Aalborg

Despite its industrial heritage and the factories along its waterfront, the city has grown in popularity as a tourist destination in recent years, with a range of attractions and historic buildings, in addition to museums, churches, and parks.

BUILDINGS WITH HISTORIC VALUES

Jens Bang’s House, located on stergade near the ancient town hall, is one of the outstanding examples of 17th-century residential architecture in Denmark. The four-story sandstone structure, built in 1624 by Aalborg merchant Jens Bang in the Dutch Renaissance style, is notable for its rising gables and carved auricular window ornaments. It has housed the city’s oldest pharmacy for almost 300 years.

Jrgen Olufsen’s House (Jrgen Olufsens Grd) on stergade is Denmark’s greatest surviving Renaissance merchant’s residence. It was built mostly of sandstone in 1616 and has a half-timbered part. The design is evocative of comparable structures in northern Germany and the Netherlands. Jens Bang’s half brother, Olufsen, was not only a prosperous trader but also the mayor of Aalborg. When it was erected, the mansion with its attached storehouse situated on the ster, a sound inlet with barge access. In the portico, there is an ancient iron bar with a hook for scales.

Aalborghus Slot (Aalborghus Castle) is a half-timbered structure with red-painted woodwork and whitewashed wall panels. It was constructed in the mid-16th century by King Christian III for his vassals who collected taxes and is the country’s sole existing example of its sort. During the summer, the park, dungeon, and casemates are available to the public, but not the castle itself. The castle was turned into administrative offices in the 1950s.

The former municipal hall at Gammeltorv, Aalborg, was completed in 1762 and was in use until 1912. It is no longer utilized for anything other than ceremonial and representational reasons. The structure, designed in the Late Baroque style, has two stories and a basement, as well as a black-glazed tile roof. The yellow-washed façade is adorned with white pilasters and a frontispiece depicting the Danish coat of arms and King Frederick V’s bust. Above the main entrance is his motto, Prudentia et Constantia. The well-preserved door is in the Rococo style. The Danish Heritage Agency listed the structure in 1918.

Another historic structure worth seeing is the half-timbered Hndvrkerhuset (near Kattesunded 20), which was built about 1625 and once housed a variety of warehouses. It is presently utilized as an arts and crafts center. Finally, to the west of the Limfjord Bridge, the headquarters of Danish Distillers (De Danske Spritfabrikker) is notable for its Neoclassical design. It was designed by Alf Cock-Clausen and completed in 1931. It mixes efficiency with ornate classical iconography. It is currently a Danish National Heritage monument and is regarded as a classic of Danish industrial design. When the plant closed in 2014, the land was purchased by an investor who plans to repurpose the buildings to construct an international cultural city with museums, theaters, and housing, among other things.

ADDITIONAL LANDMARKS

Jomfru Ane Gade (literally, Virgin Anne’s Street) is one of Aalborg’s, if not Denmark’s, most renowned streets. Known during the day for its cafés and restaurants, it becomes considerably busy at night with its clubs, discos, and pubs. During the 1990s, the street was notable for being a “hang out” for two motorcycle gangs who had been at odds for years all across Scandinavia. As the bikers faded away, it grew in popularity among individuals of all ages. The key city pedestrian hubs of Nytorv Square and John F. Kennedy Square are also part of the cityscape.

Aalborgtrnet is a tripod tower with a café on top that was built in 1933. The tower is 55 meters (180 feet) tall, but since it is located on the summit of the Skovbakken hill, it reaches a total height of 105 meters (344.49 feet) above sea level, affording a perspective over the sound and the city. Carlo Odgrd designed it, and it was built in 1933 as part of the North Jutland Fair.

In 2008, the Utzon Center was dedicated to the famed architect Jrn Utzon, with its art, architecture, and design ascribed to him. It was constructed on the central port front of Aalborg, near to the Limfjord. Utzon was born in Copenhagen and raised in Aalborg. The center houses an exhibition of Utzon’s work, including the Sydney Opera House, as well as educational exhibits on architecture and design. The center is made up of numerous different structures that provide a unique environment centered around a courtyard on a platform. The lower roofs of the exhibition and workshop facilities within the complex contrast with the towering sculptural roofs of the theater and boat-hall on the harbour front, as well as the library overlooking the park area and the city.

