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Aarhus

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For the Aarhus convention on public participation, see Aarhus Convention.

Aarhus, Denmark
City seal

Location in Denmark
Population
(2006-01-03)
 - City
 - Metropolitan
 - Density (city/met)

295,513 Århus municipality: 468 km²
urban area 661,013 Århus county: 4560 km²
Time zone Central European: UTC+1
Latitude
Longitude 		56°09' N
10°13' E

Aarhus ([Danish pronunciation] ([Media helphelp]·[info])) also commonly known by its contemporary Danish spelling Århus, is the second largest city and the principal port of Denmark situated on the peninsula of Jutland on the northern shore of Germany. Aarhus is the seat of the council of both Aarhus municipality and Aarhus County and claims the unofficial title "Capital of Jutland".Bridgwater, W. & Beatrice Aldrich. (1966) The Columbia-Viking Desk Encyclopedia. Columbia University. p. 11.

Contents

Demographics

Aarhus city holds almost 300.000 citizens, but within a 30 minute drive, there lives around 700.000 people making it the second most populated area in Denmark after the Copenhagen area. Aarhus will be a part of the new Region Midtjylland in 01 Jan 2007. Aarhus is the largest city in the region and will be the natural economical and cultural focal point of the area. The new region will hold 1,219,741 inhabitants and Aarhus will change a lot in the next years because of the influx of people moving to the city from the sorrounding areas. Aarhus has issued a highrise politic for the city so that new apartments may be built for the many new inhabitants. Already about 70 highrises, from 10 storey and up are being planned, and plans for many more are under way. Aarhus is the fastest growing city in Denmark, with approximately 2,500 new inhabitants every year. In 1980, the city had 245,000 inhabitants and today that number nearly surpasses 300,000. The buildt up area around Aarhus is more or less from Skanderborg in the south to Studstrup in the north, from north to south about 40 km.

Geography

The city lies roughly in the geographical centre of the kingdom on the relatively sparsely populated peninsula of Jutland with large areas of natural areas and preserves nearby. Forests expand from the south into the city within just a kilometre of the city centre. The city is practically built around the harbour which is predominantly industrial, although a large recreational marina is situated south of it as an extension.

While some of the highest points of Denmark are close to the city, the general landscape is typically flat with large swathes of farmland interspersed with forests and meadows. The coastline consists mostly of sandy beaches, but stoney areas are not uncommon. The immediate coastal regions are not heavily populated due to a national policy of keeping residences inland rather than crowding the coast.

The city lies at the junction of railway lines from all parts of the country in a low-lying, fertile, and well-wooded district. To the southwest (about 21 km by rail), sits a picturesque region that contains the Gudenå. Several larger lakes extends west from the railway junction of Skanderborg and rise to heights exceeding 152 metres in the Himmelbjerget. The railway traverses this pleasant district of moorland and woodland to Silkeborg, a modern town in one of the most attractive areas in the kingdom.

Culture

The "Spanish Stairs" in the city centre by the Århus å.
Enlarge
The "Spanish Stairs" in the city centre by the Århus å.

Aarhus is a centre for education on the peninsula of Jutland drawing students from a major area especially from the western and southern parts of the peninsula. The relatively large influx of young people and students creates a natural base for cultural activities and there are many cafees around 500 in city, discoteques, cinemas, museums, amusement parks and various other venues of entertainment. Each year the town hosts several festivals and concerts including Aarhus International Jazz Festival and Aarhus Festuge the biggest festival in Scandinavia.

One major tourist attraction in Aarhus is The Old Town (Danish: Den Gamle By), which is not actually an old part of the city itself, but a collection of old buildings from Danish history gathered from all around the country. The old town was recently ranked one of the 3 best tourist attraction in Denmark in category with Tivoli and Legoland. The city also hosts the Tivoli Friheden amusement park as well as the Deer Park situated in the large nearby public forest park.

Architecturally impressive sights includes the 13th century cathedral in the centre of the city; Århus Domkirke is the largest cathedral in Denmark, as well as the second largest in Northern Europe, being only 1.5 ft shorter than its counterpart in Trondheim. The Aarhus City Hall is a uniquely designed building drawn by renowned Arne Jacobsen placed in the city centre. The city hall is included in the national cultural kanon for education as an example of important architectural works.

