Aarhus is Denmark's second largest and Jutland's largest urban
area with 280,534 inhabitants (2020). Aarhus Municipality has a
population of 349,983 (2020). In the larger urban zone, Eurostat has
a population of 845,971. Aarhus is part of the East Jutland City
Region, which with a population estimated at between 1.0 - 1.4
million. is Denmark's largest growth center outside the Copenhagen
area.
The town is located in East Jutland by Aarhus Bay with
a view to the peninsula Mols in an easterly direction and to the
Kattegat islands Samsø and Tunø further east to the southeast.
Aarhus was granted market town rights on 2 July 1441, but the
city can probably be traced back to the middle of the 700s. Its name
comes from the Old Danish Ārōs "Åens Munding". The center of Aarhus
is located in a river valley by Aarhus Å, with districts located on
hills along the river valley. The city's suburbs are located in both
high and low terrain. Near the city center, Riis Skov and
Marselisborg Skov are located in a hilly terrain, and they are
traditionally used for recreational purposes. To the west of the
river valley are Brabrand Lake and Årslev Engsø. To the north,
Aarhus is bounded by Egådalen, which is adjacent to Egåen near
Mollerup Skov and Egå Engsø.
The inhabitants of the city are
called Aarhusians. Aarhusian is the adjective for "Aarhus" and at
the same time the name of the local dialect (mainly Danish with a
more or less pronounced East Jutlandic tone). On 1 January 2011, the
city officially changed its name back to Aarhus, which was also the
city's name before the introduction of Bolle-å with the spelling
reform in 1948.
On 24 August 2012, Aarhus, together with the
rest of the Central Jutland Region, was selected as the European
Capital of Culture in 2017.
By plane
Aarhus has its own airport (IATA: AAR), which is 42 km
northeast of the city center and is connected to the train station by a
shuttle bus (journey time approx. 50 minutes). From summer 2018 there
will be seasonal direct flights with SAS from Munich, and CSA will also
fly from Prague (possibly interesting for travelers from Saxony or East
Bavaria). Incidentally, there are transfer connections with SAS via
Copenhagen. You can also fly direct to Aarhus with British Airways from
Oslo, Stockholm or Gothenburg and with Ryanair from London-Stansted or
Gdansk. Ultimately, Aarhus also has a number of connections with holiday
destinations around the Mediterranean, which are unlikely to play a role
for arrivals from German-speaking countries.
Another way to get to
Aarhus by plane is the larger Billund Airport (IATA: BLL), 95 km away.
Here the selection of connections and airlines is much larger, including
several direct connections from airports in German-speaking countries.
The express bus line 912X of the Midttrafik company takes travelers
every hour directly to Banegårdspladsen in Aarhus (journey time 1½
hours). A transfer connection by bus and train via Vejle may be a few
minutes faster.
By train
All IC and ICE trains stop at the
centrally located Aarhus Central Station (Hovedbanegård).
The
convenient option to travel by night train from Germany to Denmark has
been discontinued and there are no plans to reactivate it. Anyone coming
from northern Germany can take the German-Danish IC connection directly
from Hamburg to Aarhus twice a day (journey time 4½ hours, also stops in
Rendsburg and Flensburg). If you order the ticket two weeks earlier, it
is cheaper. From Berlin it takes about 6:45 hours with a change in
Hamburg, from regions further south it takes correspondingly longer.
From Flensburg, however, IC trains run four times a day by the Danish
State Railways (DSB) directly to Aarhus (journey time 2:35 hours). Your
departure times are coordinated with the arrival times of DB trains from
Hamburg, so that there are hardly any waiting times when changing
trains. Coming from Kiel, on the other hand, you should plan to wait an
hour, unless you change trains in Rendsburg and Flensburg. Further
connections from Germany result if you accept another change in
Fredericia.
Within Denmark, Aarhus can be reached every hour by
the Lyntog (DSB's fastest train type) from Copenhagen (2:50 hours) via
Odense, Fredericia (1 hour) and Vejle; supplemented by the somewhat
slower Intercity trains (with more stops along the way), which also run
every hour. In the opposite direction, from northern Jutland, there is
also a Lyntog every hour from Aalborg (1 hour 20 minutes) via Hobro, as
well as the slightly slower IC at the same time. The Lyntog even runs
five times a day from Frederikshavn (a good 2½ hours) and Hjørring on
the North Jutland island of Vendsyssel-Thy.
The Danish train
tickets – including those from Flensburg – can be bought in print
directly from the DSB website, where you can also find detailed
timetable information.
By bus
The ZOB (Rutebilstation) Aarhus
is only a few hundred meters from the train station, on the southern
edge of the city centre. International long-distance buses from Germany
also arrive here. The Danish bus company Abildskou (partner of Flixbus)
offers a daily bus connection on the Jutland-Berlin route (from Berlin
ZOB via Bad Segeberg, Neumünster and Flensburg to Aarhus and vice
versa). The journey from Berlin takes 9 hours and usually costs €39 or
€49 depending on demand, from Flensburg it takes just under three hours
and usually costs €21. The tickets are sold on the Flixbus website. You
can also take the Flixbus to Kolding from the Rhine-Main or Rhine-Ruhr
area and change there to the train to Aarhus.
In the street
Aarhus is easily accessible from the south and north via the E45
motorway. When the traffic situation is good, you have to reckon with a
journey time of just under four hours by car from Hamburg, and a good
two hours from Flensburg; from Odense or Esbjerg each about two hours.
In the opposite direction from Aalborg it takes between 1:15 and 1½
hours.
By boat
Mols Lines operates a ferry eleven times a day
between Aarhus Ferry Terminal and Odden Ferry Terminal on the
north-western tip of Zealand (hourly mornings and afternoons, slightly
less frequently midday and evening). The crossing takes about 1:15 hours
and costs 149 Kr for one person if booked in advance, for a car from 199
Kr (but often more for the more popular connections). It takes about
three hours from Copenhagen by car and ferry.
Cruise ships mostly
dock at the cruise terminal. It is easy to walk from there to the city
of Aarhus. Only larger units have to make do with the container port due
to the depth of the water.
Aarhus is a port of transit for passengers
on cargo ship voyages. From the container terminal Aarhus (one of
Denmark's largest ports) to the city center is about 4 km on foot.
By bicycle
National cycle route 5 runs through the city, and the
North Sea Coast Cycle Route Denmark (Østkystruten) runs along the same
route. The stage from Horsens further south is 72 km long and from
Grenaa in the north it is 85 km.
The Jutland section of national
cycle route 4 (Søndervig–Copenhagen) also starts and ends here, about 60
km from Bryrup. In the other direction, the route continues with a ferry
crossing to Odden on Zealand.
The center of Aarhus is easy to explore on foot. City bikes are also
available during the summer months and can be borrowed free of charge
with a 20 crown coin as a deposit.
city buses
In Aarhus you
can easily travel with the yellow city buses of the bus company Aarhus
Sporveje, which belongs to the regional Midttrafik. Most city buses are
modern and, due to their low height, are handicapped accessible. The bus
tickets can be bought directly from a machine on the bus and cost 20
crowns for an adult and are valid for 2 hours. It should be noted that
since the city is divided into zones, tickets are purchased based on
"zones". However, as a tourist you are most likely to be in Zone 1 or 2,
which cover central Aarhus. There is a zone overview in every bus at the
machine. It is best to have Danish small change with you, as the machine
only accepts coins. If you travel around the city by bus a lot, it is
best to buy a day ticket or a 10-time stamp card in one of the numerous
kiosks.
There are 6 main bus routes in Aarhus, identified by an
"A" in their route number. For example, the 1A - 6A depart from the main
routes in Aarhus and usually run every 10 minutes from central squares
in the city. The other city bus routes mostly depart from the ZOB
Rutebilstations on Fredensgade or from the station area at
Banegårdspladsen or the neighboring Park Allé at City Hall. A bus route
map is located at each bus stop.
There are separate night buses
in Aarhus at weekends. For these, you can buy more expensive night bus
tickets from the ticket machine or stamp your 10-ticket twice.
Overland Connections
If you want to get to know the area around
Aarhus a little better, the blue intercity buses depart from the Rutebil
station.
Cultural life in Aarhus is known via its large cultural institutions
and especially Aarhus Festuge, which is Jutland's largest cultural
festival with contributions from both local, national and international
artists. In addition to the large institutions, there are a number of
small venues, galleries and artistic workshops that provide great
diversity in cultural life. Among the flagships are the art museum ARoS,
Aarhus Theatre, Den Jyske Opera, Musikhuset, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra
and Aarhus Art Building. Among the smaller cultural institutions we can
mention Ukendt Aarhus, Galleri Image, Huset, Svalegangen, Guldlok
Dukketeater, Galleri Gallo, Poetklub Århus, SPOT Festival, Århus Art
Academy, Cirkus Tværs and many others. At street level, you can also
literally experience the culture with ornate pavement tiles. In the
city's forests and parks, you can find sculptures by Jørn Rønnau and on
the city's houses gable paintings by, among others, Hans Krull, which
can be seen from the pedestrian street at Clemensbro. There is also art
on the beach a little south of Moesgård Strand, where Astrid Gjesing has
placed 23 stones on a stretch of approx. 200 meters with engraved
geographical names from the Moon; the name of the project is MÅNE HAV
STEN.
