middle turrets. Gangut received a 9-foot (2.7 m) Pollen rangefinder in the spring of 1916.

### Protection

The armor protection of the Gangut-class ships had to protect against two different threats as revealed during the Russo-Japanese War. Japanese high explosive shells had riddled the unarmored portions of Russian ships and had even sunk several ships with their heavy armor belts unpenetrated. The Russians decided that the entire side of the ship needed to be armored, even though this would limit the thickness of the main belt. They developed a system where the outer armor would break up or at least slow shells down and burst immediately behind the outer armor and an inboard armor bulkhead would stop the splinters and shell fragments from reaching the vitals. This system likely would have worked against the British armor-piercing shells that performed so badly at the Battle of Jutland, but would have failed against the improved shells introduced afterwards with their redesigned fuses. A related weakness was that the turrets and conning towers lacked the inboard splinter bulkhead even though they used armor thickness roughly equivalent to that of the main belt.

The waterline belt, made of Krupp cemented armor (KCA), had a maximum thickness of 225 millimeters (8.9 in), but tapered to about 150 mm (5.9 in) on its bottom edge. It was 117.2 meters (385 ft) long and had a total height of 5 meters (16 ft), 3.26 meters (10 ft 8 in) of which was above the design waterline and 1.74 meters (5 ft 9 in) below. However, the ship's draft was almost 50 to 79 centimeters (20 to 31 in) deeper than intended, which meant that much less was above water. The remaining portion of the waterline was protected by 125-millimeter (4.9 in) plates. The upper belt, which protected the casemates, was 125 mm of KCA over the citadel and 2.72 meters (8 ft 11 in) high. It thinned to a thickness of 75 millimeters forward of the citadel. The area aft of the citadel was the only unprotected section of the hull. 3.4 meters (11 ft) inboard of the side was a longitudinal splinter bulkhead made of Krupp non-cemented armor (KNC). It was 50 mm (2.0 in) thick at the level of the main belt, but thinned to 37.55 mm (1.478 in) behind the upper belt. The main deck sloped from the bulkhead to the lower edge of the waterline belt and consisted of a 50-millimeter KNC plate on a 12 mm (0.47 in) mild steel plate. This space was used as a coal bunker, which added extra protection. The main belt was closed off by 100 mm (3.9 in) transverse bulkheads fore and aft and the steering gear was protected by armor 100–125 mm thick.

The main gun turrets had a KCA face and sides 203 mm (8.0 in) thick with a 100-mm roof. The guns had 3-inch gun shields to protect against splinters entering the embrasures and they were separated by splinter bulkheads. The barbettes were 150 mm thick above the upper deck, but reduced to 75 mm behind other armor, except for the fore and aft barbettes which only thinned to 125 mm. The conning tower sides were 254 mm (10.0 in) thick with a 100-mm roof. The 120-mm guns had their own individual 3-inch gun shields. The funnel uptakes were protected by 22 mm (0.87 in) of armor. The upper deck was 37.5 mm (1.48 in) of nickel-chrome steel and the middle deck was 25 mm (0.98 in) of nickel-chrome steel between the longitudinal splinter bulkheads, but thinned to 19 mm (0.75 in) outside them. The lower deck was of 12 mm (0.47 in) mild steel.

Underwater protection was minimal as there was only a single watertight bulkhead, presumably of high-tensile steel, behind the upwards extension of the double bottom. This was an extension of the splinter bulkhead and was also 3.4 meters inboard. A more comprehensive system was considered early in the design process but rejected because it would have cost some 500–600 t (490–590 long tons; 550–660 short tons).

The armor scheme of the Gangut-class ships had some significant weaknesses. The rear transverse bulkhead was unprotected by any other armor but was the same thickness as the forward bulkhead which was defended by the upper belt armor. The thinness of the barbette armor was a serious defect which could have proved fatal in a battle. And the lack of a splinter bulkhead behind the armor of the turrets, barbettes and conning towers left all of those locations vulnerable to main gun hits. But the biggest weakness was the lack of an anti-torpedo bulkhead, which made the ships highly vulnerable to mines or torpedoes.

## Ships

All four ships were laid down on 16 June 1909, but this was just a ceremonial event as actual work did not begin until September–October. One major complication was that the design for the turrets and their magazines was not completed when construction began so their weights and dimensions had to be estimated. The machinery for these ships was built by either the Baltic Works or the Franco-Russian Works as the New Admiralty Shipyard lacked its own engine shop. Construction was initially very slow because the Duma did not allocate any money for these ships until May 1911. Initial funding was taken from other budget items or the emperor's discretionary fund and the shipyards had to use their own money to keep the work going. They were enormously expensive with their cost estimated at 29.4 million rubles each, including armament. By way of comparison the preceding class of pre-dreadnoughts had only cost 11 million rubles each. Once the Duma provided the funding the pace of work accelerated and the ships were launched later that year, although delays in the delivery of engines and turrets hindered their completion. All of the ships completed abbreviated trials by the end of 1914 and reached the fleet in December 1914 – January 1915.

