Volden ( Lit. The Rampart) is a 180 meters long street in Aarhus, Denmark, situated in the historic

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistro ...

neighborhood. Volden runs from south to north from Store Torv to Graven and intersects ''Rosensgade'' roughly in the middle. Volden was created some time before year 1500 on and in the westernmost

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

used to defend the early

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

settlement. It is one of the oldest streets in the city and used to mark the western city limits. Volden is fairly narrow and is a pedestrianized street with cars forbidden access.

History

The early Viking settlement was defended by moats and ramparts to the north, west and south. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the city grew beyond the boundaries marked by these defenses and at the same time advents in warfare had made such structures less useful for defense. Some time before 1500 the ramparts and moats were dismantled and the street Volden was established on the former westernmost rampart. The street ''Badstuegade'' runs parallel to Volden to the west and archaeological excavations have shown evidence of a former moat and the foundations of an old city gate by the building ''Borgporten'' ( Lit. Castle Gate). It is believed the surplus earth from the rampart was used to fill in the moat ''Badstuegade'' was established on. Until 1867 the southern section of Volden, nearest Store Torv, was called ''Pustervig'' which is a common name known from other Danish cities. The word "puz" means water-filled hole or mud-pit so some theories speculate that the area may have been swampy. Another theory is that it is related to blacksmiths which at the time were called ' (coal-blowers) for their use of

bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...

. Additionally, blacksmiths in medieval towns tended to be located at the outskirts or by open areas to protect

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

housing from fire and embers. The building on the corner of Volden and ''Rosensgade'' was called ' (smith's house) until 1562 and was owned by the blacksmiths' guild. The name ' can then best be translated as ' (Smith street) and it was likely where blacksmiths plied their trade in the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Gallery

Aarhus - town - panoramio (5).jpg Gadeskilt Volden.JPG Graven, 2015-09-01-1.jpg Graven, 2015-09-01-2.jpg Graven, 2015-09-01-3.jpg Mefisto (restaurant).jpg Rosensgade, Aarhus1.JPG Volden ved aften.JPG

References

;Publications *

External links

{{commons category, Volden, position=left Streets in Aarhus