Editing Aarhus (section)

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Århus Katedral2.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Aarhus Cathedral. The cathedral was founded in 1190 and the original version stood finished in the year 1300.]]
The growing influence of the Church during the [[Middle Ages]] gradually turned Aarhus, with its bishopric, into a prosperous religious centre. Many public and religious buildings were built in and around the town; notably [[Aarhus Cathedral]] was initiated in the late 12th&nbsp;century by the influential bishop [[Peder Vognsen]], and around 1200, Aros had a total of four churches. The 13th century also marks a thorough reorganisation, erasing most of the town's original layout with new streets, relocations, dismantling and new constructions. The Church clearly had the upper hand in the Aarhus region during medieval times, and the large [[Ancient See of Aarhus|bishopric of Aarhus]] prospered and expanded territory, reaching as far as [[Viborg, Denmark|Viborg]] in extent.<ref name=UBAS /> In 1441, [[Christopher III]] issued the oldest known charter granting market town status, although similar privileges may have existed as far back as the 12th&nbsp;century. The charter is the first official recognition of the town as a regional power and is by some considered Aarhus's birth certificate.<ref name="Danmarkshistorien" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aarhuswiki.dk/wiki/%C3%85rhus_k%C3%B8bstads_privilegium |title=Stenbroen |website=AarhusWiki |publisher=Aarhus Stadsarkiv |language=da |access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref>

The commercial and religious status spurred town growth, and in 1477 the defensive earthen ramparts, which had ringed the town since the Viking Age, were abandoned to accommodate expansion. Parts of the ramparts still exist today and can be experienced as steep slopes at the riverside, and they have also survived in some place names of the inner city, including the streets of [[Volden, Aarhus|Volden]] (The Rampart) and [[Graven, Aarhus|Graven]] (The Moat).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hum.au.dk/moesgaard/vikingemuseet/voldgraven.htm |title=The Moat |language=da |publisher=The Viking Museum |access-date=15 August 2014 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090527/http://www.hum.au.dk/moesgaard/vikingemuseet/voldgraven.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aarhuswiki.dk/wiki/Historien_om_Aarhus |title=Historien om Aarhus |language=da |publisher=Aarhus Stadsarkiv |access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref> Aarhus grew to become one of the largest cities in the country by the early 16th&nbsp;century. In 1657, [[octroi]] was imposed in larger Danish cities which changed the layout and face of Aarhus over the following decades. Wooden city walls were erected to prevent smuggling, with gates and toll booths on the major thoroughfares, [[Mejlgade]] and [[Studsgade]]. The city gates funnelled most traffic through a few streets where merchant quarters were built.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gis.aarhus.dk/kommuneatlas/registranter/stenbro/side6.htm |title=Stenbroen |website=Aarhus Kommunes digitale korttjenester |publisher=Aarhus Kommune |language=da |access-date=22 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072940/http://gis.aarhus.dk/kommuneatlas/registranter/stenbro/side6.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

In the 17th&nbsp;century, Aarhus entered a period of recession as it suffered blockades and bombardments during the [[Dano-Swedish War (1658–60)|Swedish wars]] and trade was dampened by the preferential treatment of the capital by the state.{{sfn|Olsen|2000|p=124}} Not until the middle of the 18th&nbsp;century did growth return, in large part due to trade with the large agricultural [[catchment area]]s around the city; grain, particularly, proved to be a remunerative export.<ref name="Danmarkshistorien"/> The first factories were established at this time, as the [[Industrial Revolution]] reached the country, and in 1810 the harbour was expanded to accommodate growing trade.<ref name=dcfb>{{cite web |url=http://dendigitalebyport.byhistorie.dk/koebstaeder/by.aspx?koebstadID=74 |title=Århus: Byhistorie |publisher=Dansk Center for Byhistorie |access-date=16 July 2014 |language=da}}</ref>