## Service

### World War I

All four of the Ganguts were assigned to the First Battleship Brigade of the Baltic Fleet in December 1914 – January 1915 when they reached Helsingfors. Their turrets and fire-control systems, however, were still being adjusted and fine-tuned through the next spring. Their role was to defend the mouth of the Gulf of Finland against the Germans, who never tried to enter, so they spent their time training with occasional sorties into the Baltic. Several ships ran aground in 1915 and 1916, often while providing cover for minelaying operations, but only Sevastopol suffered any significant damage. A minor mutiny broke out on 1 November on board Gangut when the executive officer refused to feed the crew the traditional meal of meat and macaroni after coaling. The crews of the battleships joined the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet on 16 March 1917, after the idle sailors received word of the February Revolution in Saint Petersburg. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk required the Soviets to evacuate their base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have them interned by newly independent Finland even though the Gulf of Finland was still frozen over. Gangut and her sisters led the first group of ships on 12 March and reached Kronstadt five days later in what became known as the 'Ice Voyage'.

### Russian Civil War and interwar period

All of the dreadnoughts except for Petropavlovsk were laid up in October–November 1918 for lack of manpower. She bombarded the rebellious garrison of Fort Krasnaya Gorka in 1919 and supported Bolshevik light forces operating against British ships supporting the White Russians in the Gulf of Finland. On 17 August 1919 Petropavlovsk was claimed as torpedoed and put out of action by the British Coastal Motor Boat CMB 88 in Kronstadt harbor, but was, in fact, not damaged at all. On 24 November 1919 a fire broke out in Poltava's forward boiler room and gutted much of her interior; she was never repaired although numerous proposals were made to reconstruct her. The crews of Sevastopol and Petropavlovsk joined the Kronstadt Rebellion of 1921 and they were renamed Parizhskaya Kommuna and Marat respectively after the rebellion was crushed to commemorate the Paris Commune and to erase their 'betrayal' of the Communist Party. The two undamaged ships were recommissioned in 1925–1926 and all the ships were given proper revolutionary names.

The initial attempts to return Frunze to service were to restore her to the original design, but money ran out before she was even half completed. Subsequent plans that focused on reconstructing her as a modernized equivalent to her sisters or even as a battlecruiser, with one turret deleted to save weight, were considered, but finally abandoned on 23 January 1935 when all work was stopped.

Parizhskaya Kommuna was refitted in 1928 in preparation for her transfer to the Black Sea Fleet the next year and she was given an open-topped false bow to improve her sea-keeping ability. However, while en route through the Bay of Biscay, she was caught in a heavy storm that damaged the bow and she was forced to put into Brest for repairs. Marat was the first of the class to be reconstructed between 1928 and 8 April 1931. Her superstructure was enlarged, her guns were replaced, the turrets overhauled, the anti-aircraft armament augmented and the fire-control equipment modernized. Her boilers were converted to burn only fuel oil and this produced enough steam that the forward three boilers could be removed and the boiler room was turned into anti-aircraft magazines and control spaces. The forward funnel was angled to the rear and extended to try to keep the exhaust out of the gunnery spaces and the bridge. She was also given a false bow, but hers had a solid top that turned it into a forecastle. Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya was the next ship to be rebuilt and profited from the experiences of her sister's modernization between 1931 and 1934. All twenty-five of her old boilers were replaced by a dozen oil-fired boilers originally intended for the Borodino-class battlecruiser Izmail. The space saved was used to add another inboard longitudinal watertight bulkhead that greatly improved her underwater protection. The rest of her modernization was along the same lines as Marat's, except that the latter's tubular foremast was replaced by a sturdier semi-conical mast, a new aft structure was built in front of the rear conning tower which caused the mainmast to be moved forward, her forward funnel was curved to the rear to better keep the bridge clear of exhaust gases and the thickness of her turret roofs was increased to 152 millimeters (6.0 in). Parizhskaya Kommuna began her two-stage reconstruction in 1933 along the lines of Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya's modernization. Major differences were that her guns and turrets were improved to increase their rate of fire to about two rounds per minute and to extend their range, she was the first ship of the class to receive light anti-aircraft guns and her forward funnel was given a more sinuous curve to direct its exhaust gases away from the forward superstructure. She completed these alterations in 1938, but was returned to the dockyard from December 1939 through July 1940 to receive a new armored deck and anti-torpedo bulges which cured her stability problems and greatly increased her underwater protection at a modest cost in speed.

### World War II

#### Baltic Fleet

The participation of Marat and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya in the Winter War was limited to a bombardment of Finnish coastal artillery in December 1939 at Saarenpää in the Beryozovye Islands before the Gulf of Finland iced over. They failed to inflict any permanent damage before being driven off by near misses. Both ships had their anti-aircraft armament modernized and reinforced over the winter of 1939–40 and were transferred to Tallinn shortly after the Soviets occupied Estonia in 1940. Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya received more AA guns in February–March 1941. Parizhskaya Kommuna received a more modest number of AA guns while she was receiving her bulges, but landed four 120-mm guns right before the Germans invaded.

On 22 June 1941, the Germans attacked the Soviet Union under the codename of Operation Barbarossa; on that date Marat was in Kronstadt and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya was in Tallinn. The latter was soon forced to fall back to Kronstadt by the speed of the German advance and neither of the Baltic Fleet dreadnoughts participated in combat until 8 September when they fired on troops of the German 18th Army from positions near Kronstadt and Leningrad. Marat was lightly damaged by German 15-centimeter (5.9 in) guns on 16 September and had her bow blown off on 23 September by two bomb hits, one of which was claimed by Lieutenant Hans-Ulrich Rudel of III./StG 2 flying a Junkers Ju 87B 'Stuka', that detonated her forward magazine. She sank in the shallow water from progressive flooding, but was raised and used as a floating artillery battery for the rest of the war using two, and later, three of her gun turrets. Marat reverted to her original name on 31 May 1943. Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya was badly damaged on 21 September 1941 by three bomb hits on her bow that knocked out two of her turrets. She was sent for repairs at the Ordzhonikidze Yard on 23 October, although she was hit by more bombs on two different occasions while under repair until November 1942. Her AA armament was further reinforced during this period and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya returned to her mission of providing fire support during the Siege of Leningrad, the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January 1944 and the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive in June 1944. She was the last Soviet battleship to fire shots in anger on 9 June 1944 during the latter offensive. On 22 July 1944, the ship was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya received a Lend-Lease British Type 279 air-warning radar sometime during 1944.

