The radical restructuring and extensions of the harbour in Aarhus have enabled the creation of a new popular and recreational use of the city’s central waterfront which is close to the historical city centre. Realdania offers The City of Aarhus cooperation on qualifying and realising the huge potential, which the project provides for the future of Aarhus.

The main idea of the project is to establish a vibrant and active urban waterfront which stretches from the opened Aarhus River with the cafés and the intense urban life over Europaplads and further past the Cathedral and Bispetorvet to Nørreport - a stretch of approximately one kilometre. As a junction between the opened river and the urban waterfront, Mediaspace is placed on a bastion into the harbour with parking, light rail station etc.

Sub-projects in the project

Specifically, the total project with the title ’Inner harbour in Aarhus – The city’s new central urban space’ consists of three major sub-projects:

• Establishing Mediaspace (the future main library) on a newly built bastion out into the harbour at Europaplads and the mouth of the river. New urban spaces are established on the bastion around Mediaspace, while parking facilities, traffic corridors and arrival centre are established inside the bastion.
• Opening the remaining part of Aarhus River, restructuring Europaplads and linking from here to the bastion and on to the new urban waterfront.
• Establishing the city’s new central urban waterfront which runs from the mouth of the river to Nørreport. The idea is to design the waterfront to be the city’s new popular activity- and recreational place. As part of the project, pier 1 is removed or minimised in order to give the new urban waterfront optimal contact with the water’s edge and view of the bay.

The total project is based on a concept plan prepared by architect MAA Knud Fladeland and is worth an estimated 1.6 billion Kroner. Realdania offers to invest more than 600 million Kroner of the total price.

Realdania and the city’s mayor are enthusiastic

Flemming Borreskov, managing director of Realdania, says:
’We see a huge potential in this project. To link the historical city spaces around the cathedral, the urban life along the river and the new urban waterfront provide new opportunities to recreate the city’s orientation towards the water in an urban, recreational correlation which will add significant new qualities of life to the future urban life in Aarhus. In our view, the project will in an ideal way transform a worn-out industrial harbour area into a popular and recreational centre for the city’s citizens and tourists’.

Aarhus Mayor, Nicolai Wammen, says:

’On behalf of the city I am excited that Realdania has chosen to invest an extraordinarily large amount in our new central urban waterfront. It is a fantastic acknowledgement for the project and it ensures that we can establish the most beautiful waterfront in the country at the very spot where the city was founded during the Viking age. I am convinced that we will have a beautiful and popular urban space which will cause sensation and delight’.