Nine mayors from North Zealand have asked Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus to turn Udrejsecenter Sjælsmark in Hørsholm back into a military barracks for conscripts.
The request was sent in an open letter to the minister, DR reported on August 31, 2026. The mayors argue that the Capital Region cannot house enough young conscripts as Denmark expands its armed forces.
Sjælsmark today operates as an exit center for rejected asylum seekers. According to the mayors, the site is still laid out as a barracks and could accommodate around 1,000 soldiers if converted back. Berlingske also covered the proposal on the same day.
One barracks in the Capital Region
Region Hovedstaden has a single barracks, while Region Syddanmark has 11, per DR’s reporting. Hørsholm mayor Morten Slotved of the Conservative People’s Party said South Denmark has roughly 40,000 young people, compared with about 55,000 in the Capital Region.
Slotved said solutions are missing for how those young people can serve their conscription in the region. The nine mayors want conscripts to be able to serve closer to their families and social circles. As it stands, they may be sent to Skive, Haderslev or Bornholm.
Slotved described Sjælsmark as an existing location with buildings, infrastructure and proximity to training terrain. According to him, that makes it possible to act quickly and use the existing structures rather than starting from scratch.
The mayors frame the proposal as part of Denmark’s ongoing military build-up, DR reports. They point to a large recruitment potential in North Zealand set against only one service location in the region.
As reported by Berlingske, Sjælsmark Kaserne trained tens of thousands of conscripts before it was closed as a barracks in 2005. Local politicians have long viewed the exit center as a facility they would like removed from the municipality.
In a written reply to DR, Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus of the Social Democrats called the engagement in rebuilding the armed forces positive. He noted that the ministry continuously receives proposals for new barracks.
Bruus stated that the number and location of any new military establishments are decided on the basis of military professional recommendations and needs. If the Danish Armed Forces identify a need for new establishments, he said, a dialogue will be opened with all relevant parties on where and how to build them.