There are many museums scattered around the city with ARoS being the newest and largest featuring daily exhibits of contemporary art. Other museums include Aarhus kunstbygning also featuring mostly contemporary art, Frihedsmuseet focusing on the occupation and resistance movement during World War Two and Kvindemuseet mainly showcasing feminist history and culture.

The Old Town of Aarhus.
Enlarge
The Old Town of Aarhus.

Being a comparably large Danish city it has received a fair share of immigrants from various other cultures and is as such also home to one of the few ghettos in Denmark, Gellerup. The international cultures present in the community is an obvious and visible part of the city's daily life and contributes to many cultural flavours uncommon for the North such as the Arabic themed Bazar West, a market with shopkeepers predominantly of foreign descent.

The city have an active and visible gay and lesbian community which the city officially attempts to promote and nurture.() [Homo i Århus] at Aarhus.dk The Aarhus Festuge festival usually includes several exhibits, concerts or events specifically designed for these communities. There are several clubs, discos and cafees aimed at gays and lesbians like Danish D-lite (sports), Diskotek Blender (disco) or Gaia Vandreklub (hiking club). The mood in the city is generally relaxed towards group minorities of varying persuasions and safety and security is generally very good.

It is common for tourist brochures and local politicians to refer to the town with the tongue-in-cheek slogan "The worlds smallest big-city" reflecting the fact that the city mostly has everything a city needs although it is unquestionably not a metropolis. Another popular and perhaps better known phrase to describe the city is "City of Smiles", a slogan first coined by the city council in the 1930s as an advertising slogan which subsequently has been used widely in popular culture to this day.

Education

The town is home to the University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus Technical College and the University College of Aarhus and several other high-end educational centres. It is possible to receive higher educational levels within most areas from engineering and dentistry to language and theology. The educational institutions are key elements of the social life of the city and plays are large role in many cultural events throughout the year.

The University of Aarhus is divided into 5 faculties: Humanities, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Theology and Science. There is at any given time approximately 40.000 students in city and 21.000 students at the university with c. 5.000 new students per. year.() [BESTAND AF STUDERENDE, OKTOBER 2005], Aarhus Universitet, November 21, 2005 Every year the university educates some 2000 phd's and another 2.000 bachelors.() [KANDIDATER OG BACHELORER PR. OKTOBER 2004 OG 2005], Aarhus Universitet, December 1, 2005

Politics

The city council consists of 31 members elected for a 4 year term. Anybody eligible to vote and residing in Aarhus municipality can run for a seat on the city council. After elections have determined the members of the city council the council elects a mayor, 2 deputy mayors and 5 councilmen.() [Byråd], Aarhus Municipality, July 15, 2003 The current Mayor of Aarhus is Nicolai Wammen of the Social Democrats elected by popular majority after the 2005 municipality elections.

The city is divided into 6 minor administrative bodies which together constitutes the magistrate lead by the mayor and the 5 elected councilmen as political and administrative directors. The 6 magistrate departments of the city are the “Mayor’s Magistrate”, “Social and Employment Magistrate”, “Technology and Environment Magistrate”, “Health and Social Magistrate”, “Culture and Service Magistrate” and “Children and Youth Magistrate” and handles all the day to day operations of the city.

City council meetings are held every week and the first part of the meetings are usually open for interested observers be it tourists or locals although the second part is usually closed for spectators. Aarhus is also the seat of Aarhus Municipality and Aarhus County which arguably gives the city some control over a sizable area of its surroundings.

Industry and business

The harbour is one of the largest industrial harbours in northern Europe and the largest in Denmark. The facilities are very modern and handle some 10.000.000 tonnes of cargo pr. year.() [XII.Godsomsætning], Århus Havn, 2000 Much agricultural produce is exported, while coal and iron are among the chief imports. The harbour itself is maintained by Århus Stevedore Kompagni A/S originally based in Aarhus but currently operating several harbours around the world.

The region is a major producer of agricultural products with many large farms in the outlying districts. Cattle, pork and grain are the main products with a sizable related refinement industry present. Computer and technology heavy industry is mainly focused in the urban areas with an abundance of small and medium sized IT and service companies dotting the city centre.

The Ceres Brewery, part of Royal Unibrew, is based in Aarhus and was originally founded here as well. It is a well-known Danish beer brand exported to mainly Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom.

History

Picture from Viking rally at the Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus.
Enlarge
Picture from Viking rally at the Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus.