During the late 1930s Frunze was used as a barracks hulk while she was stripped for parts, until she was formally discarded 1 December 1940, after scrapping had already begun at a leisurely pace. After the German invasion she was towed to Kronstadt and run aground in late July 1941 near the Leningrad Sea Canal. During the Siege of Leningrad her hull was used as a base for small ships. Frunze raised on 31 May 1944, towed to Leningrad and scrapped beginning in 1949.

#### Black Sea Fleet

Parizhskaya Kommuna was in Sevastopol and remained until 30 October 1941 when she was evacuated to Novorossiysk after the Germans had breached Soviet defensive lines near the Perekop Isthmus. The ship fired her first shots of the war on 28–29 November when she bombarded German and Romanian troops south of Sevastopol. Parizhskaya Kommuna made one evacuation run to Sevastopol on 29 December, bombarding German troops on her arrival, but spent most of her time supporting troops during the Kerch Offensive in January–March 1942. She fired her last shots of the war at targets near Feodosiya during the nights of 20–22 March 1942 before returning to Poti to have her worn-out 12-inch guns relined. By the time this was finished the Soviets were unwilling to expose such a prominent ship to German air attacks, which had already sunk a number of cruisers and destroyers. She returned to her original name on 31 May 1943, but remained in Poti until late 1944 when she led the surviving major units of the Black Sea Fleet back to Sevastopol on 5 November. British Type 290 and Type 291 air-warning radars were fitted during the war. Sevastopol was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 8 July 1945.

### Postwar

Sevastopol and Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya remained on the active list after the end of the war although little is known of their activities. Both were reclassified as 'school battleships' (uchebnyi lineinyi korabl) on 24 July 1954 and stricken on 17 February 1956. Their scrapping began that same year although Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya's hulk was still in existence in May 1958.

After the war there were several plans, known as Project 27, to reconstruct Petropavlovsk (ex-Marat), using the bow of Frunze and moving her third turret to replace the first, but they were not accepted and were formally cancelled on 29 June 1948. She was renamed Volkhov, after the nearby river, on 28 November 1950 and served as a stationary training ship until stricken on 4 September 1953 and broken up afterwards.

After World War II two of Frunze's turrets and their guns were used to rebuild the destroyed Coastal Defense Battery 30 (Maxim Gorky I) in Sevastopol. It remained in service with the Soviet Navy until 1997.

## See also

- Vladimir Yourkevitch

Russian dreadnought class

World War II battleships of the Soviet Union


Roskilde

Roskilde (/ˈrɒskɪlə/ ROSK-il-ə, ) is a city 30 km (19 mi) west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 52,580 (as of 1 January 2023), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative council of Roskilde Municipality.

Roskilde has a long history, dating from the pre-Christian Viking Age. Its UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral, now housing 39 tombs of the Danish monarchs, was completed in 1275, becoming a focus of religious influence until the Reformation. With the development of the rail network in the 19th century, Roskilde became an important hub for traffic with Copenhagen, and by the end of the century, there were tobacco factories, iron foundries and machine shops. Among the largest private sector employers today are the IT firm BEC (Bankernes EDB Central) and seed company DLF. The Risø research facility is also becoming a major employer, extending interest in sustainable energy to the clean technology sphere. The local university, founded in 1972, the historic Cathedral School, and the Danish Meat Trade College, established in 1964, are educational institutions of note. Roskilde has a large local hospital which has been expanded and modernized since it was opened in 1855. It is now increasingly active in the research sphere. The Sankt Hans psychiatric hospital serves the Capital Region with specialized facilities for forensic psychiatry.

The cathedral and the Viking Ship Museum, which contains the well-preserved remains of five 11th-century ships, attract more than 100,000 visitors annually. In addition to its internationally recognized tourist attractions and its annual rock festival, Roskilde is popular with shoppers thanks to its two centrally located pedestrian streets complete with restaurants, cafés, and a variety of shops. The city is home to the FC Roskilde football club which play in the Danish 1st Division, the Roskilde Vikings RK rugby club, and the rowing club, Roskilde Roklub. In the 1970s, the city benefited from the opening of the university and from the completion of the Holbæk Motorway connecting it to Copenhagen. Roskilde has the oldest operational railway station in Denmark, with connections across Zealand as well as with Falster, Lolland, and Jutland. The local airport opened in 1973, mainly serving light aircraft for business use and flight instruction.

Among the city's notable citizens are Absalon, the bishop who founded Copenhagen in the 12th century, L. A. Ring, the symbolist painter who gained fame in the 1880s, the writer Lise Nørgaard who wrote the popular Danish TV series Matador in 1978 and the rower Thomas Ebert who became an Olympic gold medallist in 2004.

