The Port of Aalborg

The exhibition in the second hall shows The Port of Aalborg and its development. At the entrance to the hall is a photomontage of the passenger ship service between Aalborg and Copenhagen, which ran for many years. From 1928 until the service closed down in 1970 there was a daily connection to the capital. In 1970 the steamship company – DFDS – was forced to give up due to the competition from the faster air traffic. A model of JENS BANG, for many years the flagship of the line; can be seen in the exhibition. Next to it you see a working radar unit, through which you can watch the neighboring part of the Limfjord.

The walls of the hall are hung with pictures, illustrating the development of the Port of Aalborg from the late middle Ages until the present time. The port was granted a Royal Charter in 1476, so it celebrated its 500th Anniversary in 1976. But even before that Aalborg was an important trade Centre, as it was ferry station for north and south bound traffic in addition to the fact, that all travelling to Norway and Iceland started in Aalborg.

From the beginning of the 16th century Aalborg became an important commercial town with a brisk export. Herrings, grain and cattle were exported to many trade centers in Europe. The port also developed an extensive traffic to and from Norway. The original harbor at the mouths of the two streams, Vesterå and Østerå, gradually spread itself onto both sides of the fiord. Until the 1950´s the traffic was concentrated in the area from the Limfjord Bridge, built in 1933, to Aalborg Shipyard and Rørdal Cement Works. During later years the harbor’s expansion has been to the east, so that most of the heavy traffic today is concentrated on Østhavnen (The East Harbor) and Grønlandshavnen (The Greenland Harbor), whereas the old waterfront gradually is changing into an attractive area of residence and recreation.