The town is relatively old 770 ad. the bishopric dates back at least from 951 and archaelogical findings date back some 1300 years to viking times although the city itself is presumably older than that to 770 ad. making it the oldest big city in skandinavia. The favorable central position within Denmark affording it trade from Germany, the Baltic countries, the greater peninsula of Jutland and the communities on the many smaller islands in its vicinity meant that trade always had a great significance to the town; a significance which is still true today.

The city didn't outgrow Randers until the late 1800s and Aalborg remained the largest city on the peninsula until the 1920s. The relatively fast albeit late growth of the city can be ascribed to the general tendencies of moving from rural to urban areas during the industrial revolution. Industrialisation meant that proximity to trade routes became more important giving the harbour city some advantages over other nearby cities as new industries came into existence.

The name

In medieval times, the city was called Arus, and in Icelandic chronicles, it was known as Áróss. It is a compound of the two words ār, genitive of ā "river" (Modern Danish å) and ōss "mouth" (obsolete in Modern Danish; in Modern Icelandic this word is still used for "river delta"). The city is located on the mouth of the small river Århus Å.

Through regular sound development, Medieval Danish Arus became Aars or Oes, a form, which persisted in the dialects of the surrounding parishes until the 20th century. In 1406 Aarhus became prevalent in the written sources, and gradually became the norm in the 17th century. Aarhus is probably a remodelling after the numerous Low German place names in -husen, possibly as a result of the influence of German merchants.

The city is mentioned the first time by Adam of Bremen who mentions that "Reginbrand, bishop of the church of Aarhus (Harusam)" participates in a church meeting in the city of Ingelham in Germany. [[Citing sources citation needed]]

Viking times

The oldest archaelogical findings in Aarhus are glass pearls which date to the end of the 7th century. Half buried Long houses, used both as homes and workshops for the Vikings have also been found.[[Citing sources citation needed]]In the houses and the adjoining archaelogical layers, combs, jewelry and basic multi-purpose tools have been found that indicate the settlement is from approximately year 900. Digs in the spring of 2005 revealed a so-called city-ditch from the year 850 which might have marked the trade centre upon which the city is built. [[Citing sources citation needed]]

The finding of six rune stones in and around Aarhus indicates the city had some significance around year 1000 as only wealthy nobles traditionally used them. [[Citing sources citation needed]]

1600-1700

During the wars of the 17th century, it is probable that the city suffered a great deal. Fortifications still exist south of the city as a reminder of the German imperial campaigns between 1627 and 1629. In 1644, Sweden taxed the city harshly and between 1657 and 1659, it was occupied by Swedish troops on several occasions. [[Citing sources citation needed]]

In spite of these and other misfortunes, such as plague and city-wide fires, Aarhus was still quite a significant city in Denmark due to its favourable geographical position which was of significant importance for trading. Trade came mainly from the inland of Jutland but also from Norway, Lübeck, Amsterdam, England, France and Spain. In the middle of the 18th century the trade fleet consisted of approximately 100 ships.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

1800

In the 19th century, the city gained more independence from the dominance of Copenhagen and Hamburg. While it had been the third largest city in Jutland during the early 19th century, its population surpassed Randers in 1840 and in 1850, Ålborg, thus becoming the largest city in Jutland and the second largest in Denmark.[[Citing sources citation needed]]

The city's material prosperity continued to increase as the harbour expanded and the railway network grew. Culturally, it marketed itself as the "Capital of Jutland" and expanded many of its cultural institutions like the national library, universities, the Aarhus Theater and hospitals.

Sights and landmarks

Famous Aarhusians

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Official websites

Educational institutions

Culture

Suburbs of Århus
Beder | Brabrand | Egå | Harlev | Hasle | Hasselager | Holme | Hjortshøj | Højbjerg | Kolt | Lisbjerg | Lystrup | Malling | Mårslet | Risskov | Sabro | Slet | Skejby | Skæring | Skåde | Stavtrup | Solbjerg | Skødstrup | Tilst | Tranbjerg | Trige | Vejlby | Viby | Åby
Towns in Denmark

25 largest towns and cities in Denmark (ranked by size)
Copenhagen | Aarhus | Odense | Aalborg | Esbjerg | Randers | Kolding | Hvidovre | Vejle | Horsens | Roskilde | Næstved | Silkeborg | Fredericia | Elsinore | Køge | Viborg | Holstebro | Slagelse | Herning | Hillerød | Svendborg | Sønderborg | Hjørring | Holbæk

 

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