Thursday 22 March 2012

Aarhus

Aarhus, is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark. Aarhus is the seat of the council of Aarhus municipality with 314,545 inhabitants and 249,709 (1 October 2011)in the inner urban area. According to Aarhus municipality, the "Greater Aarhus" area has a population of about 1.2 million people.The city claims the unofficial title "Capital of Jutland".
Aarhus is the main and biggest city in the East Jutland metropolitan area (Danish: Byregion Østjylland), which is a co-operation in eastern Jutland with 17 municipalities. With more than 1.2 million people living in the East Jutland metropolitan area it represents approximately 23% of the population of Denmark. Aarhus has the second-largest urban area in Denmark after Copenhagen.


Economy


Emma Mærsk, at the time the world's largest container ship, in Aarhus Harbor, 5 September 2006. Aarhus' central location within Denmark facilitates transport throughout the country and beyond
The harbour is one of the largest industrial harbours in Northern Europe and the largest in Denmark. The facilities are very modern and handle approximately 12 million tonnes 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 announced the closure of Ceres in 2008.




Culture
Aarhus is a centre for education on the peninsula of Jutland. It draws students from a large 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. There are many cafes and restaurants as well as discothèques, cinemas, museums, amusement parks, and various other entertainment venues . Each year, the town hosts several festivals and concerts, including Aarhus International Jazz Festival and Aarhus Festuge the biggest festival in Scandinavia. The Vestereng park facility is also a site for large popular-music concerts.
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 historic Danish buildings gathered from all around the country. The city also hosts the Tivoli Friheden amusement park as well as the deer park situated in the large nearby public forest.


Architecturally impressive sights include the 13th century cathedral in the centre of the city; Århus Domkirke is the tallest cathedral in Denmark, as well as the second longest in Northern Europe, being only 45 cm (18 in) shorter than its counterpart in Trondheim. The Aarhus City Hall is a uniquely designed building drawn by renowned architect Arne Jacobsen, located in the city centre. The city hall is included in the national educational canon for culture as an example of important architectural work.
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 II and Kvindemuseet mainly showcasing feminist history and culture.
Being a comparatively large Danish city, Aarhus 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 are an obvious and visible part of the city's daily life and contribute to many cultural flavours uncommon for the North, such as the Arabic themed Bazar West, a market with shopkeepers predominantly of foreign descent.


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 AGF Århus, 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[citation needed], 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

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