The commitment of Aarhusians to culture shines through
clearly in the debate about the decoration of Store Torv, where a
proposal from Hein Heinsen was first rejected. Subsequently, there were
alternative proposals implemented by the weekly newspaper Århus Onsdags
series Sketches for Store Torv.... The newspaper had asked eight artists
to make a proposal for decoration, and here the readers chose Per
Kramer's Weeping Tree as the winner. However, the proposals did not come
to fruition, and subsequently Aarhus City Council and the Statens
Kunstfond invited a competition, where the choice fell on Elisabeth
Toubros's Vanddragen, which was inaugurated in the spring of 2004.
There are 3 art schools in Aarhus: The Jyske Art Academy, Århus Art
Academy and Århus Art School (Website no longer available).
There
are around 45 active theaters in Aarhus, of which around 30 have their
own stage,
The 4 largest theaters with multiple stages.
Aarhus Music Hall
Great hall 1588 sitting.
Symphony hall 1184
seated plus 100 choir seats total 1284 seated.
Rhythmic hall 1000
standing or 465 sitting.
Foyer stage 700 seated – 1000 standing.
Small hall 319 sitting.
Filuren 150 sitting.
Cafe scene 125
seated.
Chamber Music Hall 100 seated. plus an outdoor amphitheater
that can accommodate 4000 people.
Aarhus Theatre
Large stage
701 seats
Scala 285 seats
Studio 80-100 seats
The cutting
80-100 seats
The cabaret scene and Scala foyer 80-100 seats.
The swallow passage
Old floor 200 seated.
New floor 140 seated
the foyer stage with space for 70 people.
puppet theater with 20
seats.
Helsingør Theater in the Old Town
237 sitting
There are many museums worth seeing in Aarhus. Especially ARoS, Den
Gamle By and Moesgård Museum with the Grauballemanden are considered to
be world-class museums, but also Aarhus art building, the Women's Museum
in Denmark, Aarhus City Museum, Museum Ovartaci, the Antikmuseet, the
Viking Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Steno Museum are
definitely worth a visit.
Aarhus has many parks and green areas;
the Botanical Garden, the Memorial Park, the Forest Botanic Garden, the
Marselisborg Forests, Riis Forest and the Brabrand Path around Brabrand
Lake and Årslev Engsø must be highlighted in particular. Marselisborg
Castle Park is open to the public when the Queen is not staying at the
castle. There are many beaches both north and south of Aarhus city
centre; the nearest is the Permanent Bathing Institution and Aarhus
Harbor Bath.
For theater and concerts, Musikhuset Aarhus with the
Jyske Music Conservatory and Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Theatre,
Voxhall and Train can be recommended. You can watch horse racing at Jysk
Væddeløpsbane or other sports at NRGi Arena, which has a stadium for
football and athletics as well as several halls, the largest of which is
mainly used for handball and international competitions in a number of
sports. In addition, there is the opportunity to have fun in the summer
months at Tivoli Friheden, where there are also concerts on Fridays
during the summer period.
Perhaps one of the most popular
attractions is to enjoy the atmosphere at one of the cafes along Aarhus
Å.
In the city of Aarhus itself there are several churches, including Aarhus Cathedral, Church of Our Lady, St. Paul's Church, St. John's Church, St. St. Mark's Church by the Botanical Garden and St. Luke's Church on Ingerslev Boulevard. Previously, Sankt Olufs Church was located from the early Middle Ages, on the corner of Sankt Olufs Gade and Skolebakken.
Aarhus Festuge is the Nordic region's largest cultural festival with
contributions from both local, national and international artists. It is
a continuation of the Aarhus Rundskue, which gave the opportunity - by
purchasing a round-show booklet - to come to a number of cultural offers
for free. Since 1965, the festival week has been held for a week at the
end of August or the beginning of September. Festugen usually has a
theme, to which the larger events in particular are sought to be
adapted, but overall it is a festival where both the fine culture and
the more popular tastes have good opportunities to be catered for.
The Aarhus International Jazz Festival started in 1989 and has been
repeated every year since. The first year Stan Getz Quartet and Champion
Jack Dupree & Kenn Lending Blues Band played, among others, and since
then many other well-known names have played at the festival. The
festival's board organizes approx. 20 concerts on Klostertorv, while the
majority of events during the festival are planned by the various
venues/cafés in Aarhus.
SPOT Festival is a newer festival for
rhythmic music with mainly up-coming bands, held at the beginning of
May. ROSA – Danish Rock Council has been the main organizer of the SPOT
Festival since SPOT 02 in 1995.
Football Festival Denmark is a
sports festival for young people from different nations, which is
organized by the clubs Skovbakken and AIA-Tranbjerg and takes place
every year in week 30 in Aarhus. The first year of the festival was
2003, and since then it has grown, so that boys and girls, coaches and
managers from approx. 20 different nations.
SPOR is a festival
for contemporary sound and tone art. The city of Aarhus has a long
tradition of catering to the latest sound and tone art, a position that
was especially established via the annually recurring NUMUS festival,
which SPOR has replaced. SPOR took place for the first time in 2005
under the direction of composer Thomas Agerfeldt Olesen and with
composer Niels Rønsholdt as this year's curator.
The Northside
Festival is the newest festival in Aarhus. The festival's manager Brian
Nielsen says that musically they want to "present a progressive line-up
of newer Danish and foreign artists". Northside Festival is related to
two of Germany's biggest festivals, Hurricane festival and Southside,
and these festivals are deliberately close in terms of time, so that you
can jointly get names for the respective festivals. From the festival's
side, it is also rumored that in the long term the goal is to become one
of Denmark's most innovative, sustainable and user-involving festivals.
In collaboration with the festival's partners, the focus is especially
on sustainability within energy consumption, the sale of drink and food
products and merchandise. A focus that, within a number of years, will
help make Northside Festival CO2-free.
Aarhus Volume is a new
street festival which takes place on Godsbanen by Aarkus K. The street
festival tries to gather the cultural forces in Aarhus for a big event.
Therefore, Aarhus Volume contains a wide range of activities such as
music, food, sport and art. The street party was held in 2016 for the
first time with approx. 10,000 guests. Afterwards, the young Albert F.
Helmig, who is behind the event, won the award as "Firefighter of the
Year". The success was repeated in June 2017 with even more visitors
than the previous year. There is free entrance to the street party.
Aarhus Elite
A large part of the elite sport in Aarhus is wholly
or partly owned by the listed company Aarhus Elite, which owns the
football team AGF and the company Atletion. AGF's home ground Ceres Park
is, together with Ceres Arena, Team Danmark Bygningen and Hotel
Atletion, run by Atletion.
Atletion has provided the setting for
a number of major international sporting events, especially after the
construction of the Ceres Arena. The WC in Standard Dance and the WC in
Gymnastics were held here in 2006; the national football team played its
qualifying matches in Ceres Park when the Park in Copenhagen was
quarantined in 2007; the final of the European Handball Championship
2002 (women) was played here; The Aarhus Games in athletics are held
every year in September at Ceres Park.
AGF
Aarhus
Gymnastikforening af 1880 (AGF) was formed in 1880 and was originally a
gymnastics association, as the name suggests. Gradually, more sports
were added, including in 1902, among other things, football and
swimming. With its now seven divisions (corresponding to sports), the
club is the most winning in a special class in Denmark with over 300
official DM titles, the majority in swimming and athletics.
Since
the mid-1950s, the club's best football team has been in the Danish
elite with five Danish championships and nine cup titles. In the 2000s
and 2010s, however, the team had a hard time and struggled to avoid
relegation from the Superliga, which they did not succeed in for three
seasons.
Hill Bears
With 14 DM titles and 10 cup trophies,
Bakken Bears is one of the country's most winning basketball clubs.
Aarhus 1900
Aarhus 1900 is the largest sports association in
Aarhus in terms of membership. The association is probably best known
for its athletics department, but it is a very broad association with
many sports including badminton, football, swimming and tennis. Every
year, the association is the organizer of the big exercise run, the
Marselis run, in which around 15,000 exercise runners and cyclists take
part.
Skovbakken
One of the other traditional sports clubs in
the city is Idrætsklubben Skovbakken, founded in 1927. In these years,
the club offers twelve sports to the population in the northern end of
the city and makes use of the Vejlby Risskov Sports Center, among other
things.
Flying Superkids
The world-renowned young elite
gymnasts Flying Superkids come from Aarhus. All the children live in or
near Aarhus, and they are selected from ordinary gymnasts in the
non-profit gymnastics association, Foreningen Gymnastikgården. The
training takes place at the Gymnastikgården in Aarhus V, which was
originally a farm, but today has been modernized and offers many
facilities to the association's approximately 450 members.
Equestrian sport
A little south of Aarhus, the National Equestrian
Center was established in 1989 at the old manor, Vilhelmsborg. Since
then, a number of events have been held within show jumping and
dressage. In 2005, the Jydsk Pony Racing Association moved to
Vilhelmsborg and holds competitions in the same place.
Close to
Ceres Park & Arena, you will find Jydsk Væddeløpsbane from 1924, which
had its heyday before the war, when the track was described as Northern
Europe's most beautiful, and attendances of up to 6,000 were not
unusual.