## History

Roskilde, which developed as the hub of the Viking land and sea trade routes over a thousand years ago, is one of Denmark's oldest cities. From the 11th century until 1443, it was the capital of Denmark. By the Middle Ages, with the support of kings and bishops, it had become one of the most important centres in Scandinavia. The Saxo Grammaticus and other early sources associate the name Roskilde (meaning 'Ro's spring') with the legendary King Roar who possibly lived there in the 6th century.

According to Adam of Bremen and the Saxo Grammaticus, Roskilde was founded in the 980s by Harald Bluetooth. On high ground above the harbour, he built a wooden church consecrated to the Holy Trinity as well as a royal residence nearby. Although no traces of these buildings have been discovered, in 1997 archaeologists found the remains of Viking ships in the Isefjord, the oldest of which is dated to 1030. At the time, there were also two churches in the area: St Jørgensbjerg, an early stone church, and a wooden church discovered under today's St Ib's Church.

In 1020, King Canute elevated Roskilde to a bishopric, giving it high national status. Absalon, the Danish bishop, had a brick church built on the site of Harald's church in 1170. Today's cathedral was completed in 1275 after five of Absalon's successors had contributed to its construction. As a result of Absalon's influence, many other churches were built in the vicinity, making Roskilde the most important town in Zealand. Coins were minted there from the 11th to the 14th century. In 1150, Sweyn Grathe built a moat around the city. In 1135 the town was destroyed by the Pomeranian duke Ratibor I. In 1151/2, a religious confraternity was founded for the defence of the town against Wendish pirates. Under the command of Wetheman, it also took part in the Wendish Crusade. The Roskilde bishops owned large areas of land in the region including, from 1186, Havn on the Øresund which later became Copenhagen. By the time of the Danish Reformation in 1536, there were 12 churches and five monasteries in the city.

It is unclear when Roskilde became a market town but it was certainly enjoying trading privileges under King Eric II who reigned from 1134 to 1137. These privileges were firmly established when the Roskilde City Council granted market town status to other towns on Zealand on 15 June 1268. By that time, it was probably the largest and most important town in Denmark. In 1370, the city owned 2,600 farms throughout Zealand.

The Reformation brought Roskilde's development to an abrupt stop. While the cathedral continued to be the preferred location for the entombment of the Danish monarchs, most of the other religious institutions disappeared. For the next three centuries, the city suffered a series of disasters including the effects of the Dano-Swedish War which terminated with the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, the plague in 1710 and 1711, and a series of fires in 1730. Conditions improved in 1835 when the city became the Assembly of the Estates of the Realm (Rådgivende Stænderforsamling) and in 1847 with the railway connecting Copenhagen and Roskilde.

With the development of the rail network, Roskilde became an important hub for traffic with Copenhagen. In the 1870s and 1880s, the harbour was extended attracting industrial firms to the area. By the end of the century, there were tobacco factories, iron foundries and machine shops. At the beginning of the 20th century, Roskilde first prospered as a satellite community for Copenhagen but then, as ships increased in size, suffered from the fact that the harbour was too small and Roskilde Fjord too shallow for navigation. Industries began to move out of the harbour area but were still the largest source of employment, thanks in part to the spirits factory (De Danske Spritfabrikker) and the slaughterhouse (Roskilde Andelssvineslagteri).

In the 1970s, the city benefited from the Holbæk Motorway which linked it to Copenhagen and the establishment of Roskilde University in 1972. Since the 1980s, the service sector has prospered, replacing manufacturing industry as the major employer (65% by 2002). With the increase in population, several new districts have grown up, including Himmelev and Kongebakken. Some of the surrounding villages such as Svogerslev, Vor Frue, Vindinge and Veddelev have developed as satellite communities.

## Geography

Roskilde is located in north-central Zealand at the south end of Roskilde Fjord which is itself the south branch of the Isefjord. By road, it is 35.6 kilometres (22.1 mi) west of downtown Copenhagen, 25.8 km (16.0 mi) northwest of Køge and 39.8 kilometres (24.7 mi) northeast of Ringsted. The city centre around the cathedral, 1,300 m (4,300 ft) south of the fjord, is about 40 m (130 ft) above sea level. On the slope down to the harbour, there are a number of springs, the most powerful of which is Maglekilde. The historic centre of the town covers the area around the main streets Skomagergade and Algade including the squares of Stændertorvet and Hestetorvet. Two parks, Byparken and Folkeparken which run down towards the fjord, are immediately north of the old town.

Neighbourhoods in the vicinity include Himmelev, Hyrdehøj, Musicon, Sankt Jørgensbjerg and Trekroner. Boserup Skov, a wood next to Roskidle Fjord 3 km (2 mi) northwest of the city centre, consists mainly of beech trees. In spring, its hilly slopes are covered with wild flowers, including white, blue and yellow anemones. Chaffinches, nightingales and other songbirds can be heard in the early summer. Also of note is the recently planted wooded area of Hyrdehøj Skov, to the south of the stadium and just north of Route 23 in the southern outskirts of Roskilde.

## Demographics and administration

As early as 1070, Adam von Bremen referred to Roskilde as "Zealand's largest town". At the time of the Reformation in 1536, it had some 6,000 inhabitants but as a result of war, fire and disease, by 1753 its population had dropped to only 1,550. By the 1860s, it had grown to around 5,000 and by the 1900s to some 9,000. Thereafter it increased appreciably until 1970 when there were almost 45,000 inhabitants. The population dipped slightly to 40,000 in the 1980s, but thanks to improved connections with Copenhagen and the establishment of the university, it grew steadily to reach 47,117 by 2014 making Roskilde Denmark's tenth largest city.

