Aalborg is Denmark’s fourth largest city with an urban population of 140,897.
| Country | Denmark |
|---|---|
| Region |  North Denmark Region |
| Municipality | Aalborg |
| First mention | “Alabu” written on coins c. 1035 |
| Official establishment | 16 June 1342 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Thomas Kastrup-Larsen (S) |
| Area | |
| • Urban | 60.8 km (23.5 sq mi) |
| • Municipal | 1,144 km (442 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2020) | |
| • Urban | 140,897 |
| • Urban density | 2,300/km (6,000/sq mi) |
| • Municipal | 217,075 |
| • Municipal density | 178/km (460/sq mi) |
| • Demonym | Aalborgenser |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (Central Europe Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 |
| Postal codes | 9000, 9008, 9020, 9100, 9200, 9210, 9220, 9400 |
| Area code(s) | (+45) 9 |
Aalborg’s position at the narrowest point on the Limfjord made it an important harbour during the Middle Ages, and later a large industrial centre.
With its theatres, symphony orchestra, opera company, performance venues, and museums such as Aalborg Historical Museum and the Aalborg Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg is an important cultural hub. The major university is the University of Aalborg, founded in 1974, which has more than 20,000 students (as of 2018). Trænregimentet, the Danish regiment for army supply and emergency medical personnel, is also in Aalborg. Aalborg University Hospital, the largest in the north of Jutland, was founded in 1881.
The European Commission has concluded that the citizens of Aalborg are the most satisfied people in Europe with their city.
The city
The city centre, dating from the Middle Ages, lies on a series of clay banks between the former streams of Vesterå and Lilleå, which used to run into the sound. Despite effective drainage, the main streets, including Algade, still run east to west while the side streets run north to south. The Budolfi Church and the old town hall line Gammeltorv, the old market square. The main shopping streets are Algade and Bispengade, the latter lying inbetween the modern Vesterbro thoroughfare and Nytorv square. Østerågade, once the old harbor, is noted for its merchants’ mansions.
The city cemetery, the Kilden park and the modern art museum, Kunsten, are in the modern commercial and administrative area around the railway station to the west. Beyond this, Hasseris has become a residential district with a number of large villas and detached houses. The city’s main development area is now to the east of the centre although in addition to the university and new areas of housing, it still contains the shipping harbor, Østhavnen, and the cement factory. The waterfront to the northeast of the centre is being transformed from a harbour into a recreational area with the Utzon Center and Musikkens Hus.
Egholm
Off the northwestern side of the city in the sound is the island of Egholm, reached via ferry. The island, with a population of 55 as of 2013, covers an area of 6.05 square kilometres (2.34 sq mi) and consists mainly of farmland although there are still a few untilled areas of salt marshes and woodland.
Parks and green spaces
The 6.5 hectares (16 acres) Østre Anlæg park is one of the oldest in Aalborg, visited by up to 175,000 people a year. It was used as a dumping ground in the 1920s before being cleaned up and made into a recreational area in the 1930s and 1940s. It contains lawns, flowers, tall trees, bushes, and a lake, overlooked by St. Mark’s Church on the eastern side. Fifty-one species of bird have been recorded in the park.
Lindholm Fjordpark, to the south of the Lindholm’s industrial park, forms part of the green sector of the city known as ‘Ryåkilen’ along the coast of the sound, covering roughly 50 hectares (120 acres).
Aalborg has a number of additional civic parks and recreational facilities. Among them are Kildeparken, which hosts the annual Aalborg Carnival, Mølleparken, which contains a pond, statues, an outdoor exercise facility, and a 2.5 kilometre (1.6 mi) jogging trail (within the trail lies the Lysløjpen, a 45-metre [148 ft] gradient), Sohngårdsholmpark, a wooded area containing trails for both walking/jogging and biking and a six-hole golf course (free to the public), the Aalborg Open Air Swimming Pool, also free to the public, Bundgårdsparken, and Lindholm Strandpark.
The Aalborg Zoo was opened in 1935 and typically houses 1,300 animals from 138 different species, including tigers, chimpanzees, zebra, elephants, giraffes, penguins and polar bears. It is one of the area’s major tourist attractions with over 300,000 visitors a year. Within the zoo an African savannah has been created where exotic animals are housed.
