To Aarhus!

 

Aarhus: The city was mentioned for the first time by Adam of Bremen who stated that "Reginbrand, bishop of the church of Aarhus (Harusa)" participated in a church meeting in the city of Ingelheim in Germany.

During the Middle Ages the city was called Arus, and in Icelandic chronicles, it was known as Áróss. It is a compound of the two words ār, genitive of ā ("river", Modern Danish å) and ōss ("mouth", Modern Danishmunding; in Modern Icelandic this word is still used for "river delta"). The name originates from the city's location around the mouth of the stream Aarhus Å (English: Aarhus River) Å being the Danish word for a small river.

Through regular sound development, Medieval Danish Arus became Aars or Oes, a form which persisted in the dialects of the surrounding parishes until the 20th century. In 1406, Aarhus became prevalent in the written sources, and gradually became the norm in the 17th century. Today, the city is also called "The City of Smiles" among people in Denmark.