In Roskilde Municipality as of 1 October 2014, 76,545 residents had Danish background, 6,287 were immigrants and 2,006 were second or third generation descendants of immigrants. The most common countries of birth of foreign-born residents of Roskilde Municipality are Turkey, Iraq, Poland and Afghanistan.

Roskilde is governed by the administrative council of Roskilde Municipality. Following the local elections of November 2013, Joy Mogensen (born 1980), a Social Democrat, was reappointed mayor (first elected mayor in 2011), gaining three additional seats on the council. The council now consists of 13 seats for the Social Democrats, one for the Social Liberal Party, one for the Conservative People's Party, one for the Socialist People's Party, three for the People's Party, nine for the Left Liberal Party and three for the Red–Green Alliance.

## Economy

In the 1890s, 37% of Roskilde's economy was in crafts and manufacturing industry with only 15% in administration and services. By 1984, industry had dropped to 16% while services had risen to 57%. In 2002, services had reached 62%, leaving industry at 15% and trade and transport at 22%.

### Companies

One of the largest employers in Roskilde is BEC (Bankernes EDB Central) who provide IT services to the financial sector. In July 2014, Novo A/S acquired Sonion, producing micro-acoustical components for hearing aids. Top-Toy A/S with up to 200 employees is a major Scandinavian toy importer and retailer based in Tune near Roskilde Airport. DLF-Trifolium A/S, a seed producer for the farming sector, has its headquarters in Roskilde with a workforce of over 50. Rambøll, the international Danish engineering consultancy, has recently concentrated its Zealand operations in Roskilde bringing 60 new jobs to the city.

Among the city's smaller companies are GPI (Glim Plastic Industri) established in 1987 producing plastic piping, Roskilde Galvanisering A/S, one of Denmark's leading galvanization companies, and Mathiesen A/S, a wholesaler of office equipment. Vestergaard Company A/S, an American firm which produces de-icing equipment and washing products for the aviation industry, has offices in Roskilde. The new city district of Musicon has already attracted 29 businesses in the area of culture and the creative arts, providing over 1,000 jobs.

Several food industries have their headquarters or production facilities in Roskilde, including: Chr. Hansen A/S, producing cultures for the dairy industry, DanÆg, eggs, the Scandinavian Pizza Company, and Stryhns, a cold cuts and meat paste producer with over 100 on the payroll.

### Research parks

There are a number of research institutes in the city including Risø, promoting sustainable energy, which is now part of The Technical University of Denmark. The research facilities are being extended over an additional 50 ha (120 acres) to cover the clean technology area liable to provide up to 4,000 more jobs. The CAT (Center for Avanceret Teknologi) research park is also part of the university working mainly in the areas of wind energy and biotechnology. In the public sector, the Accident Investigation Board Denmark has its headquarters in Roskilde.

### Tourism

An important component of the city's economy is tourism which currently accounts for DKK 1.2 billion (US\$200 million) per annum. Provisional figures show an increase of 16.6% in overnight stays for 2014. The cathedral and the Viking Ship Museum attract more than 100,000 visitors per year although 20 years ago there were some 200,000 visits to the cathedral.

The city is also popular with shoppers, having received Denmark's Best Shopping City Award in 2012. In addition to a wide variety of shops and restaurants along its two downtown pedestrian streets, Algade and Skomagergade, Roskilde's shopping centre RO's Torv on Københavnsvej to the east of the city houses 70 stores under one roof.

One of the oldest restaurants in Roskilde is the Raadhuskælderen, in a building dated to 1430, noted for its salmon steak with tartar sauce and grilled chicken and cream sauce dishes. Also of note is La Brasserie on Algade, the Gimle Musikcafe on Ringstedgade, which is an English-style pub-restaurant with live music, and Restaurant Toppen at the top of an 84 metres (276 ft) water tower, built in 1961, with fine views of the town. The 76-room Hotel Prindsen has foundations which date to 1695. It has been a hotel for over 100 years and is decorated in the Nordic style with wooden floors and contains the large luxury Hans Christian Andersen suite. Scandic Hotel Roskilde is a 98-room chain-run hotel established in 1989, with a restaurant serving Danish and international cuisine. The thatched-roof Svogerslev Kro is an 18-room inn dated to 1727 in the Svogerslev area, about 2.5 miles to the west of Roskilde's centre.

## Cityscape

The old town of Roskilde is centred around the main square, Stændertorvet, just south of the cathedral. The original street plan is preserved in nearby Skomagergade, Algade and Hestetorvet although most of the buildings were rebuilt after serious fires in the 18th century. The area is flanked to the north by two large parks, Byparken and Folkeparken, which stretch down to Roskilde Fjord.

The old town is bordered to the south by the railway and main station, beyond which there are commercial buildings and apartment blocks. The residential areas of Himmelev and Veddelev to the east and north of the city have grown up around former villages. More recently, with the establishment of Roskilde University even further to the east beyond the ring road, the district of Trekroner is in full development, expected to attain some 3,500 houses in the coming years.

One of the most exclusive residential districts of the city, Sankt Jørgensbjerg, covers the hilly area to the northwest, bordered by the fjord. Initially a fishing village dating back to the Viking era, it became part of Roskilde in 1938.

Finally, Roskilde Municipality is developing the innovative Musicon quarter to the south of the city in an area of 25 ha (62 acres) where a cement factory once stood. Located in the same district as the fairgrounds used for the Roskilde Festival, there are medium-term plans for establishing creative companies and housing for young people in the area. A large rock museum named "Ragnarock" opened in April 2016.

