metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
in
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 ...
and
Funen
Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...
,
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 ...
.
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 ...
is the most populated city in the region.
The National Planning Report of 2006, published by the Danish Environment Ministry, argued that "East Jutland is developing into a coherent area with high population growth and division of labour between the cities in the urban band that extends from Kolding to Randers" and foresaw "the contours of a future million-city". The report recommended dialogue about future development between the state, the region and the municipalities.
In the next National Planning Report of 2013, the area was split into East Jutland North () and the Triangle Region (). The municipalities in the two subregions cooperate as Business Region Aarhus and the Triangle Region respectively.See ''"Den Østjyske Millionby"'', p. 13-15.
With about 1.4 million people living in the area, it represents approximately 25% of the population of Denmark.
The area has 19
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
as of 2016.
Economy
The metropolitan area is a major hub for education and is home to many large companies; in particular in the sectors of food production, agriculture,
renewable energy
Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
Arla Foods
Arla Foods is a Danish-Swedish multinational co-operative based in Viby, Denmark. It is the fifth biggest dairy company in the world and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia and United Kingdom.
Arla Foods was formed as the re ...
. Vestas is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
s and the largest in the world of its kind; and Arla is a Swedish-Danish dairy
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
with headquarters in
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 ...
and is the largest producer of
dairy
A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...
products in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and the seventh largest dairy company in the world, measured by turnover. Among cooperative dairy companies, Arla is the third largest in the world.
The primary harbour of the region is Aarhus harbour. It is the largest industrial harbour in Denmark and among largest in
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
, only surpassed by the Swedish industrial harbour in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
in 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 ...
sea area. With modern facilities, it handles approximately 12 million tonnes of cargo (2006) per year and is therefore among the 100 biggest container ports in the world.
Greater Aarhus boasts a unique position in the global
wind energy
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...
market. It is home to some of the world's biggest manufacturers of wind turbines and constitutes the world's most advanced knowledge center. An array of suppliers and subcontractors, covers the entire supply chain and the sector benefits from a solid political backing of wind energy on local, regional and national level. The wind business cluster here has a long legacy of cooperation between manufacturers, suppliers, scientific communities and public authorities. As a knowledge hub and gathering point for the wind industry, Aarhus is likely to play a vital role in developing the wind energy systems of the future:
· 87% of Denmark's combined turnover from wind energy is generated by businesses in the Greater Aarhus area
· 53% of Denmark's high-skill wind employees work in the Greater Aarhus area
· 57% of all top executives in the Danish wind industry work in the Greater Aarhus area
· 14,000 employees in the Danish wind industry work within Central Region Denmark – 11,000 of them within one hour drive from Aarhus.
Colleges and universities
Notable universities and educational institutions within the area includes:
*
Aarhus University
Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...
There are two primary commercial international airports serving the area:
* Aarhus Airport (in the north)
* Billund Airport (in the south)
The area has several
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
s but the
European route E45
European route E45 connects Norway and Italy, through Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , it is the longest north–south European route (some east–west routes are longer).
The route passes through Alta ...
goes from the south to the north and is central to the area's growth.
Statistics
The core area around
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 ...
is the most populated area in East Jutland, and that area is much smaller in km2 – 6,182 km2 – (2386 sq. mi) and with a population of more than one million.
The figures below are for the core area centered on
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 ...
and most populous area in the East Jutland metropolitan area as of 1 January 2016.
The figures below are for the whole East Jutland metropolitan area as of 1 January 2016.
Subregions
In the National Planning Report of 2013 (), the term East Jutland metropolitan area was replaced by the two subregions of East Jutland North () and the Triangle Region (). The municipalities of the two subregions cooperate as Business Region Aarhus and the Triangle Region.
Odder
Odder is a town in Jutland, Denmark. The town is the seat of Odder municipality, and is the biggest town in the municipality. It is located 20 km south of Aarhus and 16 km south-east of Skanderborg.
Odder is part of Business Region Aar ...
