Everything about Rhus totally explained
Aarhus, Denmark>
City coat of arms
City seen from the South Harbor
Location in Denmark
European city of culture 2017
|
| Area |
| - Inner city |
91 km² |
| - Municipality |
468 km² |
| - Urban |
1,909 km² |
| - Metropolitan |
5,842 km² |
| - East jutland metropolitan |
9,997 km² |
| Population (Density) |
| - inner city |
237,551 (2,610 km²) |
| - municipality |
298.538 (637 km²) |
| - Urban |
441.748 (231 km²) |
| - Metropolitan |
808,288 (138 km²) |
| - East jutland metropolitan |
1,212,781 (121 km²) |
| Additional information |
| Time zone |
Central European: UTC+1 |
Latitude
Longitude |
56°09' N
10°13' E |
Aarhus (: [ˈɒːhus,ˈɒːhuːˀs]) 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. Aarhus is the seat of the council of
Aarhus municipality and claims the unofficial title "Capital of Jutland".
Geography
The city lies roughly at the geographical centre of Denmark on the peninsula of
Jutland. Forests reach from the south into the city to within a kilometre (.6 mi) of the city centre, because the city has grown around the forest, and some areas are completely surrounded by the city, such as Risskov. The city is built mostly 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 in
Denmark are close to the city, the general landscape is typically hilly, interspersed with forests and meadows; the city itself is very hilly north of the centre. The coastline consists mainly of sandy beaches, but stony 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. To the south west (about 21 km, 13 miles, by rail) lies a picturesque region that contains the
Gudenå. Several larger lakes extend West from the
Skanderborg railway junction and rise to heights exceeding 152 metres (499 ft) in the
Himmelbjerget. The railway traverses this pleasant district of moorland and woodland to
Silkeborg.
Transport
Aarhus Airport, a local airport of Aarhus, is located 40 km (25 mi) north-east of Aarhus, in
Tirstrup. There have been plans for constructing a new, bigger airport for a long time, but so far, the plans have not been realized.
There have been plans for a new bridge between Aarhus and
Kalundborg, to provide a better infrastructure between
Jutland and
Zealand, and especially Aarhus and
Copenhagen. The government and the Minister of Transportation of Denmark has temporarily denied this request, and called it 'unrealistic'. One of his own current efforts for a 70-billion kroner bridge between
Zealand and
Germany, has been criticized for its lack for necessity and economic implications.
A survey by
Aarhus Stifttidende suggested that as little as 8% of the people of Denmark would ever use the bridge to
Germany, and that some 25% of the population would use the bridge between Aarhus and
Zealand every month. The future of the bridge is being discussed by a cooperation between the municipality of Aarhus, nearby municipalities. Financial corporations in the private sector are interested in funding the project for profiting from the bridge in years to come. In Danish, the potential bridge is referred to as "Kattegat-broen", or the Kattegat-bridge, because it would be build across the
Kattegat sea.
Aarhus is served by commuter rail that connects the city it self with nearby neighbouring cities. The main station in Aarhus is
Århus Central Station, which is located in the city centre. There is also smaller stations in the suburbs.
History
The bishopric of Aarhus dates back to at least 951, and archaeological findings date back some 1300 years to
Viking times. The city itself is presumably older than 770 A.D., making Aarhus the oldest big city in Scandinavia. The favorable central position of the city within Denmark afforded it trade from
Germany, the
Baltic countries, the greater peninsula of
Jutland and the communities on the many smaller islands in its vicinity, which meant that trade always had a great significance to the town - a significance which is still true today.
The city didn't expand outwards 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 a population 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.
Name
During the
Middle Ages 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 (Å being the Danish word for a small river).
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 for the first time by
Adam of Bremen who states that "Reginbrand, bishop of the church of Aarhus (Harusa)" participates in a church meeting in the city of
Ingelham in
Germany.
Viking Age and before
The oldest
archaeological 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. In the houses and the adjoining archaeological 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.
The finding of six
runestones in and around Aarhus indicates the city had some significance around year 1000 as only wealthy nobles traditionally used them. The center of Aarhus was once a
pagan burial site until Aarhus' first church, Holy Trinity Church, a timber structure, was built upon it during the reign of
Frode, King of Jutland, around 900 CE.
17th-18th centuries
During the wars of the 17th century, it's probable that the city suffered in a significant way. 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.
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.
19th century
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.
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.
Main sights
- Århus Domkirke, the tallest and longest cathedral in Denmark.
- Church of Our Lady, a large church .
- Århus City Hall (City Hall of Århus).
- Aarhus Universitet (University of Århus).
- Statsbiblioteket (State library).
- Den Gamle By, an open air museum.
- Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium (The Juttish music conservatory).
- Botanisk Have (Botanical garden).
- Tivoli Friheden, amusement park.
- ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, the main Århus arts museum.
- Aarhus Kunstbygning, an arts museum.