## Landmarks

### Roskilde Cathedral

Located on the site of a 10th-century wooden church, the cathedral was built in the 12th and 13th centuries when the Romanesque style was influenced by Gothic trends from northern France. It was the first Gothic cathedral in Scandinavia to be built of brick, resulting in the spread of this style throughout northern Europe. With its 39 royal tombs, the cathedral is to this day the burial site for Danish monarchs. Since 1995, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, encouraging some 100,000 tourists to visit it each year. The cathedral houses a museum on its upper floor, tracing the building's history. A working church, it also hosts concerts throughout the year.

### Roskilde Palace

Adjacent to the cathedral is Roskilde Palace, built from 1733 to 1736 on the site of the former residence of the bishops of Roskilde. It was used by members of the royal family when they were in the city or attended funerals. Today it houses the Museum of Contemporary Art. During the English siege of Copenhagen in 1807, the mansion served as headquarters of General Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. Built in the Baroque style with yellow-rendered masonry and red tile roofing, the four-winged complex consists of a two-storey main wing, two one-storey lateral wings and a curved gate wing opening onto the Stændertorvet. The four wings are connected by curving galleries. Facing the courtyard, the façade of the main wing has pilasters and a median risalit tipped by a triangular pediment decorated with the royal coat of arms.

### Roskilde Convent

Roskilde Convent is on the site of the former St Catherine's Priory from the mid-13th century which belonged to the Dominican friars until it was dissolved after the Danish Reformation. A private manor house (Sortebrødregaard or Blackfriars Manor) was built on the site in 1565 which in 1699 became a convent for women of high rank, the first of its kind in Lutheran Denmark. The building now houses a collection of 150 paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries as well as period furniture. The convent chapel has a carved altarpiece and pulpit.

### Roskilde Museum

Roskilde Museum is a local history museum, run by the municipalities of Roskilde, Frederikssund and Lejre. The main branch in Roskilde, on the corner of Sankt Olsgade and Sankt Olsstræde, is based in two listed buildings, Sukkerhuset (the Sugar House) and Liebes Gård (Liebe House), a former sugar refinery and merchant's house. The Sugar House was built by a consortium led by Johan Jørgen Holst as a facility for the processing of raw sugar from the Danish West Indies. Jacob Borch constructed Liebe House in 1804 on the site next to the sugar factory. It replaced a modest house with timber framing and a straw roof dating from the 17th century. The building takes its name from the Liebe family who owned the property for two generations later in the century. On the occasion of his death in 1900, Liebe left the entire building complex to Roskilde Municipality. In 1908, the Sugar House came into use as a fire station. Roskilde Local History Museum was founded on 12 November 1929 on the ground floor of the Liebe House. When the fire station moved to new premises in 1989, Roskilde Museum took over the Sugar House. The museum has exhibits from prehistory, through the Viking Era and the Middle Ages to modern times. The Museum of Tools, housed in separate premises, contains a collection of tools used by craftsmen such as wheelwrights, carpenters, shoemakers and wood carvers from around 1850 to 1950.

### Viking Ship Museum

A major attraction in the city is the Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet) located alongside Roskilde Fjord. The centrepieces of its collection are the well-preserved remains of five 11th-century Viking ships, excavated from the fjord some 20 km (12 mi) north of the city in the late 1960s. The ships were scuttled there in the 11th century to block a navigation channel, protecting the city, then the Danish capital, from seaborne assault. The five Viking ships represent several distinct classes, such as the Longship and Warship, and smaller fishing and ferry boats. The ships on display range from 10 feet (3 m) to 50 feet (15 m) in length. The museum also undertakes research in experimental archaeology centred on Viking shipbuilding and seaworthiness. The boatyard, which also forms part of the museum, safeguards the Viking boat-building tradition by building and exhibiting full-scale ships on site.

### Ragnarock Museum

On April 29, 2016, the Ragnarock museum for pop, rock and ungdomskultur (youth culture) in Roskilde was inaugurated by Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark. The 3,100 square-meter museum, designed by the Dutch architectural firm MVRDV and by the Danish architecture firm COBE Architects, presents and disseminates youth culture and rock music from the 1950s to the present, both as a means of communication and to enhance socialization between people from different cultures and social backgrounds.

### Historic churches

The Old Church of Our Lady (Gammel Vor Frue Kirke) is an 11th-century stone church on the southern outskirts of the old town. It is the only surviving travertine basilica in Denmark with a high central nave opening onto two lower lateral aisles. Its carved altarpiece and pulpit from the 1620s are from Brix Michgell's Roskilde workshop. The church was attached to a convent for women of rank until the Reformation. It has been called the "Old" Church of Our Lady since 1907 when a new Church of Our Lady was built to the south of the city.

There are two other historic churches in central Roskilde. St Ib's is located below the cathedral plateau near the harbour. Built in travertine around 1100, the Romanesque building was once richly decorated in frescos, remains of which can be seen on the rear wall. It is no longer a functioning church. St Jørgensbjerg Church stands on a little hill to the northwest of the old town, overlooking the fjord. With a nave and chancel in travertine dating from c. 1080, it is Denmark's oldest preserved stone building. It features a carved pulpit from 1616. The Sankt Laurentii Church Tower is all that remains of the Romanesque Sankt Laurentii Church, built of travertine in the 13th century. It was torn down after the Reformation leaving only the tower which was built at the beginning of the 16th century and now forms part of the former town hall on Stændertorvet. It contains a museum where archaeological finds from 1998 can be seen.

