Mejlgade

Mejlgade

Mejlgade
Mejlgade in Aarhus
Former name(s)	Medelgade (1400s) Middelgade (1700s)
Length	689 m (2,260 ft)
Location	Latin Quarter, Aarhus, Denmark
Postal code	8000
Coordinates	56°09′36.0″N 10°12′46.7″E / 56.160000°N 10.212972°E / 56.160000; 10.212972

Mejlgade is a street in Aarhus which runs north to south from Østbanetorvet to Skolegade and intersects Nørrebrogade. The street is situated in the historic Latin Quarter neighborhood and has the highest number of historic and listed buildings in the city. Mejlgade is one-way and no-parking zone for cars for most of its length and pedestrians and cyclists are given priority. The single lane is tiled and a part of the Cykelringen bicycle ring which circumnavigates the city center. Mejlgade has a high number of small specialty shops and some cafés and bars.

Mejlgade is first mentioned in the 1400s as "Medelgade" from the word ”mæthal”, meaning "middel" (English: Middle). In the 1700s it is catalogued as "Middelgade" and by the late 1800s it is known as the present Mejlgade.

Mejlgade stems from the earliest history of the city in the early Viking Age. It was established within the initial ramparts of the viking settlement and later the city walls around the medieval town. In the early to mid-1800s it was the primary arterial and busiest trade street in the town and between 1828 and 1851 the north end of the street had one of 7 city gates where access taxes were collected on produce entering the town. Many merchants houses were built in Mejlgade, close to the city gate, typically with multiple wings and a courtyard for stables and storage.

In 1851 the access taxes were abolished and the city walls and gates torn down. Houses on the east side of the street initially had backyards leading to the waters edge on the coast until 1871 when Kystvejen was established, separating the houses from the coast. The street was cobbled through the 1800s but in 1900 it was paved with asphalt as the first street in the city.

Mejlgade contains 9 buildings listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places and many architectural styles from different periods are represented throughout the street. The Jutland Art Academy (Danish: Det Jydske Kunstakademi) has been situated in the historicist building from 1803 in no. 32 since 1964. Mejlgade no. 6 was previously known as the mayors house. The first mayor to live there was Ulrik Christian von Schmidten, mayor from 1866-1885, and it was used by his successors until 1919 when electoral reform made the office an elected position.