Aarhus Cathedral

Aarhus Cathedral (Danish: Århus Domkirke) is a cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the longest and tallest church in the country, at 93 m (305 ft) in length and 96 m (315 ft) in height. The construction of Aarhus Cathedral began in the 12th century and it is the main edifice of the diocese of Aarhus for the Church of Denmark, dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, St Clemens. The cathedral is situated on the port side of the central square of Store Torv (Large Square), with address "Domkirkepladsen 2, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark" in the inner city. The church can seat around 1200 people. Aarhus Cathedral is a listed building and was designated 1 February 2012.

It is unknown exactly when people first settled near the mouth of the Aarhus River on the east coast of Jutland. Certainly in the 700s there was a Viking town there. Recent research has dated the building of the first city wall to 934. Aarhus must have been a town of some importance in the Viking Age, as there are six runestones in or near the city. The name is known as Aros, Arus, Aarhus or Aars, as early as the 15th century. The city's charter of 1449 names it "Aarss". After the Reformation in Denmark, the name "Aarhus" became current. Aarhus' first church, Holy Trinity Church, a timber structure, was built during the reign of Frode King of Jutland around year 900 on top of the city's pagan burial site in what was then the center of town. The first bishop was Reginbrand, a missionary bishop of Aros in 948 under the Archbishop of Hamburg. Aros came under the rule of the Archbishop of Viborg in 1060. According to Adam of Bremen, Aros was made a dependent diocese before 998. St. Nikolai's church was the first cathedral of Aros. The second cathedral was a timber structure built in 1102 by bishop Ulfketil near the present site to house the relics of St. Clement. St. Clement was an early Bishop of Rome who was martyred by having an anchor tied to his neck and thrown into the Black Sea, according to a fictional biography of the saint. Clement was the patron saint of sailors and especially popular in Scandinavia. The first St. Clement's church burned at some point before the 1

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