Hirtshals is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

on the

coast of Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. Th ...

on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Vendsyssel-Thy The North Jutlandic Island (), Vendsyssel-Thy, or Jutland north of the Limfjord (''Jylland nord for Limfjorden''), is the northernmost part of Denmark and of Jutland. It is more common to refer to the three traditional districts Vendsyssel, Hanh ...

at the top of the

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

peninsula in northern

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. It is located in

Hjørring municipality Hjørring Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region on the west coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , making it t ...

Region Nordjylland The North Jutland Region ( da, Region Nordjylland), or in some official sources, the North Denmark Region, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform, which abolished the tr ...

. The town of Hirtshals has a population of 5,532 (1 January 2022).BY3: Population 1. January by urban areas, area and population density
The Mobile Statbank from Statistics Denmark Located on the

Skagerrak The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea. T ...

, it is especially known for its

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and ferry harbours.

History

The town of Hirtshals developed around the artificial harbour which was constructed between 1919 and 1931. In 1925, the Hjørring-Hirtshals

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

opened to link the port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network. In 1966, the harbour was expanded and became one of the largest

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

s in Denmark. On September 8 1989

Partnair flight 394 Partnair Flight 394 was a chartered flight that crashed on 8 September 1989 off the coast of Denmark, north of Hirtshals. All fifty passengers and five crew members on board the aircraft died, making this the deadliest disaster in Danish aviati ...

crashed off the coast of Hirtshals killing all 55 passengers on board. Until 1 January 2007, Hirtshals was also the seat of

Hirtshals Municipality Hirtshals Municipality was a municipality ( da, kommune) in Denmark. It was located on the west and north coast of the Jutland peninsula and belonged to North Jutland County. It was abolished effective 1 January 2007. The municipal seat was located ...

which was merged with existing

Hjørring Hjørring () is a town on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Hjørring Municipality in the North Jutland Region. The population is 25,644 (ac ...

Løkken-Vrå Løkken-Vrå was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in the North Jutland County, Denmark until January 1, 2007. It was located on the northwest coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy on the northern Jutland peninsula. The municipality covered ...

, and

Sindal Sindal is a railway town on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It has a population of 3,095 (1 January 2022) and is located in Hjørring Municipality in Region Nordjylland. Until 1 January 2007 ...

municipalities to form an enlarged

Hjørring Municipality Hjørring Municipality is a municipality ( Danish: '' kommune'') in North Jutland Region on the west coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , making it t ...

Geography

Hirtshals is located on the

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

promontory ''Hirtshals'', overlooking the

between the

Jammer Bay Jammer may refer to: Signal blocking devices * Radar jammer, a device used in radar jamming and deception * Radio jammer, a device used in radio jamming * Radio-controlled Improvised Explosive Device jammer, a counter-IED device * Mobile phone ...

and the Tannis Bay. The shoreline is backed by low

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s, beneath which is a narrow and rocky

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

Cityscape

The town's 35-metre-high lighthouse, ''Hirtshals fyr'', is a local landmark. Building was begun on 28 June 1860, and it was first lit on 1 January 1863. It is constructed of red brick and covered with Dutch tile.

Climate

Memorial to the crew of the Danish lifeboat RF2

The sea level has been as high as 1 metre over the norm. But in days where there is no wind, the waves typically will not be higher than maximum over normal sea level. Due to the proximity of the town to the coast, sea fog is not an uncommon occurrence. In the winter, the air temperature can fall as low as 1.6 degrees, but in the summer, it can reach over 25 degrees Celsius.

Waves

Hirtshals Havnekontor (Hirtshals' Harbour Office) keeps track of wave periods. Annual wave periods fluctuate between half a second, up to about 9 seconds. According to Hirtshals Havnekontor (Hirtshals' Harbour Office) normal wave heights are between 2 and 2.5 metres.

Wind

The prevailing wind in Hirtshals is to the south or south-west. Wind speeds vary all year long, usually topping at 10 m/s during the winter.

Economy

Maersk Guardian in Hirtshals, maj 2001 (ubt)-000

Fishing plays a big role for the town and its inhabitants, as does tourism and the renting of summer homes. Due to the ferry connections with

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, the shops in Hirtshals thrive on the large number of visitors, especially Norwegians, who shop in the small town all year long.

