Hillerød (Danish pronunciation: [hiːleʁœd]) is a Danish town with a population of 31,505 (1 January 2015) located in North Zealand. Hillerød is the administrative centre of Region Hovedstaden (Capital Region of Denmark), one of the five regions in Denmark, and is also the third-largest town in this part of Zealand after Copenhagen and Helsingør.
Hillerød was founded during the early medieval times. The name is first mentioned in 1552 as Hylderødz, deriving from the male name Hildi and the suffix -rød, meaning "clearing in the forest".
In 1550, crown prince Frederick acquired Hillerødsholm in exchange for another properties. His son, Christian IV, tore down most of the old buildings and built a new castle between 1602 and 1625. It was never officially incorporated as a market town but prospered from ample privileges afforded by successive monarchs, although it experienced a set back when Frederick IV moved court to Fredensborg Palace in the 1720s. Hillerød was from 1772 until 1908 named Frederiksbog after its castle. Its first town council was established in 1778 and its town shield, which features a flowering elder tree, is from 1787.