Aarhus

Last summer I visited city of Aarhus after more than a decade, and I witnessed lots of exciting new changes to the city. Changes that made Aarhus much more vibrant, exciting and lively than before.

Aarhus is Denmark's second largest city with a population of approximately 340,000. It is located on the east of Jutland peninsula and it is the most important Economic and Cultural hub in the peninsula.

Today's Aarhus is much more interesting and exciting than the last time I visited it. There are so many new developments, buildings and infrastructures within the city. For example, Aarhus is now home to Denmark's only Light Rail Transportation system (opened August 2018), which is a perfect solution to the growing demands for the public transportation of Denmark's second largest city.

Another major development in Aarhus is the Aarhus Docklands (Aarhus Ø). The project started in 2008 and it converted the former container port of Aarhus to new residential, commercial and educational area. Aarhus Docklands became an attractive canvas for many famous Danish and International architects to showcase their latest designs. Perhaps the most famous building in the Aarhus Docklands is the eye-catching edifice designed by Julien de Smedt (JDS Architects), called "The Iceberg" (Isbjerget). The Iceberg was finished in 2013 and it received the Mipim Award of the same year. The building got its name by resembling Icebergs of the North Atlantic. They are a residential complex, overlooking the Bay of Aarhus and their unique design have quickly placed them as one of the symbols of the city of Aarhus.

Another waterfront development near Aarhus' Custom House is DOKK1, designed by the Danish architectural firm SHL (Schmidt Hammer Larsen) in 2015. DOKK1 is a public library, with over 1000 automated car parks and an open playground area for the kids. The combination of all these activities makes this building the source of city life for this area.

One of modern Aarhus' most visited building is the Aros Museum. Its new building, is a 10-storey edifice designed by SHL (Schmidt Hammer Larsen) and it was opened in 2004. It quickly became one of the city's biggest tourist attractions; to the point where it is Denmark's 2nd most visited museum after the famous Louisiana building in Humlebæk. Aros became even more famous and attractive after the completion of the Rainbow installation on its rooftop. The Rainbow is a circular shaped walkway with colorful glasses, coloring different parts of the city with rainbow colors, as the visitor walks along the circular path. It was designed by an Icelandic-Danish artist, Olafur Eliasson and it was opened in May of 2011.

The oldest part of the city of Aarhus is the Latin Quarter. It has always been filled with studios, galleries, shops, cafés and restaurants, but it is now more vibrant and social than ever. Latin Quarter is now home to many more relaxing and exciting restaurants and cafés which are the life of the city both during the day as well as the night.

One cannot talk about Aarhus without talking about "The Old Town" (Den Gamle By). Den Gamle by was originally inaugurated to the public in 1914 as an open-air museum, where visitors can go back in time and experience life in a typical Danish city throughout history. The museum takes you back in time before the 1900, during 1920s and during the 1970s, which is the newest addition to this amazing open-air museum.

Aarhus has gone through so many changes in the past decade and it is a better place to live. This rather small city has a lot to offer, from cultural events to recreational activities. From museums to social gathering spaces. Aarhus is definitely moving towards becoming a vibrant modern city, where it is providing comfort for its citizens and it is becoming more attractive for visitors and tourists.