Vesterbro Torv ( Lit. Western-faubourg Square)The term "bro" (or "bro-kvarter") is used in many placenames of Danish cities, such as Nørre Stenbro,

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current N ...

, Vesterbro or

Østerbro Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...

. The name is used for neighbourhoods close to but outside the inner city, inspired by the French concept of

faubourg "Faubourg" () is an ancient French term historically equivalent to "fore-town" (now often termed suburb or ). The earliest form is , derived from Latin , 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) , 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, t ...

s. The term has been in use for many years however, and many neighbourhoods that was originally outside the inner city has now become part of it. is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

located in the Vesterbro neighborhood of

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 ...

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 ...

. Vesterbro Torv is the junction where 8 street meet; ''Vesterbrogade'', ''Hjortensgade'', ''Langelandsgade'', ''Teglværksgade'', ''Nørre Allé'', ''Vesterport'', ''Vester Allé'' and ''Janus la Cours Gade''. It is one of the most heavily trafficked areas in the city, receiving traffic from Åbyhøj and

Brabrand Brabrand () is a postal district of Aarhus Municipality, Denmark. South of Brabrand, in the Aarhus river-valley, is the largest recreational area of Aarhus Municipality, comprising the Brabrand Lake and the meadow-lake of Årslev, with surroundi ...

in the west along ''Silkeborgvej'' and from

Tilst Tilst is a suburban area of Aarhus, Denmark, situated 8 km to the northwest of Aarhus. The Tilst area is marked by big city blocks and large traditional suburban areas. In the surrounding area are several superstores, which mainly serve the inne ...

in the north-west along ''Viborgvej''. The square is designed as a central "island" surrounded by streets. Until 2023, the central part was primarily used for parking; the square is currently undergoing redesign into a recreational area.

History

Vesterbro Torv was in the early 1800s an unused area south of the road leading to Viborg. During the 1840s the area was gradually used as a market place when the cattle trade was moved from an area by the

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

''Frederiksport ''. The area is mentioned in different sources of the time as ''Kvægtorvet'' (Cattle market) and later ''Grisetorvet'' (Pig market). In the 1880s permanent stalls for sheep and pigs where installed and the area was paved in

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...

s surrounded by a banister. In 1890 the square was named Vesterbro Torv for the neighborhood Vesterbro that had grown up around it. The cattle trade continued until 1907 when it was moved to Aarhus Offentlige Slagtehus (Aarhus Public Slaughterhouse) which had opened in 1895. In 1913 the local beautification association began work to renovate the square. Funds were collected from the people living in the area which yielded 1000 DKK, the association itself gave 500 DKK and the city council contributed another 500 DKK. In the 1950s the square was substantially altered when underground parking garages were built and a monumental office building was constructed on the south side of the square. The older buildings around the square was gradually replaced over the following years and in 1976 the last large building was constructed on Vesterbro Torv no. 10. The only original building from the 1800s is a corner building by ''Vesterport''. In 2016 one of the two last low 1- and 2-story buildings were demolished to make way for a 5-story residential building while proposals to redevelop the remaining building was passing review in the city council.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesterbro Torv Aarhus C Squares in Aarhus