Aaby, or Åby, is a suburban area of Aarhus in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Located 4 km from the city centre of Aarhus, Åby was originally an old village, but is now an integrated a part of Åbyhøj, that sprawled around it. To distinguish Åby from Åbyhøj, the village area is often referred to as ''Gammel Åby'' (lit.:Old Åby). Åby is situated at a bend of the

Aarhus River Aarhus River ( da, Århus Å) is a long river or stream, in eastern Jutland, Denmark. The river flows through the large river valley of Aarhus Ådal. The valley itself, stretches from Silkeborg to the coastal city of Aarhus, but the Aarhus Riv ...

and there is access to the river and the pathway of

Brabrandstien Brabrand Lake ( da, Brabrand-søen or Brabrand Sø) is a lake in the district of Brabrand (Gellerup), west of Aarhus city, Denmark. The Aarhus River passes through Brabrand Lake and it is possible to canoe all the way to the inner city from here. ...

from here.

Etymology

The name Åby translates literally as ''river-town'' in modern

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and it also derives from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

for "village on a river" (Old Norse ''á'', river, and ''býr'', village). Åby is identical in meaning with

Aby Aby or ABY may refer to: Places * Aby, Ivory Coast * Aby Lagoon, a lagoon in Ivory Coast * Abyy or Aby, Sakha Republic, Russia ** Aby Lowland * Aby, Lincolnshire, a village in England, UK * Åby, Norrköping Municipality, Sweden * Åby, Växjö Mun ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

The town of Åby is very old and grew from a port that used to be here in the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, when Aarhus Å was a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...

. Over the years, the fjord sanded up and transformed into the narrow waterway we now know as Aarhus River. The usual village charm and characteristics are still clearly visible in Åby, especially around the church.

Gallery

File:Gl. Aaby gadebillede 4.jpg File:Gl. Aaby gadebillede 3.jpg Street-at-Aaby-2.JPG Gl. Aaby gadebillede 2.jpg Åby Park.jpg, Åby Park Kayak på Aarhus Å.jpg, At Aarhus River and Brabrandstien.

Sources

Åby Kirke - Hasle Herred
Nationalmuseet
There is a map of the village around 1780 on p. 1451. Summary of the text in English. * August F. Schmidt (1941–43): ''Aaby Sogns Historie (Hasle Herred)'', Vol. I-II. Volume I was self-published, Volume II was published by Aaby Kommune. * ''Åby og Åbyhøj - Fra landsby til forstad'', Aaby - Aabyhøj Lokalhistoriske Forening (Sep. 2002)
Pamphlet published by the local-history association in Åby and Åbyhøj on the 100th year jubilee of Åbyhøj.

External links

Neighborhoods of Aarhus {{CentralDK-stub