Aarhus City Hall

Aarhus City Hall
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Administrative
Location	Aarhus, Denmark
Coordinates
Completed	1941
Design and construction
Architect	Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller

Aarhus City Hall is the city hall of Aarhus, Denmark. It was inaugurated 2 June 1941, and it was drawn by architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller. The decision to build a city hall was taken during a city hall meeting in 1937. As one of just a few Danish city halls it was marked for preservation in March 1994 because of its unique architecture. On the first proposal the plans did not include a tower but due to massive public pressure it was later added to the drawings.

The price for the building was 9.5 mio. DKR, including the cost of the land area and inventory which in itself comprised 1.5 mio. DKR.

The city hall has a total area of 19,380 m² including the basement. The tower is 60 m tall and the tower clock face has a diameter of 7 m. The building is made of concrete plated with 6,000 m² of marble from Porsgrunn in Norway.

In January 2006 the city hall was included in the Danish Culture Canon under architecture.

• Arne jacobsen, aarhus town hall 1937-1942 2.jpg

  Interior

• Arne jacobsen, aarhus town hall 1937-1942 (1).jpg

  Staircase

• Arne jacobsen, aarhus town hall 1937-1942.jpg

  Staircase

• Park alle.JPG

  By night

Former city halls

File:Womens museum in Aarhus.jpg

The old city hall (2nd) which is now a museum of feminist history.

Aarhus has officially had two former city halls. The first was erected in the middle of the 15th century and was situated in front of the tower of Århus Domkirke. It was demolished in 1859.

The second city hall was erected during 1856 and 1857. Officially it was city hall, courthouse and penitentiary. From 1856 to 1906 the county councils also held their meetings in the building. When the building was not needed as a city hall any longer due to the erection of the present city hall, the building was in use as a police station between 1941 and 1984. Today the building houses Kvindemuseet, a museum for feminist culture and history in Denmark.

Surroundings

The Aarhus City Hall is situated in Rådhusparken (The City Hall Park). The park is rather small, but marks the main entrance to the city for travellers arriving at the Central Station close by and hosts various events throughout the year. The City Hall Park connects with the park area in front of The Concert Hall of Aarhus (Danish: Musikhuset) and leads to the central square of Rådhuspladsen (The City Hall Square).

The City Hall Park
Rådhusparken i Aarhus.JPG The entrancepath showing the characteristic pavement of Aarhus. Cobbled square.jpg A cobbled plaza in the park. Elm avenue.jpg The elm tree avenue leading to the City Hall Square.

The City Hall Square
Rådhuspladsen 02.JPG Rådhuspladsen (The City Hall Square) Ceres Brønden2.jpg Pig sculpture and fountain, known as Ceres Brønden Rådhuspladsen (Aarhus) 2.jpg The pølsevogn at The City Hall Square

Sources

• Byens hus, Erhvervsarkivet 1991 ISBN 87-89386-22-1

External links

Media related to Aarhus City Hall at Wikimedia Commons

• Photos of the City Hall and the park arslonga.dk