Aalborg is cool most of the year, with typical highs of approximately 20 °C (68 °F) and lows of 11 °C (52 °F) in the summer and 3 to 2 °C (27 to 36 °F) in the coldest months of January and February, seldom going below 10 °C (14 °F). The hottest months are normally July and August, with average temperatures of 16 °C (61 °F), but the temperature drops to 9 °C (48 °F) by October. June has the most sunlight hours on average, with 218 hours, followed by May and July. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with an average of 76 mm (3 in) in October, the wettest month with an average of 14 days of rainfall, and an average of 35 mm (1 in) in February, the driest month with an average of eight days of precipitation, closely followed by April.

Aalborg is located in North Jutland (northwestern Denmark), at the narrowest point of the Limfjord, a shallow sound that divides North Jutlandic Island (Vendsyssel-Thy) from the rest of the Jutland Peninsula and links Aalborg to the Kattegat around 35 kilometers (22 miles) to the east. Aalborg is located 118 kilometers (73 miles) north of Aarhus, 82 kilometers (51 miles) north of Randers, and 64 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Frederikshavn. The Great Belt Fixed Link travels 414 kilometres (257 km) to Copenhagen, the Frederikshavn-Göteborg ferry travels 150 km (93 mi) to Gothenburg in Sweden, and the Frederikshavn-Oslo boat travels 363 km (226 mi) to Oslo in Norway.

The region along the shore is low-lying, with an average elevation of around 5 metres (16 ft), however there are several hills in and around the city, with some reaching more than 60 m. (200 ft). On the northern side of the sound, Nrresundby is likewise a mountainous location. Frejlev, Svenstrup, and Gistrup are villages to the south of Aalborg from west to east (which contains extensive woodland to the south as well as a golf club). Klarup and Storvorde are located to the southeast along the 595 road, which connects to the town of Hals by flanking a portion of the Limfjord known as Langerak. Nibe, with a Limfjord harbor, lies 21 kilometers (13 miles) to the southwest, beyond Frejlev. The Nibe Broads (Nibe Bredning) in the Limfjord not only features the greatest eelgrass belts in Danish seas, but it also serves as an important migratory bird refuge for thousands of species. Vadum, Aabybro, Vestbjerg, Sulsted, Tylstrup, Vodskov, and Hjallerup are settlements to the north of the city. Branths Plantage – Mgelbjerg is a large plantation directly north of Vodskov.

To the south, the Himmerland region has a number of moors that formerly comprised a wide swath of heathland stretching 35 kilometers (22 miles) to the Rold Forest near Arden. The Rold Forest’s Rebild Hills cover 425 acres (172 hectares) of undulating heath terrain around 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of Aalborg. To the southeast, Lille Vildmose is said to be the biggest high moor in northwestern Europe.

Aalborg is the largest industrial and commercial center in North Jutland, exporting grain, cement, and spirits. Until recently, heavy industry was the driving force behind the city’s success. Many of the plants have already closed, with improvements in the knowledge-based and green-energy industries taking their place. Since the 1990s, the mobile and wireless communications sectors have expanded significantly, as has wind turbine rotor manufacture.

In January 2011, Aalborg had around 9,200 businesses, employing roughly 109,000 people, or nearly 35% of the Northern Region’s workforce. In the 2010s, the city intends to increase its engagement in the global economy via current businesses as well as new arrivals. Its activities are concentrated on four areas: energy and the environment, information technology, health-care systems, and “Arctic business.” The latter is concerned with commerce with Greenland, since Aalborg handles more than 60% of the commodities exported to Greenland. The shoreline is dotted with four harbours: Marina Fjordparken, Skudehavnen, Vestre Badehavn, and stre Havn. Tourism is also expanding, as seen by an increase in the number of passengers at Aalborg Airport. Aalborg Municipality has Denmark’s second biggest tourist income and is the only municipality in Denmark’s north where overnight stays are rising.