Water sports
At Brabrand Sø is the Brabrand Rowing
Stadium, which forms the framework for common facilities for all rowing
clubs in Aarhus. In 2005, the Danish rowing championships were held, and
in 2007, the Danish short course championships were held for canoeing
and kayaking.
With its location next to the Kattegat, it is
obvious that sailing and rowing are practiced in and around Aarhus.
Aarhus Sailing Club, founded in 1879, is based in the marina, from where
sailing is practiced at many levels. The clubs in Egå and Kaløvig are
also normally considered sailing in Aarhus. There are 5 rowing clubs and
12 kayaking clubs in Aarhus.
Other sports
Aarhus Cyklebane was
established in 1922 and had its heyday in the post-war period, and it
was not unusual to have 10,000 spectators. In recent times, there have
been many large events in sports dance, and many well-known dancers have
roots in the city's clubs.
Aarhus is home to two major newspapers. The largest is the nationwide
Jyllands-Posten, which has its domicile in Viby, while Århus
Stiftstidende is a regional newspaper that concentrates its coverage on
Aarhus and the surrounding area.
In the area of radio and
television, each of the two large nationwide stations has local
departments. DR Østjylland produces local radio for P4 and a section on
the station's website. In addition, there is a smaller production of TV
programmes. TV 2/Østjylland produces local TV for the eastern part of
Region Central Jutland (roughly equivalent to the former Århus County
and the Horsens area). Furthermore, DK4 produces a number of broadcasts
in Aarhus. In addition, there are a number of smaller local stations.
Furthermore, it can be mentioned that Denmark's School of Journalism
is located in northern Aarhus.
In 2017, Aarhus, together with Region Central Jutland's 18 other
municipalities, as well as Pafos in Cyprus, acted as European Capitals
of Culture.
Aarhus 2017 was about involvement and was the result
of a process that involved more than 10,000 people from across the
region. In the capital of culture year, Aarhus 2017 continued to create
initiatives where citizens could get involved, participate and help
create.
More than anything else, Aarhus 2017 was about
rethinking: Under the theme Let's Rethink, Region Central Jutland was
transformed into a cultural laboratory where alternative solutions could
sprout and grow.
At the end, a publication on the effects of the
event was published.
Establishment of 4,000 tiles around the city with the text 'Aarhus
2017', which is still there.
The exhibition 'The Future' in
Mindeparken, where a larger area was painted with pink and white
water-based paint, as part of the work 'The Garden' at ARoS. The work
was quickly discussed and exposed to a lot of criticism from the
citizens.
1 Restaurant Seafood, Marselisborg Havnevej 44, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.:
+45 86 18 56 55, email: info@restaurantseafood.dk. Seafood Restaurant.
Open: daily 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
2 Restaurant ET, Åboulevarden 7, 8000
Aarhus. Tel: +45 86 13 88 00. French restaurant. Open: Mon - Sat 12.00 -
15.00 + 17.30 - 22.00, Sun closed.
3 Luna Rossa, Fredensgade 22, 8000
Aarhus C. Tel.: +45 86 13 15 17, email: info@luna-rossa.dk. Italian
restaurant. Open: Mon - Fri 5 p.m. - 10 p.m., Sat 4 p.m. - 10 p.m., Sun
closed.
4 Prezzemolo, Jægergårdsgade 85, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 53 83
83 90. Italian restaurant. Open: Tue - Sat 12.00 - 22.00, Sun 17.00 -
21.00, Mon closed.
5 Restaurant Margueritten, Guldsmedgade 20, 8000
Aarhus. Tel.: +45 86 19 60 33. Open: Mon – Sat 11.30 a.m. – 11 p.m., Sun
closed.
6 Restaurant Komfur, Guldsmedgade 38, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45
86 12 33 90, e-mail: info@restaurantkomfur.dk. Open: daily from 5 p.m.
to 10 p.m.
7 Restaurant Frederikshøj, Oddervej 19, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.:
+45 86 14 22 80, email: info@frederikshoj.com. Open: Wed – Sat 6 p.m. –
midnight, Sun – Tue closed.
8 Restaurant Slap Af, Studsgade 8, 8000
Aarhus. Tel.: +45 86 18 18 14, email: info@slapaf.nu. Open: Mon - Thu 5
p.m. - 11 p.m., Fri - Sat 5 p.m. - ?? p.m., Sun closed.
1 Plan B - Vin & Tapasbar, Fredens Torv 2, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 23
69 30 70, e-mail: info@planbvinogtapas.dk. Open: Tue + Wed 4 p.m. –
midnight, Thu 4 p.m. – 1 a.m., Fri + Sat 3 p.m. – 2 a.m., Sun + Mon
closed.
2 Highlanders Bar, Mindebrogade 5, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 86
13 14 79, e-mail: info@highlandersbar.dk. Open: Tue – Thu 4 p.m. –
midnight, Fri + Sat 4 p.m. – 2 a.m., closed Sun + Mon.
3 MasVino
Vinbodega, Klosterport 4b, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 25 25 10 55. Wine bar.
Open: Thu – Sat 4 p.m. – midnight, Sun – Wed closed.
1 Hotel Royal, Store Torv 4, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 86 12 00 11.
Feature: ★★★★.
2 Ferdinand Hotel, Åboulevarden 28, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.:
+45 87 32 14 44, E-Mail: mail@hotelferdinand.dk. Feature: ★★★★.
3
Hotel Oasia, Kriegersvej 27, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 87 32 37 15.
Feature: ★★★.
4 Hotel Ritz Aarhus City, Banegårdspladsen 12, 8000
Aarhus. Tel.: +45 86 13 44 44. Feature: ★★★.
5 Wakeup Aarhus, M. P.
Bruuns Gade 27, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 4480 0000, Fax: +45 4480 0009,
E-Mail: bruunsgade@wakeupaarhus.dk. Budget hotel in the heart of Aarhus.
Feature: ★★.
6 BB-Hotel Aarhus Harbor Towers, Marselisborg Havnevej
20, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 70 22 55 30, E-Mail:
bbhotels@bbhotels.dk.
Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus. Tel.: +45 8715 0000, Fax: +45 8715 0201, E-Mail: au@au.dk.
Police station, Ridderstræde 1, 8000 Aarhus. Phone: +45 87 31 14 48.
Hospitals
1 Universitätshospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Blvd. 99,
Aarhus. Phone: +45 7845 0000.
The pharmacy
2 Aarhus Løve
Pharmacy, Store Torv 5, 8000 Aarhus C. Tel.: +45 8612 0022, Fax: +45
8613 8993, E-Mail: arhloeve@apoteket.dk. Open: daily (also Sun) 6.00 –
0.00 Uhr.
3 Aarhus Trøjborg Pharmacy, Tordenskjoldsgade 30, 8200
Aarhus N. Tel.: +45 86 16 73 77, E-Mail: troejborg@apoteket.dk. Open:
Mon – Thu 9.00 – 17.30, Fri 9.00 – 18.00, Sat 9.30 – 1.30.
4 St.
Lukas Pharmacy, Frederiks Alle 178, 8000 Aarhus C. Tel.: +45 86 12 12
22, E-Mail: sctlukas@apoteket.dk. Open: Mon – Thu 9.00 – 17.30, Fri 9.00
– 18.00, Sat 9.30 – 1.30.
Practical hints
Tourist Information
(Tourist Information and Guest Service), Hack Kampmanns Plads 2, 8000
Aarhus C (im DOKK1). Tel.: +45 87315010, E-Mail: info@visitaarhus.com
facebook twitter. The Tourist Information is located in DOKK1. Outside
opening hours, you can use the touch screen located here, which provides
information and inspiration for a stay in Aarhus. Open: Mon - Thu 10:00
- 19:00, Fri 10:00 - 17:00, Sa+Sun 10:00 - 16:00.
For a stay in
Aarhus, the purchase of the AarhusCard is recommended. This makes the
stay cheaper, as it entitles you to free admission to the museum, to
attractions or events in Aarhus and the surrounding area, as well as to
free use of the Aarhus city buses. Auch werden Preisnachlässe gerätt in
certain Geschäften. In addition, you can park for free in the Tiefgarage
unter dem Gebäude "Navitas".
Árós is the old name for the cities of Aarhus, Trondheim (Nidaros),
Västerås (Vestre Aros) and Uppsala (East Aros).
The name comes
from ār, an old genitive of the word å, and the no longer used us,
"mouth", i.e. "The mouth of the river".
Aarhus is built at the
outlet of Aarhus Å, which was a main thoroughfare in Viking Age East
Jutland; at the same time, it was also at Aarhus that there was the most
obvious ford for north-south traffic (at today's Immervad).
With the spelling reform in 1948, Århus became the official spelling
from the municipality's side; however, there was freedom of choice in
the dictionaries. A number of municipalities wanted to keep the old
spelling of their place names. On the other hand, Århus city council
already approved the new spelling that same year. In this way, the city
could mark itself as progressive.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s,
Aalborg and Aabenraa municipalities, among others, wanted to go back to
Aa spelling. It was officially recognized by a circular from Minister of
Education Bertel Haarder in 1984, which determined that the
municipalities could choose the spelling themselves. This went against
the advice of the Place Names Committee and the Danish Language Board.
Several other municipalities then followed suit and reintroduced the Aa
spelling.