,
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Samsø
Samsø (Anglicized: "Samso" or "Samsoe") is a Denmark, Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 3,724 inhabitants (2017) (January 2010:4,010) called ''Samsings'' and is ...
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 ...
, all in the
Central Denmark Region
The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...
. The partnership began in 1994, before the Danish municipal reform of 2007. The region originally formed the northernmost part of the East Jutland metropolitan area and Samsø Municipality, but since 24 February 2016,
Viborg municipality
Viborg Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,421.04 km2, and has a population of 97,621 (1. January 2025). Søren ...
was also included. The Aarhus area was classified in a 2005 ESPON ( European Spatial Planning Observation Network) report as a Category 3 MEGA. MEGAs are Metropolitan European Growth Areas, of which the report identified 76 in Europe.
The term Greater Aarhus is used indistinctly in various contexts, but according to Aarhus Municipality it includes the 9 municipalities of Aarhus, Randers, Norddjurs, Syddjurs, Viborg, Silkeborg, Odder, Horsens and Samsø.
Triangle Region
The Triangle Region is a partnership between the 7 municipalities of Billund,
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...
Kolding
Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...
,
Middelfart
Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 16,749 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen ().
Etymology
The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in Valdemar's Census Book ...
Kolding
Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...
is the most populated town in the Triangle Region.
Gallery
;Towns
File:Randers Town Hall.jpg, Randers, old city hall.
Image:Randers regnskov.jpg, Randers Tropical Zoo
File:Randers Bro.jpg, Randers harbour
File:Grenaa, church pic2.JPG, Norddjurs, Grenå
File:Grenaa, house at the village square.JPG, Norddjurs, Grenå
File:Grenaa harbour 2018 3.jpg, Norddjurs, Grenå harbour
File:Your rainbow panorama på taget af ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum.jpg, Aarhus
File:Århus city trafikhavn.jpg, Aarhus harbour
File:Honnørkajen, Aarhus (August).jpg, Aarhus harbour
File:Hejren ved Vandrehjemmet - panoramio.jpg, Silkeborg town, riverboat.
File:Havmosevejs ældste hus - panoramio.jpg, Silkeborg, old rural house.
File:Vejle Rådhus1.JPG, Vejle City Hall
File:Søndergade, Vejle 01.jpg, Vejle, high street
File:Bølgen (The Wave), Vejle, Denmark.jpg, Vejle, modern architecture
File:Tug JEPPE JENSEN, MMSI 219001619 at VEJLE habor.JPG, Vejle harbour
File:Legoland Indgangen.jpg, Billund, amusement park Legoland
File:Lalandia, Rødby (2009-03-29).jpg, Billund, waterworld Lalandia
File:Vejen Kunstmuseum 2015 a.jpg, Vejen, troll fountain.
;Landscapes and nature
File:Landscape seen from Ellemandsbjerg.jpg, Djursland, landscape.
File:Erosion-on- the-coast-of-Kattegat.jpg, Djursland, coastal landscape
File:Ebeltoft Vig fra Dragsmur2.JPG, Djursland, one of many coves
File:Kalø Slotsruin (Syddjurs Kommune).Bro og forsvarstårn.1.125359.ajb.jpg, Syddjurs, Kalø Castle ruin.
File:Risskov park 01.jpg, Aarhus Bay
File:Lake Julsø from Himmelbjerget 2017-08-19 1.jpg, Silkeborg Municipality, landscape
File:Mosen ved Sønderskovvejen - panoramio.jpg, Silkeborg Forests
File:Sejlskib på vej ind i Vejle Fjord - panoramio.jpg, Vejle Fjord
File:Grene Sande, Denmark - panoramio (10).jpg, Billund, heathland
* Historical account on the foundation and establishment of the region.
* Account and discussion on the idea of an East Jutland Metropolis (2006 to 2017).
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*https://web.archive.org/web/20070930143249/http://www.frinet.dk/infrastruktur2030