### Roskilde Jars

The three huge Roskilde Jars (Roskildekrukkerne) stand in a shallow water basin on the square outside the main railway station. They are 5 m (16 ft) in height and together weigh about 24 tons. The jars are the work of the Danish abstract sculptor Peter Brandes (born 1944). They were commissioned by Elsebeth Stryhn of Stryhns Leverpostej, a local meat paste company, and presented to the city in 1998 on the occasion of Roskilde's 1,000th anniversary.

### Roskilde Festival

Since it was first held in 1971, the Roskilde Festival, a rock music festival, has been held annually on the fairgrounds south of the city centre. It has grown to become one of the biggest music festivals in Scandinavia, with a turnout of around 80,000 every year. It features a diverse selection of music, including rock, metal, hip-hop, electronica, dance, and world music. All profits from the festival are donated to charities. The fairgrounds are also the site of regionally popular agricultural and animal exhibitions, and large flea markets.

## Education and sport

Roskilde University (Danish: Roskilde Universitet, RUC) was founded in 1972. The university is on the eastern outskirts of Roskilde, in the Trekroner district (named after a signalman's cabin on the Roskilde-Copenhagen line). RUC hosts students from around the world. Roskilde University has on-campus dormitory style housing and apartments but many students commute from Copenhagen. In 2013, there were about 7,600 students, 630 teaching staff and 380 technical and administrative personnel. Designed by Preben Hansen (1908–1989), the university buildings were first brought into use in 1972.

Founded around 1020 to educate priests for the cathedral, Roskilde Cathedral School is possibly the oldest school in Denmark. Initially located close to the cathedral, it moved into larger premises in 1969 to accommodate an increasing number of pupils (currently over 1,300). The Danish Meat Trade College (Slagteriskolen), founded in 1964, is a non-profit institution offering vocational training courses in industrial slaughter, retail butchering, sausage making, nutrition and the meat service sector. Training is also offered to kitchen staff, waiters, cooks and bakers. The school employs about 150 teachers and supporting staff. Courses are also available for international students. There is a hostel with accommodation for some 200 students.

There are eleven public primary schools in the municipality split up between eleven school districts. Six gymnasiums (including Roskilde Cathedral School and Roskilde Gymnasium) offer Upper Secondary School Exit Examinations, Higher Preparatory Examinations, Higher Commercial Examination Programme and Higher Technical Examination Programme. There are many adult education, technical and trade schools in addition to the gymnasiums. Roskilde University Library (RUB) is a research library serving the students and staff at the university.

On the sports front, Roskilde is home to the FC Roskilde football club which play in the Danish 1st Division, the country's second highest league. Their home stadium is Roskilde Idrætspark with a capacity of 6,000. The city's rugby club, Roskilde Vikings RK, forms part of the Vor Frue Idrætsforening which also has facilities for badminton, soccer and gymnastics. Members of the rowing club, Roskilde Roklub, have distinguished themselves at the Olympic Games and other recent championships. The Roskilde Congress & Sports Centre provides facilities for sporting events accommodating up to 3,500 spectators. It is home to the Roskilde Handball Club.

In 1955 a motor racing circuit called the Roskilde Ring was built in an abandoned gravel quarry. The circuit was just 670 metres in length, being extended to 1.38 km in 1957. The circuit had no straight and all of the corners were banked. The Danish Grand Prix for Formula Two cars was held at the circuit every year from 1960 to 1968. The last meeting was held on the 22nd of September 1968, and the site is now a park.

## Transport

The principal road running through Roskilde is Danish national road 21, better known as Holbæk Motorway, which connects the city to the capital in the east. Roskilde has a four-platform railway station. Its seven tracks serve as a central hub connecting western and southern Zealand, the islands of Falster and Lolland, and Jutland to Copenhagen. Also within the municipality is the Trekroner station, serving Roskilde University and the developing residential areas to the east of Roskilde. Roskilde Station is the oldest railway station in Denmark still in operation and the first to be built of stone. The first train arrived from Copenhagen on 26 June 1847.

The main airport for Roskilde is Copenhagen Airport which can be reached in about 40 minutes by train. Since April 1973, there has also been the small local Roskilde Airport, serving light aircraft for training, taxi, and flight instruction. There are plans to expand it for use by larger aircraft, possibly including discount international flights. The plans were approved, but lack of commitment from any carriers has postponed progress. The airport currently handles up to 100,000 operations (flights) per year, most of which are light aircraft operations associated with school flights. The airport is also home to a small Royal Danish Air Force detachment, maintaining a helicopter based search-and-rescue service covering Zealand and the Baltic Sea. Military passenger services have occasionally used the airport. However, there are now plans to close the military facilities in 2017 or 2018.

## Healthcare

The principal hospital in Roskilde is Roskilde Sygehus, founded in 1855. It currently has 437 beds for in-patients and several specialist wards, having been continuously modernized and expanded over the years. Recently physics facilities have been established in medical and hematological outpatient units, while in 2010 the cardiology laboratory was expanded for CAG/PCI. In addition, in 2011 a haematological and a urological ward were modernized and re-equipped. The hospital works in conjunction with Roskilde University in biomedical research, health services research, research assignments, direct research and pharmaceutical biology. It is also involved in a scientific co-operation with the Risø Research Centre.

Sankt Hans Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in Roskilde but operated by the Capital Region of Denmark. With a history beginning in 1620, the hospital now has 180 beds and offers specialized treatment in the areas of forensic psychiatry and dual diagnosis.