On 27 October 2010, the city council decided with
effect from 1 January 2011 to switch back to the spelling Aarhus. The
change was decided with 17 votes in favor (the Social Democrats, SF and
the Radical Left) and 10 votes against (the Liberals, the Conservatives
and the Danish People's Party). According to the proposal to the city
council, the purpose of the change was to be more consistent and uniform
in its communication locally, nationally and internationally, that the
city name can be recognized internationally, coherence between Aarhus
Municipality's digital address and the city's name, and to strengthen
Aarhus in the global competition, because Aa strengthens the digital
profiling/communication of Aarhus.
Decisions to use Aa spelling
apply in principle only to the municipality's own authorities. The
spellings with Å are still officially correct for all Danish place
names. For place names that also have a local Aa spelling, there is a
note in the official place name list stating that "the local
municipality wants å, Å written as aa, Aa". While it took several years
to reintroduce the spelling Aalborg on state signs, lists, timetables,
etc., the press, DSB, Post Danmark and state authorities have this time
quickly followed Aarhus Municipality's decision.
However, it is
worth noting that the double-a spelling has been used for the longest
time, and many institutions and companies have never used bolle-å; this
applies, for example, to Aarhus University, FOF Aarhus, Aarhus Theater
and Aarhus Gymnastics Association (AGF), but also to the establishment
of new institutions before 2011, for example AarhusKarlshamn and Aarhus
Bryghus.
According to Google Trends, the Å spelling was by far
the most widespread in Google searches in Denmark in 2004, when Google
began keeping statistics, while the spelling "Aarhus" was steadily
declining right up until the name change in 2011. The spelling "Århus"
is still in 2023 the most common spelling when people search on Google;
however, the trend has not surprisingly gone in the direction of
"Aarhus" since the name change in 2011.
The City of Smiles is a commercial nickname for the city of Aarhus,
occasionally used by the public. The name came about after a board
meeting of the Aarhus Tourist Association on 17 March 1938, where they
planned to make a push for the city. Among other things, they wanted to
send out a leaflet in 50,000 copies with the title "Aarhus – City of
Summer and Smiles".
The nickname was not particularly well
received, neither by the press nor by the townspeople. It was considered
demanding or even ridiculous, which resulted in its abolition as early
as 1948. The name has since caught on, and has been used by various
media in the mention of Aarhus, but has never actually been the city's
official slogan.
In 1970, the Århus Stiftstidende published a
competition for a new slogan for the city. The choice fell on "Århus - A
good part of Denmark", which, however, never caught on either.
In
2011, an attempt was made to change the city's branding strategy so that
it was more internationally oriented. 1 million was spent. DKK on
marketing of the new slogan "Aarhus - Danish for progress" and "With
Aarhus" The latter is used with the letters 'us' highlighted, and
different variants, for example "Connect with Aarhus". However, the
former did not catch on, and in October 2014 the new slogan was
abandoned and has since had no official slogan, but has used the term
'With Aarhus' in certain international contexts.
The oldest archaeological finds in Aarhus are glass beads from the
end of the 7th century, while the oldest finds of houses are half-buried
pit houses. They were used as both a home and a workshop. In the houses
and the associated layers, combs, jewelery and the like have been found,
which indicate that the settlement dates from around the year 900.
Excavations in the spring of 2005 revealed a so-called city ditch from
around 850, which has marked the trading post from which the city arose.
Apparently, the ditch has already been filled in around 870 and the area
has been built up.
Smaller urban communities such as Holmstrup
near Aarhus are dated approximately to the year 800 through sources from
1294.
Thorough studies in i.a. the spread of place names with
snails and studies of the Kanhavekanalen on the island of Samsø and the
Draget on Helgenæs seem to show that Aarhus was a thriving city as early
as the 7th century. The city's harbor was protected upriver, namely at
Åby and with a shipyard at Snekkeng (now Eskelund) to the southeast of
here, below Kongsvang.
It is assumed that early on there was a
small wooden church just outside the settlement, approximately where the
monastery church is located today.
The discovery of six
runestones in and around Aarhus suggests that around the year 1000 it
was of great importance, since only great men erected runestones.
Around 1040, coins were minted in Aarhus, first by Hardeknud – who
had been crowned king in Viborg in 1027 – and later by Magnus the Good.
Findings of, among other things crests and woodcarving work indicate
a certain amount of craftsmanship, but foreign goods also tell of trade:
weights and millstones from the Rhine area, flintware from northern
Scandinavia and ceramics from the Baltic Sea area.
In the Viking Age, Aarhus was surrounded by a semicircular
defensive rampart, which essentially followed the streets whose
names originate from there (Graven, Volden, Borgporten), and then
went back towards the sea along the stream. It fits with the fact
that the city has been located between the estuary and the ford
above the stream. There have been depressions in the terrain along
the outside of the rampart, so that it has been surrounded by wet
moats.
It is not known exactly when the violence was
committed, but a few years have probably passed after the first
settlements, corresponding to the early years of the 900s.
Excavations in the spring of 2005 indicate that the rampart was
erected relatively quickly around 934, possibly in connection with
Henrik Fuglefænger's attack on Jutland. In the second half of the
9th century, the violence was intensified and in the 13th century it
was greatly expanded. After the last expansion, the rampart was 20
meters wide and six to eight meters high.
Prompted by Bishop Peder Vognsen started in approx. 1200 the
construction of Skt. Clemens Church in the Romanesque style, which was
completed in approx. 1300 and replaced Our Lady's Church as a cathedral.
The cathedral school was probably built before the cathedral, since
already in 1195 Peder Vognsen handed over books for the education of
future church officials.
At about the same time, there was a
major expansion of the city: the oldest town hall in front of the
cathedral, a large bishop's farm on Rosengade north of the church and a
chapter house for the church's administration on Bispetorv, as well as
several canon houses were built.
Furthermore, a bridge was built
over the stream at Immervad and a Holy Ghost Hospital at Lille Torv. The
river harbor also gained increased importance in the 14th century, and
the oldest remains of a bulwark on the southern side of the river are
dated to the end of the 13th century.
Aarhus received its city
privilege on 2 July 1441 from Christopher of Bavaria. This increased the
city's growth and in 1477 King Christian I gave permission for the
ramparts, which had lost their military significance, to be built on,
and new streets, Volden and Graven, were created. A Carmelite monastery
with a church was built on Brobjerg, and on the corner of Vestergade and
Grønnegade a St. Karensgård to house plague-stricken inhabitants from
the city. The cathedral was also modernized in Gothic style and had the
high tower added, whose spire however had a different design than today.
During the wars of the 17th century, the city must have suffered
a lot. Wallenstein's redoubt south of the city, approximately where
the Skansepalæet is today, still reminded of the incursion of the
imperial troops in 1627-1629. In 1644, the town was burnt down by
the Swedes, who in 1657-59 repeatedly occupied it. But despite these
and other calamities such as the plague and large fires, Aarhus was
in the 17th and 18th centuries a fairly significant city for its
trade, about which little is otherwise known. In addition to inland
and especially with Norway, the large trade was conducted in Lübeck,
Amsterdam, England, France and Spain, and in the middle of the 17th
century the merchant fleet was approx. 100 ships, and the grain
export to Norway and abroad annually approx. 20,000 tdr., by the
beginning of the 18th century it had risen to approx. 36,000.
But then the decline began here as in the country's other
cities; in 1735 little trade was now carried on with Lübeck and
Norway; the merchant fleet was only half as large, and the harbor
began to silt up, and by 1768 there were only 31 ships.
In
1769, Aarhus had approx. 3,500 inhabitants.
In the 19th century, progress came after the city had freed
itself from the capital's, and after the Schleswig wars for
Hamburg's, dominance. While in 1800 it was the third largest city in
Jutland, in 1840 it had overtaken Randers and in 1850 also Aalborg,
but only in the 1870s Odense, partly because of the railway.
The Port of Aarhus had, among other things, the advantage during
harsh winters that it was not located by a fjord that quickly froze
into ice. Thereby it could still function even though nearby ports
on the east coast of Jutland were inaccessible, which facilitated
its further expansion. The city's material progress was also growing
through the expanding railway network. A railway connection between
Aarhus and Randers opened in 1862, when the first railway station
was also inaugurated. Later, more connections were added, and the
second railway station was built in 1884. The current railway
station is the third and was inaugurated in 1929. Also in cultural
terms, it asserted its reputation as the "Capital of Jutland" with
its many institutions such as the art museum (Aarhus Museum 1877 ),
the State Library (1902), many institutions of higher learning, the
excellent hospitals and new theater (1900). In both Schleswig wars,
the city was occupied by the enemy. On May 31, 1849, there was a
skirmish outside the city, fortunate for the Danes, between Prussian
hussars and Danish dragoons. On Randersvej, at the north-west end of
the Municipal Hospital, a memorial stone has been erected for this
battle. The nearby housing development, Rytterparken, takes its name
from the battle of the knights in 1849.
In the 1900s, Aarhus was both an industrial and port city, and
the port was expanded several times. In addition, Aarhus developed
into an educational and university city with many educational
institutions. The city became a financial, educational and cultural
center for all of Jutland. Industry was an important part of the
business structure in the period, but at the same time the service
sector began to grow. The city's largest companies after World War
II were DSB central workshop, Frichs Maskinfabrik, Flydedokken and
Århus Oil Factory.