Culture

It is the home of one of the largest aquariums in Europe, the Nordsøen Oceanarium. This was built in 1984 as Nordsømuseet, The North Sea Museum, and got its present name after it was extended in 1998 to include a fish tank containing 4.5 million litres of water, making it the largest in northern Europe. The Oceanarium has 70 different species in its collection. A fire in December 2003 destroyed the new extension, but it was rebuilt and reopened on 22 July 2005. The 2014 Danish film ''

The Sunfish ''The Sunfish'' ( da, Klumpfisken) is a 2014 Danish film directed by Søren Balle, and written by Balle and Lærke Sanderhoff and features actors Henrik Birch and Susanne Storm. The film won a Bodil Award for Henrik Birch as "Best Leading Act ...

'' is set in Hirtshals.

Transportation

Port of Hirtshals

Hirtshals is the Danish terminal for the services of the Norwegian ferry company, Color Line. Each year thousands of tourists travel back and forth between Hirtshals and the Norwegian cities of

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

and Larvik. Previously, Color Line also offered services to

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Stavanger and

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, but decided to stop operating these routes in early 2008. Another ferry operator, Fjord Line, now operates a route to

, Stavanger,

and

Langesund is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bamble, Norway. The town of Langesund was established as a municipality 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was merged with Bamble 1 January 1964. In the early days, Langesund was ...

. It has also been possible since autumn 2010 to travel to

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and to

Seyðisfjörður Seyðisfjörður () is a town in the Eastern Region of Iceland at the innermost point of the fjord of the same name. The town is located in the municipality of Múlaþing. A road over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass (elevation ) connects Seyðisfjö ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

with Smyril Line.

Railway stations

The

Hirtshals railway line The Hirtshals railway line ( da, Hirtshalsbanen) is a long standard gauge single track railway line between Hjørring and Hirtshals, Denmark. The railway links the fishing and ferry port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network. The railway ...

connects Hirtshals with Hjørring and the rest of the Danish rail network. Hirtshals station is the principal railway station of the town. The town is also served by the

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

s Lilleheden and Emmersbæk.

Notable people

Danmarks utrikesminister Lene Espersen pa Nordiska Radets session i Reykjavik pa Island 2010-11-03

* Niels Hausgaard (born 1944 in Hirtshals) singer, songwriter and comedian * Kim Lynge Pedersen (born 1965 in Hirtshals) a Danish weightlifter, competed in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

* Lene Espersen (born 1965 in Hirtshals) former politician,

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

2008/2011 * Louise Jensen (1971 in Hirtshals – 1994) a tour guide working in Cyprus, murdered by three British soldiers *

Simon Mathew Simon Mathew (born 17 May 1984) is a Danish pop singer. He is the brother of teen-pop singers Rebekka Mathew and Sabina Mathew.Dodo and the Dodos (begun in 1986) pop band on Danish radio stations in the 1980s * Patrick Pedersen (born 1991 in Hirtshals) footballer, plays as a striker for Valur

Local radio

* Skaga FM,The Skaga FM official website (Mainly in Danish, but offers German tourist radio during the summer)
/ref> formerly known as Radio Hirtshals, is a local radio station that plays domestic and foreign hits from the 1980s, 1990s and onwards, and reports on current events happening within the municipality of

. MHz: 105.6 FM. * Since the early year 2010, local ferry operator Color Line (serves two ferry routes between Hirtshals and Norway) have had their own radio station, Color Radio, that plays popular songs from mostly the 1980s and 1990s. It also gives passengers from Hirtshals to Norway information about the next departure, and when check-in closes. The radio can be heard all over Hirtshals town, and from the motorway roundabout near Aabyen at the E39. MHz: 95.3 FM.

External links

Hjørring Municipality's official website

North Sea Museum

Hirtshals local online newspaper

Links to Hirtshals Weather

Hirtshals Havnekontor Weathermeasurings, updates every minute (Only in metric)

Weather-Forecast.com Hirtshals (Metric & Imperial)

Webcams of Hirtshals Harbour

2 Webcams on Hirtshals Harbour
**The first one on the page is Pier II, and the second is Frontbassin towards northeast.

References

* Municipal statistics
NetBorger Kommunefakta
delivered fro
KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
* Municipal mergers and neighbors
Eniro new municipalities map
{{Authority control Cities and towns in the North Jutland Region Port cities and towns in Denmark Hjørring Municipality Port cities and towns of the North Sea