Viby J
| Viby | |
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| District | |
Viby Square
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 Viby
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| Coordinates: 56°07′20″N 10°08′49″E / 56.122096°N 10.147069°E | |
| Country | Kingdom of Denmark |
| Regions of Denmark | Central Denmark Region |
| Municipality | Aarhus Municipality |
| District | Viby |
| Postal code | 8260 |
Viby J (or just Viby) is a former town and now a district, in the southwestern part of Aarhus in Denmark. The district has almost 30,000 inhabitants. The "J" stands for Jutland, as there is another town called Viby on the island of Zealand, officially referred to as Viby Sj.
Viby derives from the Old Norse words vi and by, meaning holy place and town respectively.
Vi is a word represented in many place names in both Denmark and Sweden. Several places are named Viby in both Denmark and Sweden (see for examples) and vi is also present in names like Viborg or the Swedish towns of Odensvi, Torsvi, Frösvi, Ullavi or Visby.Vi refers to "an enclosed holy place" and it is believed, that Viby was once a holy place where the Norse Gods were worshipped, with one or several cult houses. The shrines were probably located at what was formerly known as Tyrseng - the area around the large association football fields in the southwest of Viby. Tyrseng translates as Tyrs-meadow referring to the Norse God Tyr. These theories are backed up by other more or less sound evidence. In 1915 remains of an old hall dating from the Viking Age, was unearthed at the hill of Kongsbakke (lit.: kings-hill), when the public school of Viby Skole was constructed. Medieval sources explains, that the hill of Kongsbakke was once the site of a royal estate in ancient times. Our general research-based knowledge of the Norse culture in the Iron Age and Viking Age tells us, that kings and magnates settled near vis and hofs, as they also worked as priests of the Norse religion and were needed there to attend the rituals. Archaeological excavations conducted by Moesgård Museum at a motorway junction in Viby, has also revealed a former holy spring, a chapel and a cemetery used from the 11th century to around 1200.
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