Graven, Aarhus
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Graven
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| Former name(s) | Gravene |
|---|---|
| Length | 220 m (720 ft) |
| Location | Latin Quarter, Aarhus, Denmark |
| Postal code | 8000 |
| Coordinates | 56°09′31.3″N 10°12′37.7″E / 56.158694°N 10.210472°E |
Graven is a street in Aarhus, Denmark. Graven was created some time before year 1500 on and in the northernmost moat used to defend the early Viking settlement. It is one of the oldest streets in the city and used to mark the northern city limits along with Klostergade. Graven runs 220 meter west to east from Klostergade to Mejlgade and is situated in the historic Latin Quarter neighborhood. Graven is fairly narrow and is a designated one-way street in the direction of Mejlgade towards Klostergade. Graven today is characterized by low housing, cafés and specialty shops, and has much foot and bicycle traffic. As Klostergade and Mejlgade, Graven is a shared bikeway, part of the city's bicycle infrastructure network.
The earliest name of the street was "Gravene", meaning "the moats" or "the digs", referring to the previous moats around Aarhus, dug as part of the Viking town fortifications. The moats, the ramparts and the palisades were all dismantled, but carried over in some street names. The singular "Graven", which names the street today, is known from the late 1500s. The pronunciation of the name today still references the original plural name as the first syllable is pronounced with a long "a" as if it was the plural case.
The early Viking settlement was defended by moats and ramparts to the north, west and south. During the Middle Age the city grew beyond the boundaries marked by these defenses and at the same time advents in warfare had made them less useful for defense. Some time before 1500 the ramparts and moats were dismantled and the street Graven was established on and in the northernmost moat. It is believed the moat was filled in using earth from an adjoining rampart. Graven became an extension of Klostergade which had previously been the northmost street in the city. In 1914 the city council hotly debated whether to lengthen Graven to newly built port facilities south of the city. The plan would entail demolishing Juuls Gaard and another property in Mejlgade. The later mayor Jakob Jensen argued against the plans as insufficient. In the end it was decided to wait for the Goods Station to be relocated to the west of the city and for the river to be paved over and the new street Åboulevarden to be established. The changes proved sufficient and Graven kept its original medieval structure.
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