From 1970, the service sector became
larger at the expense of trade and industry and crafts and is now
the most dominant sector in the city's business structure. Trade,
however, still employs a large part of the population. With the
country's first Bilka, the City Vest shopping center and the
pedestrian street as a draw, Aarhus has developed into Jutland's
commercial center at the same time as it is the country's second
largest education and research city. There is a large commute to
Aarhus from large parts of East and Central Jutland, which causes
traffic problems on the city's approach roads. Although the service
industries are dominant, there are/were several large industries in
the city, e.g. AarhusKarlshamn, Ceres Bryggeri and also a large
electronics and metal industry.
Aarhus has been a garrison town since the 18th century, with the
soldiers initially housed in private homes.
Prince Ferdinand's
Riding House, which was originally located east of Spanien/Strandvejen
approximately at the mouth of Jægergårdsgade, has now been demolished.
It was built in 1818 for Prince Ferdinand's Dragoons and was designed by
Henrik Magnus Köhnke, who after his student days at the Royal Academy
served in the engineering troops. In 1899, the riding house was
demolished, but rebuilt in a slightly altered form at the Vester Allés
barracks.
Over time, a few smaller barracks came, Lewerckhusen's
Barracks in Mindegade and Bauditz Barracks in Søndergade in 1857.
Then, in 1863, the Sugar House in Sukkerhustoften, now Brammersgade,
was converted into barracks in buildings that had been a clothing
factory and sugar refinery.
By 1870, the town had about 1,000
resident military personnel out of a population of 15,000, and
additional barracks were needed.
Carl Lange was the architect of
the Rytterikasernen, the Infantry Barracks and the Garrison Hospital.
The first actual barracks that was built was the Dragonkasernen or
Rytterikasernen 1876-77, which in 1934 was renamed the Vester Allés
Barracks. It was put into use in stages in the years 1875-78. However,
the riding house had already been built in 1860.
In the years
1875-79, the Infantry Barracks in Høegh-Guldbergs Street was built.
In 1877, the Garrison hospital was built in Thyrasgade, the current
social welfare office.
In 1889, the 3rd Artillery Division came
to Langelandsgade Barracks. This barracks was bombed on 31 October 1944
by 24 Mosquito planes from the Royal Air Force, when during World War II
it was the headquarters of the Gestapo. As a result of the defense
settlement in 1989, the Jutland Telegraph Regiment was moved to
Fredericia that same year, and the buildings were gradually taken over
by Forskerparken and Aarhus University. 1990-93 the Army's Operative
Command used the area. On 31 July 1993, the Army's Operative Command
organized a farewell parade to mark the end of Aarhus as a garrison town
for 400 years. In August 1993, the last few hundred soldiers packed up
and left the Langelandsgade Barracks. On 1 August 1997, 5 departments
from Aarhus University moved in.
Today, there is no other
military service in Aarhus than the Home Guard and SOK. SOK has a bunker
with communication equipment on Oddervej and office facilities etc. on
Silkeborgvej.
Between the regions
The Aarhus-Langå-Randers Railway was opened in
1862 as Jutland's first railway, and the branch line from Langå reached
Viborg in 1863, Skive in 1864 and Struer in 1865. From Randers the line
was carried on to Aalborg in 1869 and to Hjørring and Frederikshavn in
1871. To the south, with the Fredericia-Århus railway in 1868, a
connection was created to southern Jutland and - via the ferry routes
over the Little Belt and Great Belt - the Funen and Zealand railway
network. From Skanderborg, the track was carried on to Silkeborg in
1871, to Herning in 1877 and to Skjern in 1881.
Aarhus Nærban
In 1876, the Randers-Ryomgård-Grenaa section was opened, and in 1877 the
branch line from Ryomgård to Aarhus came - initially only to Aarhus
Østbanegård, but in 1933 it was extended to Aarhus Hovedbanegård. The
Randers-Ryomgård line, which had become a side line instead of the main
line a few years after its start, was closed in 1971, but the Grenaa
line Aarhus-Grenaa survived.
In 1884, the Aarhus-Odder-Hov
section was opened. The Odder-Hov line was closed in 1977, but the
Odderbanen Aarhus-Odder survived.
On 9 December 2012, Grenaabanen
and Odderbanen were joined together to form Aarhus Nærbane, so that you
no longer had to change trains at Aarhus H. Aarhus Nærbanen is part of
the 1st stage of Aarhus Light Rail, which is to start in 2016.
Hammelbanen
The only one of the city's railways that did not start
from Aarhus H was the Aarhus-Hammel-Thorsø Railway, which was opened in
1902 between Aarhus and Hammel and in 1914 was extended from Hammel to
Thorsø on the Diagonal Line. This line, which was closed in 1956,
started from Hammelbanegården at Carl Blochs Gade 28. The building was
used as a city museum until 1 July 2011. Now it has become the civic
center and the volunteer center Folkestedet. The Hammelbanen's route can
still be followed for long stretches through Viby and Statvrup.
In the early 1960s, the then Århus City Municipality held a series of
discussions with the suburban municipalities about amalgamation. It did
not lead to any amalgamation of the municipalities in the first place.
On 1 April 1962, however, Aarhus was expanded with parts of the northern
suburban municipalities, Hasle, Tilst-Kasted and Vejlby-Risskov
municipalities, which handed over an area of 19.03 km² with 1,150
inhabitants to Aarhus Købstadskommune. The municipality's area was thus
almost doubled from 19.81 km² to a total of 38.45 km².
Aarhus
Municipality, as it is known today, was formed by the municipal reform
(1970), where the following 20 municipalities and parishes were
combined:
Aarhus City Municipality
Beder-Malling parish
municipality
Borum-Lyngby parish municipality
Brabrand-Sdr. Årslev
Parish Municipality
Student Parish Municipality
Elsted Parish
Municipality
Harlev-Framlev Parish Municipality
Hasle Parish
Municipality
Hjortshøj-Egå Parish Municipality
Holme-Tranbjerg
Parish Municipality
Mårslet Parish Municipality
Ormslev-Kolt
Parish Municipality
Sabro-Fårup parish municipality
Tilst-Kasted
Parish Municipality
Todbjerg-Mejlby parish municipality
Trige
Parish Municipality
Solbjerg Parish Municipality
Vejlby-Risskov
Parish Municipality
Viby Parish Municipality
Åby Parish
Municipality
as well as parts of Skødstrup and Vitved parishes.
The future
Aarhus City Council has big plans for the city's
future. One of the plans is the Light Rail Project, which will modernize
public transport with the reintroduction of trams. It is a project worth
many billions of kroner, which is why it is sought to be co-financed by
the state.
In March 2010, mayor Nicolai Wammen, together with a
majority in the city council consisting of the Social Democrats, De
Radikale and SF, expressed the wish that the name "Århus" be changed to
the previously used "Aarhus". This is to meet the wish that the city's
name can perform better during the increasing globalization and
internationalization in the future. The name change was adopted by the
city council on 27 October 2010, and took effect from 01.01.2011.
Mayors
The city's first popularly elected mayor was Jakob Jensen,
who was elected in 1919. Since then, all the mayors have been from the
Social Democrats, with the exception of Louise Gade (2002-05), who is
from the Left. In 1933, Hans Peder Christensen was elected, then in 1942
Einar Stecher Christensen, who only had a short time as mayor, as he
died during a visit to the Glyptoteket in 1945. Svend Unmack Larsen was
elected as his replacement, who was mayor until 1958, when the famous
Bernhardt Jensen was elected. He was against motoring, and it could be
seen in his actions - he rode a bicycle. From 1971 to 1981, the mayor
was Orla Hyllested, who was replaced by Thorkild Simonsen, who held the
post in the period 1982-1997 and is thus the longest-serving mayor in
Aarhus. In recent times, the mayors are from 1997 to 2001 Flemming
Knudsen, from 2002 to 2005 Louise Gade, from 2006 to 10.08.2011 Nicolai
Wammen and from 10.08.2011 onwards Jacob B. Johansen.
Town Arms
Aarhus city coat of arms is one of the oldest preserved from the Danish
market towns. It can be attributed to a city seal used around 1250.
Aarhus topography is described in a north-south direction as three river valleys (excavated by Egåen, Aarhus Å and Giber Å) and in an east-west direction as a very flat, raised seabed, where Brabrand Sø and Årslev Engsø form the last remnants of a closed fjord . Further to the west, the seabed continues into the tunnel valley in which Aarhus Å has its bed. In other words, the town is located, like several other East Jutland market towns, at the place where there was a useful passage over the valley and near the sea traffic. This means that from the beginning the city was located on the raised seabed in the valley, and that it has since spread west into the valley, but also north and south up the steep slopes on the valley sides. In the north, the city has passed the ridge and has occupied the Egådalen and the hillsides on both sides of it. To the south, on the other hand, it has only reached the crest of the hill in recent years, but has not yet spread down into the Giberåen valley depression.
The topographic conditions described give rise to a number of
distinctive features of the city's local climate. As the valley floor is
so flat and lies so low, it is greatly influenced by the heat-regulating
effect from Aarhus Bay. The two lakes contribute to the same subdued
conditions, and the result is that the valley has a mild, harbor-like
climate. The sandy soil in the valley floor dries quickly after winter
and therefore heats up faster than the valley sides, whose subsoil
consists of moisture-retaining moraine clays. You can often observe that
both cultivated and wild plants spring into the river valley 1-2 weeks
earlier than, for example, in Risskov on the northern valley side.