- Marselisborg Palace, the royal castle of Århus.
- Aarhus Theatre, the official theater of the city.
- Aarhus Dyrehave, an open air park with deers and wild boar enclosures.
- Telecommunication Tower Aarhus, a 325 meter tall concrete tower with guyed mast on its top
- Skejby Sygehus, the second largest hospital in Denmark
- Atletion, a combinated sport venue
- Kvindemuseet i Danmark. Women's Museum in Denmark
- Light House (in construction). Expected to be completed in 2010, it'll be Denmark's tallest building.
- Den Permanente a popular closed beach area, also providing views of Helgenæs and Samsø across Århus Bay.
- Naturhistorisk Museum, a natural history museum
- Moesgård Museum
- Viking Museum
Demographics
Almost 300,000 people live within the city limits of Aarhus, while an additional 500,000 live in the surrounding local area of the
East Jutland region. Aarhus is also a part of the larger
East Jutland metropolitan area with 1,200,000 inhabitants that makes East Jutland the second most-populated area in Denmark, after the
Copenhagen area.
Aarhus is divided into several districts and suburbs with it's own postal code (Postdistrikter).
Districts (boroughs) inside the 2
nd city beltway:
Århus C
Århus N
Århus V
Åbyhøj
Viby
65,000 of the population of Aarhus are under 18 years of age. Aarhus has been growing at a steady rate of about 1% per year since 1950, when the city had about 150,000 inhabitants. The University of Aarhus estimates an increase of around 20,000 more students in the next six years, with attendant concerns over a lack of housing. In response, the city council has already initiated a large range of building projects in order to house some 100,000 new citizens before 2030 so the city population will rise to almost 400,000 inhabitants.
The population of Aarhus is both younger and better-educated than the national average, The Aarhus Festuge festival usually includes several exhibits, concerts or events specifically designed for these communities. There are several clubs, discos and cafes aimed at gays and lesbians: Danish D-lite (sports), Diskotek Blender (disco) or Gaia Vandreklub (hiking club) are a few examples
It is common for tourist brochures and local politicians to refer to the town with the tongue-in-cheek slogan "The worlds smallest city"reflecting the fact that the city has everything a city needs while 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, and which subsequently is used widely in popular culture today.
Sports
In the southern-Aarhus Marselisborg Park, the sports center named Atletion is located comprises athletics, the football NRGi Park and the indoor sports NRGi Arena. Several sport clubs have their home ground in Atletion, including Aarhus Gymnastik Forening, the Danish superliga football team, and Aarhus GF handball team, the 1960 European Cup runner-up. Although basketball is a minor sport in Denmark, Aarhus is considered the main Danish hub of the sport, with the local team Bakken Bears being the most successful team in Denmark for the past decade.
Aarhus (and especially Atletion) has served or will serve as the host of many sport events in recent years including:
2002 European Women's Handball Championship
2005 European Table Tennis Championships
Denmark Open in badminton
UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup
2006 World Orienteering Championships
2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
GF World Cup; the world's largest handball tournament for women
DanceSport IDSF World Standard 2006
Education
The town is home to the University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus Technical College, The Danish School of Journalism and the Engineering College of Aarhus and several other high-end education centres. It is possible to receive higher education in many areas, from engineering and dentistry to language and theology. The Danish School of Journalism is considered one of the most prestigious journalism schools in Europe.
The University of Aarhus has approximately 40,000 students in the city and 30,000 students at the university with approximately 5,000 new students per year.
Politics
The city council consists of 31 members elected for 4-year terms. 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. The current Mayor of Aarhus is Nicolai Wammen of the Social Democrats elected by the city council after the 2005 municipal elections.
The city is divided into 6 minor administrative bodies which together constitute the magistrate led 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 handle all the day-to-day operations of the city.
Aarhus is the seat of Aarhus Municipality. Until the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the Danish counties with five regions, it was also the seat of Aarhus County, which has now been disbanded in favor of the new Region Midtjylland, its seat located in Viborg.
Aarhus has twinning agreements with Goteborg, Aabo, Bergen, Harbin, St. Petersburg and Julianehåb;
(External Link
) and has a connection with Swansea.
Suburbs
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 app. 12.000.000 tons of cargo(2006) and are therefore among the 100 biggest containerports in the world. 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 industries are 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, was originally founded in Aarhus. Royal Unibrew has recently announced the closure of Ceres, which will take effect by the end of 2008.
Famous people
Ole Rømer Astronomer
Jens Christian Skou Nobel prize winner
Bjarne Stroustrup Computer scientist
Ole Worm Physician, scholar and antiquarian
Lene Hau Physicist
Flemming Povlsen Soccer player
Marc Rieper Soccer player
Camilla Martin Badminton world champion
Kaare Norge Guitarist
Tina Dickow Singer
Stig Tøfting Soccer player
Ida Corr SingerFurther Information
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