In the port city of Aalborg, in northern Jutland, Denmark

 "There is a rumour that I can't draw and never could. This is probably because I work so much with models. Models are one of the most beautiful design tools, but I still do the finest drawings you can imagine." -- Jørn Utzon

====================================================================
(in Northern Jutland, Denmark) The port city of Aalborg on the south side of Limfjord, has existed since about 1000 CE -- and is one of the oldest cities in Denmark. Chartered in 1342, it became a bishop’s see in 1554. The town recovered slowly from the Count’s War (a religious civil war from 1533-to-1536) to become a major commercial center in the 17th century and was Denmark’s second largest city until about 1850. It is the site of the Danish surrender (in 1629) to Albrecht von Wallenstein (the Roman Catholic commander) during the Thirty Years’ War.

+ Denmark’s fourth-largest city, Aalborg sits at the narrowest point of the Limfjord (the lengthy body of water that divides Jutland into two parts); its relatively recent developments have caused the waterfront to become the city's focal point. A concerted effort is being made to rejuvenate the central industrial areas, and transformt neglected spaces into more appealing places.

+ The 1,000-year-old city boasts a Viking past, more than 300 restaurants, a casino, lively nightlife, and great shopping opportunities. The zoo breeds rare Siberian Tigers, and the Waterland and Tivoliland make it a great place for families to visit. Aalborg also has shipbuilding facilities, and its manufactures include cement, chemicals, textiles, and spirits, notably Akvavit (the famous national drink of Denmark.) Ålborghallen is a busy exhibition and concert complex. Aalborg University opened in 1974. (A bridge and road tunnel link the city with Nørresundby to the north.)

+ Medieval landmarks in Aalborg include the 15th-century Holy Ghost Monastery, the cathedral of St. Budolf, and 16th-century Ålborghus Castle. An art and historical museum houses relics from the Viking cemetery at nearby Lindholm Hills. Rebild Hills National Park, just 19 miles (~31 km) to the south (which was a gift from Americans of Danish descent), is the site of the Emigration Museum.

+ To summarize, Aalborg, the capital of North Jutland, is in a league of its own, offering something for nearly everyone: museums, cultural monuments, historic buildings, world-class architecture, a zoo, and art and gastronomy in abundance. In addition, it offers great shopping, attractiver (cobbled) streets, the relaxing Fjordpark and an inviting, bustling waterfront (shown here).

+ Aalborg's new waterfront, which has been converted into a cultural quarter, featuring new university buildings, student housing, and a striking concrete music hall. The first phase of the project (begun in 2004 and completed in 2013) is a stretch of a tree-lined, detailed boulevard for cyclists and pedestrians. The second phase follows the same basic approach, with the promenade as a unifying element, linking the city’s medieval center with the fjord.