Railway Ferry Service – Strib

Strib as a hub on the Little Belt

By the harbour in Strib once lay one of Denmark’s most important transport hubs. From here the ferries sailed to Fredericia, and from 1866 the railway connected Strib to the rest of Funen. Take a walk along Strib Bådehavn and you’re standing on the ground where trains, freight and passengers crossed the Little Belt for decades.

In 1872, Denmark’s first railway ferry began operating between Strib and Fredericia. The ferry could carry entire freight wagons, and the connection became a vital link in the railway line between Copenhagen and Hamburg. Over the years the station and ferry harbour grew, and in the 1930s traffic reached its peak: in 1935 Strib was close to reaching one million passengers in a single year.

That number was never reached, however, because that same year the Old Little Belt Bridge was completed, and the railway connection between Strib and Fredericia became redundant overnight. Ferry operations and the station closed, and Strib changed roles – from transport hub to the town by the Little Belt you know today.

Little remains of the old facilities, but a walk along the harbour gives a real sense of how busy it once was. The Vejlby-Strib Local History Archive has put up QR codes at the harbour with videos telling the story in detail.

Tip: Combine your visit with a walk on the Old Little Belt Bridge or a hike in Naturpark Lillebælt, both a short distance from Strib.