Silkeborg is a town in central Denmark, located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, with a population of 41.300 (2006 figure). The development of Silkeborg as a modern town may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844. The town is divided north and south by the lake, the Silkeborg Langsø, which at the eastern side of the town, resolves into the Guden River (Gudenaa).
The town is notable for the large number of car dealerships located there, and the economically significant presence of the headquarters of Jyske Bank A/S, Denmark's third largest bank.
The town is represented in the premier division of Danish football, the Superliga, by Silkeborg IF.
At the end of June each year, the town is home to the Riverboat Jazz festival.
The town is home of the Tollund man which resides in the Silkeborg Museum.
In 1944, the priest and playwright Kaj Munk was shot by the Gestapo nearby.
The Germans had their headquarters in Jutland during World War II at Silkeborg Bad, the town's former sanatorium known for its curative spring waters. It is now a municipal art centre, where it is possible to visit the wartime bunkers in the grounds.
Silkeborg was the home town of COBRA painter Asger Jorn, and has in addition to the above mentioned Silkeborg Bad art centre another art museum, the Silkeborg Kunst Museum with its large Asger Jorn collection.
Inspired by an Asger Jorn print in a band member's home in Dublin, Ireland, Silkeborg is now also the name of an Irish band