Since the valley has its longitudinal axis in an east-west
direction, it goes without saying that the northern side of the valley
must have a south-facing slope, while the southern side must slope to
the north. This has some climatic consequences, which were significant
when the area around Aarhus was still agricultural land. Having your
land on a south slope means a gain in solar radiation, while a north
slope conversely causes a lack of solar radiation - both parts seen in
relation to a flat piece of land on the same area. Today, when most of
the earth's surface is covered by roads and buildings, it is no longer
of such importance.
Finally, it should be mentioned that Aarhus
city center experiences the same climatic conditions as other, larger
urban areas: Increased wind speed, more fog, less precipitation and
higher temperature than the surrounding, open country.
The soil in the valley is sandy and with clear traces of a past as
seabed (mussel shells and snail shells), while the sides of the valley
consist of clay moraine with a high content of stones and gravel. In
certain places, the content of silt is very significant, which causes
difficulties when building foundations and infrastructure. In the
Marselisborg forests south of Aarhus, a deposit of plastic clay reaches
the surface near the sea. This results in a constant flow of subsoil and
surface with road construction and trees in the direction of the sea.
Since both the raised seabed and the moraine soil had a fairly high
content of lime after the Ice Age, the topsoil in the Aarhus area has
been brown soil, i.e. a soil type that is loamy and moisture-retaining,
but with a good and stable structure. Therefore, the soil was good for
farming once the field stones had been removed, and the area around the
town has been a relatively rich agricultural area. Even today, the
garden owners enjoy the fertile soil, which provides good growing
conditions, if only shelter can be provided.
After the market town privileges were abolished in 1851, and Aarhus'
city gates were closed, the opportunity was created for an expansion of
the city. With the advent of industrialization came companies such as
Frichs Fabrikker, Oliemøllen (now AarhusKarlshamn) and the Ceres
brewery, whose growth required new housing. New city plans were laid,
i.a. city engineer in Copenhagen Charles Ambt and architect Hack
Kampmann prepared in 1898 a new edition of architect Oskar Jørgensen's
town plan from 1896 for the lands recently purchased by Aarhus
Municipality south of the city, the so-called Marselisborgerr. It became
a district characterized by Hans Broges Gade, Ingerslevs Boulevard and
Dalgas Avenue, large and open thoroughfares, inspired by German and
Austrian urban planning, "Städtebau", i.e. neighborhoods and streets
that were not defined by right-angled corners and winding streets. For
example, Hans Broges Gade runs in a long, soft arc.
Today's
Aarhus has become a center in the so-called "City Region East Jutland",
and the city's planning must be based on the conditions it sets. In the
National Plan Statement 2006 it states, among other things:
"The
last ten years' changes in the geographical distribution of population
and employment show a map of Denmark that is centered on two major city
regions on Zealand and in East Jutland. The country's two largest
cities, Copenhagen and Aarhus, are the cores of the two areas. The
increasing importance of the knowledge industries gives these two cities
a growth impulse that is stronger than anywhere else in the country."
The area within Ringgaden is traditionally considered the city centre. The area is largely identical to postal district 8000 Aarhus C, and is therefore also called "C" or "centre" by the locals. The exception, however, is Trøjborg, which is part of the city centre, but is located in postal district 8200 Aarhus N. The area outside the ring road consists of a number of districts (suburbs), while most other towns in Aarhus Municipality function as satellite towns for Aarhus.
Midtbyen is mainly the densely built-up area within Ringgaden, where
Centrum is the original city core - which is bounded by the three
avenues, Nørre Allé, Vester Allé and Sønder Allé, but today the center
also includes the area around Aarhus Hovedbanegård with the new quarter
Centralværkstedet, the area around the Musikhuset and the area down to
the track pit
Just northwest of the city center is Vesterbro,
which mainly consists of the so-called Øgade quarter, which got its name
because the streets are named after Danish islands. In Vesterbro you
will find the heavily trafficked Vesterbro Torv, the Old Town and
Botanical Garden, the old County Hospital and the newer district
CeresByen, which has arisen on the site of the former Ceres Brewery.
Southwest of the city center is Frederiksbjerg, which is an
independent central part of Aarhus C cut off from the inner city by the
railway ditch, which is an excavated area for train tracks.
Frederiksbjerg is connected to the inner city via the Bruunsbro and
Frederiksbro bridges.
West of Frederiksbjerg is the Langenæs
area. The district was created in the 1950s as a result of an
architectural competition where new ideals were tested. The area is very
characteristic of its time, when the ideal was open carriageways with
light and air. Langenæs is a quiet district without through traffic.
North of the center is Trøjborg, which today is a fashionable place
with many artists, architects and students. The district has a strong
sense of independence from the rest of the city center with a strong
shopping scene. Møllevangen, which lies north-west of the centre, is in
many ways a contrast to Trøjborg, with many apartment buildings from the
1940s. The area with many public housing is not fashionable and is not
considered part of Midtbyen.
The northern part of the port, which
was formerly a container port, will become a new district in the city
centre, Aarhus Ø, which will consist of several islands connected by
bridges.
Immediately outside the ring road are the districts of
Christiansbjerg to the north, Hasle to the northwest, Åby and Åbyhøj to
the west and Viby to the southwest. The ring road runs through these
districts.
In the western part of the city is Lake Brabrand,
which characterizes the two suburbs of Brabrand and Stavtrup, which lie
north and south of the lake respectively. The southern part of Brabrand
is characterized by the scenic area, which is a contrast to
Gellerupparken in the north-eastern part of the suburb. North of
Brabrand lies the suburb of Tilst, which is characterized by the
department store Bilka and some other large stores. Årslev lies west of
Brabrand, and the two suburbs have largely grown together. The central
traffic location close to Motorvejskryds Århus West characterizes Årslev
today and is the reason why Bilka has placed a tall warehouse building
near the suburb. Southwest of Stavtrup are the suburbs of Kolt and
Hasselager, which are often referred to as an area called
Kolt-Hasselager.
The northern part of the city's perimeter is
made up of the satellite towns of Lystrup, Hjortshøj and
Løgten-Skødstrup as well as the Aarhus suburbs Vejlby, Skejby, Risskov,
Egå and Skæring, the latter three of which lie out onto Aarhus Bay. This
area, together with the area by Strandvejen south of the city centre,
has the most attractive locations for housing. In the southern part of
Aarhus are the suburbs Holme, Højbjerg and Skåde.
One of the
city's many business areas is based around the suburb of Slet, which is
located in the south-western part of Aarhus.
From and including 1925, Gl. Vejlby and Åby. From and including 1930,
Holme and Skåde are included. From and including 1950, Brabrand is
included.
The recent years' growth around the motorway between
Randers and Haderslev has given the area the designation Byregion East
Jutland. The area is characterized by the fact that the distance between
the larger cities is no longer than commuting is possible. Around a
quarter of Denmark's population lives in the area.
Aarhus is home
to a large group of new Danes in the form of immigrants and refugees.
The proportion of the population per 1 January 2019 was 12.1% in Aarhus
Municipality, and this proportion has been slightly increasing, as the
proportion in 2000 was 10.2%. The vast majority of New Danes live in the
western suburbs, where in connection with a municipally initiated
project in the period 2002-07 to create economic and social
sustainability, the designation Urban area of Gellerup, Hasle and
Herredsvang was used. In the Urban area, New Danes make up around half
of the population, and the largest population groups here originate from
Lebanon, Turkey, Somalia, Iran and Iraq.
In 2004, approx. 80
percent of the population in Aarhus Municipality Christians (members of
the Folkekirken or other Christian movements), approx. 5 per cent were
Muslims, while the share of other religions was quite modest.
Aarhus' location at the mouth of the river and by the water has had a great impact on the infrastructure. The river and the water are used for transport. Furthermore, the water, Aarhus Bay, has limited the city's development in that direction. The new large harbor in the middle of Aarhus city creates problems due to the amount of traffic there.
Public transport
Aarhus has many city bus lines, and they are all
operated by Midttrafik. As the main city in East Jutland, a number of
regional buses lead to the city's bus terminal, Aarhus Rutebilstation.
Most city bus lines run as radial lines from the city center and out
into the suburbs, but in addition there are two ring lines 5A and 6A.
They drive in Aarhus on two ring roads, which in Aarhus are called
Ringgaden (the inner one) and Ringvejen (the outer one).
Passenger numbers applicable to Aarhus Municipality in 2007 were for
city buses 125,000 daily with 45.6 million annual passenger boardings
and for regional buses 21,000 daily with 7.7 million annual passenger
boardings in 2007.
In 2015, the figures for boarding all daily
means of public transport in Aarhus are expected to be 248,000. Divided
into 119,700 for city buses, Regional buses 79,600, 34,300 for trains
excluding Aarhus Nærbane which has 14,000 daily boardings.
Aarhus
has 26 railway stations, the majority of which belong to Odderbanen and
Grenaabanen, which after the merger in 2012 have simply been called
Aarhus Nærbanen. The largest is Aarhus Hovedbanegård, which serves
DSB's, Arriva's and Letbanen's trains. Viby J is another larger station
with many passing trains that also serves Letbanen's and Arriva's
trains.
