Brabrand | |
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Postal district | |
Coordinates: 56°09′34″N 10°06′01″E / 56.159540°N 10.100206°E | |
Country | Kingdom of Denmark |
Regions of Denmark | Central Denmark Region |
Municipality | Aarhus Municipality |
District | Aarhus V |
Postal code] | 8220 |
Brabrand (Danish pronunciation: [ˈbʀɑːbʀɑn]) is a postal district of Aarhus Municipality, Denmark. South of Brabrand, in the Aarhus river-valley, is the largest recreational area of Aarhus Municipality, comprising the Brabrand Lake and the meadow-lake of Årslev, with surrounding natural sites.
Brabrand was originally a village 6–9 km west of Aarhus, founded in the 18th century, by clearing the land by forest burning (the Danish name reflects this), and its economy was initially based on farming and associated trades. The village became a suburb of Aarhus in 1970 and has now completely merged with the city.
The district of Brabrand is located outside the ring road of Ring 2 and comprise four distinct areas: The old town in the south by the lake, mainly made up of single-family houses. A modern housing area in the west, with a mix of single-family houses and low multi-family houses. An industrial park around the road of Edwin Rahrs Vej in the north, and finally the modernist suburban residential area of Gellerup in the east.
The more affluent western part of Brabrand was expanded recently in 2005, with the new residential area of Helenelyst further west. Helenelyst is a mix of modern one-family houses, two-family houses, and 3 story houses, built to accommodate slightly richer middleclass families.
The neighbourhood of Gellerup stands out as an architectural example of the former urban development style, built around several Danish cities in the 1960s. Gellerup is known as a multinational district, where the Middle East is highly represented, also exemplified in the big middle-eastern inspired shopping mall of Bazar Vest. In the southeast of Gellerup, next to the busy Silkeborg Highway, is the shopping mall of CityVest, one of the largest in Denmark.
Along with the retail and service sectors, a number of multi-national companies have a presence in Brabrand.
Brabrand is home to several natural and recreational sites, attracting citizens from all over Aarhus. This includes the Brabrand Lake and the Årslev meadow-lake in the south, connected with the city centre of Aarhus by the pathway of Brabrandstien; the newly raised woodland of Gellerup Skov in the southeast; Skjoldhøjkilen in the north; the valley of Langdalen in the west and the forests of Årslev Skov and True Skov also in the west.