Port of Aarhus
The Port of Aarhus is a deep-sea port located in the city of Aarhus. It is the largest container port in Denmark, handling more than 50% of country's container traffic. The Port of Aarhus shipped roughly 8.4 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2017.
Geography
The Port of Aarhus is located in central Aarhus at the mouth of the Aarhus River on the Bay of Aarhus in Kattegat. The port faces Helgenæs to the East, Samsø to South East and on the coast the Marselisborg Forests lies to the South and Riis Skov lies to the North.Administration
The Port of Aarhus is owned and managed by Aarhus Municipality as a financially independent company. The mayor and two city council members are automatically granted seats on the board of directors after municipal elections with the mayor assuming the position of chairman. The board consists of 7 members; 3 city council members, 3 members with a background in business and 1 representative elected among the employees of the port.History
Aarhus is one of the oldest cities of Denmark, founded in the Viking Age in the 8th century at a natural harbor on the northern shores of a former fjord. The fjord gradually narrowed, by natural sediment transport, into a river and in the 19th century the harbor was moved to the coast by the newly formed city council. In 1845-61 and 1883-90 the harbor was successively expanded into what became Nordhavnen. In 1905-11 Sydhavnen was constructed in the form of a new, larger pier extending from the South along the East side of the harbor. In 1935-60 and 1984-1992 the North Harbor was expanded again and from 1975 another larger pier was constructed from South to North East.Through the Middle Ages the harbor primarily exported grain to Norway and Germany from the large agricultural catchment areas around Aarhus. In the early 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution took hold, imports became predominantly coal and iron based and in the 1880 it was supplemented by feedstuffs, fertilizer and grain as Danish agriculture changed from grain export to animal husbandry. In the 1870s grain exports started to decline as the new harbor in Esbjerg absorbed agricultural exports from Jutland but it was offset in the early 20th century by exports of oils, feedstuffs, processed foods and industrial products.
In 1997, Århus City Council announced a Masterplan for expansion and development of the port. The expansion will double the harbor area to 350 hectares. The oldest and most central areas in Nordhavnen is being converted into urban areas, including the new neighborhood Aarhus Ø.