In Tirstrup on Djursland, 35 km northeast of Aarhus, is Aarhus
Airport, which has daily departures to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo,
Gothenburg and London as well as a number of seasonal routes to Southern
Europe. In addition, there is some charter traffic from the airport. Due
to the airport's location, many East Jutland travelers use Billund
Airport. In the course of time, several plans have been presented for a
larger airport to serve the Aarhus area, but none of these have yet
passed the desk stage. Kirstinesminde airfield served the city's flying
clubs until the end of the 1980s. Skejby Hospital is located today where
the airfield was originally located. In 2006, an airfield intended for
gliders was opened in True. In February 2010, the debate about an
international airport to serve East Jutland business travelers was
reopened, with the proposal for a smaller airport, "Aarhus City Airport"
(equivalent to London City Airport), located at Aarhus Harbour. The
debate about a new airport continues to rage in the media.
With
the aim of shortening the travel time to Copenhagen, Samsø Air Service
has applied for and received permission to fly with seaplanes between
Denmark's two largest cities. The journey time is expected to be one
hour. With DSB, the journey takes approx. three hours, while flights to
Copenhagen Airport and transport to/from the airports take approx. two
hours. With a ticket price of DKK 1,800 each way, it is more expensive
than trains and domestic flights. The target group is therefore business
travelers who value travel time. In Aarhus, the starting point will be
approx. 3 km north of Marselisborg Harbour. The route was expected to
open in spring 2014, but did not open until May 2016. It flies 4 times a
day between Østhavnsvej 37 in Aarhus and Nordre Toldbod 29 in
Copenhagen.
Compared to other large Danish cities, Aarhus is characterized by
some long climbs, which is particularly noticeable by cyclists who ride
from the center to the north or south. Driving north along the approach
road Randersvej, there is 80 meters of altitude from the harbor over a
stretch of 2.7 km up to the Ringvejen. To the south along Oddervej there
are 3.3 km with 100 meters of elevation gain.
Despite the hilly
terrain, the people of Aarhus choose the bicycle at 22 per cent. of all
trips. If the journey is less than 5 km, 28 per cent get on the bike. On
trips to work or educational institution, 36 and 31 per cent,
respectively, cycle. While bicycle traffic nationally has fallen by 5
per cent. from 2009 to 2017, there has been an increase of 20 per cent
in the same period. in Aarhus, and even from a starting point that was
already above average.
In 2007, Aarhus City Council adopted a
large-scale cycling action plan with ambitions to create a more
cycle-friendly city. Since then, nearly DKK 225 million has been
invested. kroner in various projects to promote bicycle traffic in the
city. For example, 3,500 new bicycle parking spaces have been created,
as precisely the lack of bicycle parking spaces in the center has been
and still is a source of frustration for many Aarhusian cyclists. At
Banegårdspladsen, a count in 2004 showed 425 bicycles in an area that
was intended for 170.
As a result of the cycling action plan,
improvements have also been made to the cycle path network, which in
2017 amounted to a total of 675 km in Aarhus Municipality. It includes
the establishment of a number of super cycle paths, which run
predominantly in the wedges between the major approach roads, so that
cyclists avoid the busiest roads. The routes all start at the
Cykelringen in Aarhus Midtby, which is a ring of cycle streets.
Mejlgade, which is used daily by 10,000 cyclists on weekdays, was
converted into a bicycle street in 2011 as the first in Denmark. Cars
are still allowed to drive here, but they must adapt to cyclists
according to the same principle as you know from the pedestrian streets
in the city, where bicycles must be driven on the premises of
pedestrians. Since then, in addition to the Cykelringen in the center of
Aarhus, cycle streets have also been created in the University Park.
As a cyclist in Aarhus, you are not only welcome on the regular
cycle paths, cycle streets and super cycle paths, but actually also on
large parts of the pedestrian network in the city - with special
consideration for pedestrian traffic. It is thus only on Store Torv, in
Søndergade and the lower part of Frederiksgade between Østergade and
Busgaden, that you as a cyclist must get off and pull over. In 2021,
however, cycling will also be permitted in these pedestrian zones,
albeit only between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.
There are several
recreational cycle paths in Aarhus. Around Brabrand Lake west of Aarhus
runs the Brabrandstien, which continues along the Aarhus Å all the way
to the city centre. The path is thus used both for cycling in leisure
time and for transport from the center and to the western part of the
city as well as between Brabrand (north of Brabrand Lake) and Stavtrup
and Viby south of the lake. In the spring of 2019, the city council also
decided that a continuous recreational cycling connection, the
Cykelpromenaden, should be established from Den Permanente in the north
to Moesgaard in the south. This almost 12 km long super cycle path is
scheduled to be completed in 2021 and is also expected to be able to
relieve Mejlgade of part of the north-south bicycle commuter traffic.
Aarhus is located on several national and regional cycle routes.
National route 5 (East coast route) can, for example, be followed north
towards Skagen or south to Sønderborg. In the summer of 2020, the
national cycle route 2 between Hanstholm and Copenhagen also had a new
route through Aarhus. Similarly, from the center of Aarhus, you can
still follow the signage of national route 4, "Danmark across", west
towards Søndervig, although the route was rescheduled in 2019 and now
officially bypasses Aarhus (goes via Hou instead). Finally, in
connection with Aarhus being European Capital of Culture in 2017,
together with Region Central Jutland's 18 other municipalities, a
completely new, 540 km cycle route, the Kulturringen, was established in
East Jutland, which also passes through Aarhus.
Østjyske Motorvej (E45) passes by Aarhus and has a connection from
Motorvejskryds Århus Syd to the Ring Road via Århus Syd Motorway, which
functions as one of the approach roads to Aarhus for traffic to and from
the south. In order to create a better connection to the Port of Aarhus
from the Århus Syd Motorway, there are plans to build a new tunnel, the
Marselis tunnel (named after Marselis Boulevard). Traffic to the west
goes via the approach road Silkeborgvej to Motorvejskryds Århus West,
where a cloverleaf system connects to both the Østjydske Motorvej and
the Herning motorway, which goes towards Herning and passes Silkeborg
along the way. North of Aarhus, the Djursland motorway forms a northern
ring around the city. The Djursland motorway connects to Østjyske
Motorvej at Motorvejskryds Århus Nord and continues to Skødstrup.
Traffic around the inner city goes via Ringgaden, which on the
north-western part between Tage-Hansens Gade and Aarhus University is
six-lane. In the center, since the 1990s, a lot of work has been done at
the Åboulevarden, which runs along the Aarhus Å. Apart from the bridges,
the river is now exposed along the entire stretch from Mølleparken to
the outlet in the harbor at Dokk1, and is largely closed to car traffic,
which has changed Åboulevarden from a busy road to a fashionable river
promenade with many cafes.
Aarhus Harbor is municipally owned and consists of, among other
things, a ferry port, fishing and yacht harbor, the eastern harbor with
space for deep-draft ships, a container harbor and the inner harbor,
where 20-30 cruise ships per year dock right next to the city center.
The container port has approx. 3.7 million tonnes of freight turnover in
2007, Denmark's largest, while the total freight turnover was approx.
12.5 million tonnes in the same year. From the ferry port there is a
connection to Sjællands Odde with the Mols Line and until autumn 2013
there was also a route to Kalundborg, which has subsequently been closed
down.
The port has big plans for the future. In 1997, a 25-year
plan was adopted, which involves doubling the area. At the same time,
however, a large part of the former harbor area is transformed into an
urban environment in the form of Aarhus Ø. As a landmark for this
renewal, the Light*house high-rise building, the tallest residential
building in the country, was planned, which, however, ran into problems
due to uncertainty about the soil conditions. However, they should have
since been resolved, and in April 2019 Aarhus City Council approved the
local plan, which gives permission for the construction of the up to 142
meter high tower and associated side buildings.
Aarhus Kommunale Værker was the body that manages and to a large extent also supplies water and heat, as well as manages and takes care of the disposal of waste water and waste from the city and the municipality. Aarhus Municipal Works was closed on 1 January 2007 and replaced by the two administrations "AffaldWarme Aarhus" and "Water and Wastewater". AffaldVarme Aarhus became a municipally owned limited company AffaldVarme Aarhus A/S per 1 January 2020 and changed name 1 March 2022 to Kredsløb A/S. On 1 January 2010, "Water and Wastewater" was transformed into Aarhus Vand A/S, which handles the majority of water supply and waste water treatment in Aarhus Municipality.
The entire city center and a large part of the surrounding towns are
supplied with water from Aarhus Vand's waterworks, and the rest is
supplied from a number of private waterworks and private boreholes.
Aarhus Vand delivers to approx. 85 per cent of the citizens of Aarhus
Municipality. In the water supply plan 2004-2015, which can be seen on
Aarhus Municipality's website, efforts are being made to connect several
of the private water works to the municipal network in order to ensure
future security of supply. There are no expectations of a shortage of
drinking water within the time horizon of the plan.
All works in
the municipality supply water in the form of groundwater. The water in
Aarhus is generally quite hard (12.8 – 17.7 °dH per 2007) and does not
generally have problems with pollution.
In Aarhus, there is only
one water tower that is still in use, the Water Tower in Hasle. On
Randersvej there is an old water tower that has found another use, e.g.
exhibitions and activities for young people.