## Notable people

### Business

- Peter Heering (1792–1875), founder of Peter Heering, a liqueur flavored with cherries
- Arnold Busck (1871–1953), bookseller and publisher, founder of Arnold Busck A/S
- Jørgen Kastholm (1931–2007) furniture designer and academic
- Winnie Liljeborg, (born ca.1960) co-founder of Pandora AS, lives on Strandvejen
- Morten Lund (born 1972) entrepreneur

### Culture

- Peder Syv (1631–1702) philologist, folklorist and priest
- Brix Michgell (17th century) carpenter and wood carver of pulpits and altarpieces
- Anders Nielsen Hatt (17th century), created carved pulpits and altarpieces
- Ejler Andreas Jorgensen (1838–1876), a Danish-American landscape and portrait painter
- Carl Rohl-Smith (1848-1900) Danish-American sculptor of life-size and small bronzes
- Golla Hammerich (1854–1903), pianist
- L. A. Ring (1854–1933), painter, lived at Sankt Jørgensbjerg from 1923
- Clara Schønfeld (1856–1938), a Danish stage and film actress
- Sophie Holten (1858-1930) a Danish painter of portraits, flower paintings and genre works
- Pauline Thomsen (1858–1931), painter and art teacher
- Gustav Wied (1858–1914 in Roskilde), writer and satirical critic of society
- Hans Knudsen (1865–1947) artist, landscape paintings
- Aksel Schiøtz (1906–1975), a Danish tenor and later baritone; lieder singer
- Jørgen Beck (1914–1991) a Danish film actor
- Lise Nørgaard (1917-2023), a writer of humorous portrayals of Danish cultural life
- Willy Rathnov (1937–1999) a Danish film actor
- John Olsen, (born 1938) sculptor, illustrator and painter
- Jørgen Boberg (1940–2009), a self-taught Surrealist Danish painter and illustrator
- Ib Michael (born 1945), a Danish novelist and poet of magic realism style
- Else Torp (born 1950) a Danish soprano
- Thomas Boberg (born 1960) a Danish poet and travel writer
- Ole Christian Madsen (born 1966), film-maker, director
- Thure Lindhardt (born 1974), actor, grew up in Roskilde
- Clemens Legolas Telling (born 1979) rapper, singer, music writer, actor
- Gitte Hanspal (born 1982) Danish-Indian model, Miss Scandinavia 2005
- Simon Sears (born 1984), actor, raised in Solrød Strand
- Natasha Thomas (born 1986) a Danish pop singer-songwriter
- Freja Beha Erichsen (born 1987) a Danish model, "Queen of Cool" with an androgynous look

### Politics

- Canute Lavard (1096–1131) Prince and first Duke of Schleswig
- Absalon (1128–1291), Bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192
- Carl Christian Vilhelm Liebe (1820–1900) politician, speaker of Landstinget
- Louis Pio (1841–1894), a co-founder of the organized worker's movement in Denmark
- Carl Theodor Zahle (1866–1946), 5th Danish Prime Minister and co-founder of the Danish Social Liberal Party
- Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane (1973–2013)a Danish citizen, held in Guantanamo Bay
- Michael Aastrup Jensen (born 1976) politician
- Zenia Stampe (born 1979) politician, elected to the Folketinget in 2011
- Joy Mogensen (born 1980) a Danish politician, Mayor of Roskilde Municipality 2011 to 2019, Minister of Culture and Church since 2019

### Sport

- Oskar Nørland (1882–1941) a Danish amateur footballer, played 14 games for Denmark and won two team silver medals at the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics
- Tage Henriksen (1925–2016) rower, team gold medallist at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- Finn Pedersen (1925–2012) rower, team gold medallist at the 1948 also competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Carl-Ebbe Andersen (1929–2009), rower, team gold medallist at the 1948 Summer Olympics
- Jens Winther (born 1938), racing driver
- Reno Olsen (born 1947), racing cyclist, team gold medallist at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Thomas Ebert (born 1973), rower, team gold medallist at 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics
- Jan Magnussen (born 1973), racing driver
- Rikke Olsen (born 1975) a retired badminton player, three time contender for Olympic bronze
- Peter Madsen (born 1978) a retired footballer with 275 club caps and 13 for Denmark
- Jesper Christiansen (born 1978) retired football goalkeeper with 348 club caps and a coach
- Carsten Mogensen (born 1983) badminton player, team silver medallist at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- David Ousted (born 1985) a Danish football goalkeeper with over 350 club caps
- Lasse Lindbjerg (born 1992) footballer and physiotherapist
- Kevin Magnussen (born 1992), racing driver
- Dennis Lind (born 1993), racing driver

### Science

- Rasmus Bartholin (1625–1698), scientist, physician, grammarian and astronomer
- Hans Egede Saabye (1746–1817) priest, missionary to Greenland and botanist
- Jacob Kornerup (1825–1913), archeologist and painter
- Ernst Østrup (1845–1917) botanist, phycologist, mainly working on diatoms
- Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873–1967 in Roskilde), chemist and astronomer
- Hans Helbæk (1907–1981) a Danish archaeologist and palaeobotanist
- Ada Bruhn Hoffmeyer (1910–1991) a Danish museum curator, writer and medieval weapons expert

### Crime

- Peter Lundin (born 1972), convicted murderer

## See also

- Roskilde Festival
- Treaty of Roskilde
- Risø National Laboratory

Populated places established in the 10th century