Aarhus River () is a long

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

, in eastern

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The river flows through the large

river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ...

of Aarhus Ådal. The valley itself, stretches from

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, but the Aarhus River only runs through the easternmost parts. The river drains a basin of in the eastern part of Søhøjlandet and discharges into the Bay of Aarhus which is an embayment of the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...

. It originates above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

in the swampy bogland of Astrup Mose close to Stilling-Solbjerg Lake, southwest of the city of Aarhus (56°6' northern latitude, 10°9' eastern longitude) and exits into Aarhus Harbour at 56°9' northern latitude, 10°13' eastern longitude. The river defines the border between Skanderborg and Aarhus Municipality during its first few kilometres.

History

Aarhus River has been important for the development of the city of Aarhus since its foundation in the early

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, and archaeological and historical research suggests that it played a crucial role in the origins of the city. There used to be a sizeable catch of eel, and to a lesser degree pike, in the Aarhus River up until the later part of the 20th century. Several families, often based at the rivers' watermills, made a living from it with the Brabrand Lake as the most productive fishing spot. As seen the world over, eel went into a rapid decline and with it the local fishing industry in the Aarhus River dried up. Through the 20th century, the river and its

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

went into a serious decline due to nutrient pollution from household wastewater and farmland run-off. Today, after some costly efforts to restore the damaging effects of the destructive eutrofication, the ecosystem and

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of the Aarhus River is recovering and now includes a wide range of fish species once again. Two former fish farms along the Aarhus River at Pinds Mølle and Gammel Harlev has been re-purposed as put-and-take spots with

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

for sports fishing.See ''"Århus Å"'' p. 39-48 With the advance of the automobile, the river's run through the city of Aarhus was paved over and covered by roads in the years 1930-1958. In the process, the last long stretch was named Åboulevarden and created a new transport route to the thriving industrial harbour. In 1989, it was politically decided that Aarhus River should be opened again, and the project commenced in September 2005. In 2008, the reopened section of the river at Åboulevarden was inaugurated, and work on the last section at the harbor front began, finishing in 2015.

Gallery

References

Sources

* Søren Olsen: ''"Danmarks Søer og Åer"'' * Fode, Henrik (red.): ''"Århus Å - Natur og mennesker"'', Århus Byhistoriske Fond (2009) * Barbara Højlund & Frederik Schildt Nabe-Nielsen (2011)
Århus
Viking Ship Museum * Christina Jessen (2011)
Aarhus
Danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University

External links

Århus Å
Den Gamle By. Paintings of the Aarhus through the ages.
Aarhus
Danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University {{Coord, 56, 09, 16, N, 10, 12, 40, E, source:kolossus-dawiki, display=title Geography of Aarhus Aarhus Municipality Skanderborg Municipality Rivers of Jutland