Over 95 per cent of the municipality's citizens are supplied with
district heating, which primarily originates from the Studstrup plant
and the incineration plant at Affaldscenter Aarhus, supplemented by
individual local district heating plants in the suburbs. The total heat
production in 2006 was 3,029 million kWh, of which 2,912 million kWh
were sold to consumers in the municipality and to a lesser extent to
consumers in neighboring municipalities.
The heat is primarily
produced from biomass, while waste is the second largest supplier.
Recently, the Studstrup plant has also started producing heat from
straw. A total of 23 per cent of the heat based on non-fossil substances
(waste, straw) that are CO2 neutral. In 2022, the city entered into an
agreement with A.P. Møller - Maersk for a geothermal plant which will
contribute 110 MW of heat, corresponding to 20% of the city's annual
heat consumption.
Electricity in Aarhus Municipality is primarily supplied by five
large producers in the immediate area, including NRGi from
Studstrupværket. Consumption in the municipality was almost 1.5 million
MWh in 2005 and is increasing (7.8% greater than in 2004). Over 30% of
consumption takes place in private households, while public
institutions, industry and trade follow in the next three places.
The electricity supply is in the form of mixed current, where it is
not possible to indicate whether the current is produced using coal,
wind, natural gas etc.
Aarhus Vand A/S handles the wastewater in Aarhus Municipality. In the
municipality, there are 16 waste water plants (fourteen high-tech and
two low-tech). These facilities ensure that the discharge of harmful
substances is kept considerably below the permitted amounts of organic
matter, nitrogen and phosphorus respectively. The same applies to the
amounts of heavy metals and harmful substances. Virtually all sludge
left over from cleaning is reused, either as a sandblasting agent or as
agricultural land. The waste water plan provides guidelines for the
treatment of waste water in Aarhus Municipality.
The waste water
load is on average per inhabitant in the municipality of 1.85 PE (person
equivalents) against 1.61 PE nationwide.
Kredsløb A/S (formerly AffaldVarme Aarhus) is responsible for the
overall handling of waste from private households in Aarhus
Municipality. This includes, among other things, the operation of the
incineration plant in Lisbjerg, seven recycling stations and various
other treatment plants for waste. The collection of the waste is carried
out by several companies, public or private.
In 2018, 194 kg of
residual waste was collected per inhabitant of the municipality. There
was also 53 kg of recyclable waste. 2018 was the first full year in
which everyone in the municipality sorted waste. Aarhus Municipality has
a goal that 50 per cent of waste in the form of paper, cardboard, glass,
plastic, metal, food waste and wood must be recycled in 2022. In 2018,
36.4 per cent recycled.
Hack Kampmann has designed many of the city's buildings and is
probably one of the city's most significant architects. Among Kampmann's
buildings, the Customs House building on the harbour, Aarhus Theater and
Kampmann's own "Villa Kampen" on Strandvejen must be singled out.
Of other buildings, Hjalmar Kjær and Jørgen Christensen's grain
silos on the harbor, called De fem søstre, the funkist buildings,
Frederik M. Draiby's Den Kommunale Badeanstalt and Klintegården built in
the 1930s by Ove Christensen and cast in reinforced concrete must be
highlighted.
Other architects represented are Arne Jacobsen and
Erik Møller, who designed Aarhus Town Hall with the Town Hall Park, and
the University Park was designed by, among others, C.F. Mills. At the
same time, these are examples of the green areas playing together with
excellent architecture.
During the building boom in the 1960s and
1970s, the Aarhus architect Knud Blach Petersen left a decisive mark on
the city with his modernist buildings, which, among other things, count
Gellerupparken, City Vest, Gellerup Church, Busgadehuset, Europahuset,
Klostervangen, Rundhøjskolen and Skjoldhøjkollegiet.
Recent
architecturally interesting buildings include the Scandinavian Congress
Center, Prismet near the Ceres brewery and ARoS. A newer district at
Aarhus harbor under the name Aarhus Ø has been under development these
years, and after a slow start due to the financial crisis in 2009,
residential construction has now sprung up on a large part of the area.
Interesting projects with a distinctive architectural profile such as
Z-Huset, Isbjerget and AArhus stand out. The planned tall landmark for
the new district, Lighthouse, was completed in 2022. The port areas near
the city are part of a more comprehensive urban transformation plan,
where former industrial areas in Aarhus become new districts with
knowledge-based companies and housing developments. The 150-metre-long
coal bridge between the city center and Sydhavnen will be converted into
a green footbridge. Other projects in this process are the conversion of
the grounds of the Ceres brewery, the Godsbanen and the industrial area
at Søren Frichs Vej, where homes have now been built for thousands of
new Aarhusians.
In 2001, Aarhus Municipality presented a concrete policy regarding high-rise building, which, in the municipality's own words, aimed to "ensure, on the one hand, that tall buildings in certain areas are an option, and on the other hand, that the interest in tall buildings in Aarhus is translated into projects which are well-founded in terms of planning and which, in a broad sense, can add something positive to the city." The basic premise of the policy is to make areas at significant intersections in Aarhus open to potential high-rise construction, as is already seen at the Ceres intersection, where the 63-meter-high Prismet stands. The list below is an inventory of the eleven tallest buildings in Aarhus at the moment. As can be seen from the list, the vast majority of the high-rise buildings were built in the 21st century and during the economic recovery in the period 1957-1973, when housing construction in particular boomed.
The municipally owned Port of Aarhus, with a cargo turnover in 2006
of over 12 million tonnes, is one of the city's major companies. The
port is now among the 100 largest container ports in the world and one
of the largest in Scandinavia. The former Århus Oliefabrik has for many
years been a large industrial enterprise at the harbour. Today, the
company is part of AarhusKarlshamn, but vegetable oils are still
produced at the port for e.g. the chocolate and cosmetics industry.
In 2011, the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas moves its head office
to Skejby in northern Aarhus.
In 2003, the JYSK store chain moved
its head office to the suburb of Brabrand in the western part of Aarhus.
Arla Foods has its head office in Viby, west of Aarhus. In 2008, the
company began the construction of a new domicile of 15,000 square meters
on five floors, where there will be space for around 600 employees.
Dansk Supermarked has its roots in Aarhus, and the head office is in
Højbjerg. The company, then called Jysk Supermarket, opened Denmark's
first Føtex in the center of Aarhus in 1960. Denmark's first Bilka was
also opened near Aarhus, namely in Tilst in 1970.
Terma in
Lystrup (satellite town to Aarhus) produces high-tech products, e.g.
aerospace and satellite technology and civil and military radar systems.
Retail trade
Aarhus has ample opportunities for shopping. A study
showed that the city's trade was strengthened in the period 1998 to
2007. The city has a constantly changing shopping environment, where the
Latin Quarter in the inner city in particular attracts quirky and
different shops. Denmark's oldest men's clothing store, Harder, which
was founded in 1895, is located in Søndergade.
The city has two
department stores in the inner city
Warehouse 25,000 m2
Salling
department store 20,000 sq m.
The six largest shopping centers in Aarhus:
Bazar West 110 shops
Bruun's Gallery 100 stores
City West 70 stores
Storcenter Nord 65
stores
Veri Center 30 stores
Viby Center 43 stores
Other
large stores (only the largest are mentioned)
Bilka warehouse
Tilst 28,000 m2
Ikea Skejby 35,000 m2
Mega Syd 30,000 sqm, with 15
large stores
Clemensborg 10,000 sqm with Denmark's second largest H&M
– Monki – Sinnerup.
Inco 7,000 m2
Aarhus is characterized as an educational city by the many higher
education programs. In 2006 and 2007, i.a. The Business School in
Aarhus, the Business and Engineering School in Herning and the
Pedagogical University of Denmark merged with Aarhus University, which
thus accounts for the vast majority of the more than 130 higher
education programs in Aarhus. University has approx. 39,000 students and
11,500 employees. The university was an independent institution until
1970, when it became a state educational institution. The university
park is located in hilly terrain, and with uniform yellow stone
buildings it forms a beautiful campus. The state library is part of the
university park, and the library's tall book tower is one of Aarhus'
well-known buildings. Denmark's School of Journalism, the Aarhus School
of Architecture and the Jyske Academy of Arts and a number of other
higher education institutions also offer long higher education programs.
Other major educational institutions include Århus Købmandsskole and
Aarhus Tech with both youth education, short higher education and
further education. In addition, in the city there is, among other
things, the opportunity to train as a nurse, occupational therapist,
school teacher, pedagogue etc. through VIA University College as well as
deacon professional pedagogue at the deacon college, there are also six
high schools in and around Aarhus. Furthermore, the alternative
education, KaosPiloterne, was created in and still has its home in
Aarhus. You can also train as an actor at the Actors' School at Aarhus
Teater, one of three state-supported acting courses in Denmark (the
other two being in Copenhagen and Odense, respectively). In addition, as
the only place in Denmark, you can train as a dramatist at the Dramatic
Education at Aarhus Theatre.
There are approximately 60,000
students on higher education in Aarhus.
Aarhus University 39,000
VIA University College 9,000
Business Academy Aarhus 7,600
Denmark's Media and Journalism College 1,207 (in 2012).
Aarhus School
of Mechanical Engineering 1,000
Aarhus School of Architecture 945
The Jutland Conservatory of Music 421 (in 2012)
The Chaos Pilots 108
(in 2012)
The Jutland Academy of Arts 50
Aarhus Cathedral School