Aalborg was home to an amusement park, Karolinelund, founded in 1946. The association, Platform4, a non-profit user-driven project-oriented venue that experiments with technology (electronics) in combination with artistic genres is now located in the park. Volunteers frequently arrange seminars, exhibitions, films, music concerts, and more which are open to the public.
Culture
The annual Aalborg Carnival usually takes place in the last weekend of May. It consists of three events: the children’s carnival (Børnekarneval), the battle of carnival bands, and the carnival proper. Attracting about 100,000 visitors, it is the biggest carnival in Scandinavia and one of the largest in northern Europe. Hjallerup Market in Hjallerup, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Aalborg is one of the oldest and largest markets in Denmark and is the largest horse market in Europe.
Major venues
Aalborgs Kongres & Kultur Center, designed in a functional style by Otto Frankild, was completed in 1952. The centre’s main component, the Aalborg Hall, can be divided into sections. The complex also contains a hotel, restaurant, bowling alley, and a number of meeting rooms.
With over 100 theatrical and musical presentations per year, it offers international stars, opera, ballet, musicals, classical concerts, productions for children as well as pop and rock concerts. Aalborg Teater, built in 1878 and subsequently modified by Julius Petersen, seats 870 in the main auditorium. First privately owned, the theatre is now controlled and owned by the Danish Ministry of Culture.
Nordkraft is a cultural centre in a former power plant near the harbour. It has theatres, a cinema, and concert facilities. Kunsthal Nord, established in the centre in 2009, arranges up to five exhibitions a year of all forms of contemporary art, especially of local origin but also from other parts of Denmark and beyond. It serves as the exhibition centre for KunstVærket, the North Jutland centre for the arts, and also works in collaboration with the modern art museum Kunsten designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
The city also has a wide selection of galleries and arts and crafts outlets operated by local artists. The Academy of Music also has a presence in Aarhus. There are several glass workshops; others produce jewelry, sculptures or exhibit paintings.
Museums
There are various museums in the city. The Aalborg Historical Museum was established in 1863, making it one of the earliest provincial museums in the country. The North Jutland Historical Museum conducted a series of archaeological excavations in the 1950s at Lindholm Høje, revealing ancient burial sites. In 1992, the Lindholm Høje Museum was opened there and extended in 2008. In 1994 and 1995, excavations at the site of the Greyfriars Monastery resulted in the creation of the underground Gråbrødrekloster Museum in the city centre. Several organisations now collaborate under the leadership of the North Jutland Historical Museum. The Springeren – Marine Experience Center is a marine museum on the city’s wharf with a wide range of exhibits including “Springeren”, an old Danish submarine, whence its name.
Music
The Aalborg Symphony Orchestra (Aalborg Symfoniorkester) founded in 1943 presents about 150 concerts a year, frequently playing in the Musikkens Hus. It also plays for the Jutland opera company (Den Jyske Opera, also based in Aalborg), and at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. It is one of the main organisers of the 10-day Aalborg Opera Festival held every March. Aalborg has the jazz club Jazzclub Satchmo and an annual jazz and blues festival (Den Blå Festival), also known as the Mini New Orleans Festival. Over four days in mid-August, concerts are performed on squares, in the streets, and in cafés and restaurants.
Since 2012, the Egholm Festival, a small music festival on the island of Egholm near Aalborg has been organized in the first weekend of August. It features relatively unknown upcoming pop, rock and hip-hop artists. The festival has two stage areas and was organized by the Musical Association Aalborg (MUSAM) and Aalborg Events.
Healthcare
Aalborg University Hospital, the largest in the north of Jutland, was founded in 1881. As of 2013, it consists of two large buildings in Aalborg, the hospital in Dronninglund and smaller departments in Hobro and Hjørring. It is the largest employer in the area with around 6,500 on the payroll. The hospital has traditionally undertaken research but from the beginning of 2013 it has had a formal collaboration with Aalborg University. The Aalborg University Hospital, section south, is on Hobrovej and has a 24-hour emergency ward. The northern section is in Reberbanegade, which is in the western part of the city centre. Trænregimentet, the Danish regiment for army supply and emergency medical personnel, is also in Aalborg
