Niels Ebbesen in Randers. (Photo courtesy of storebukkebruse at Flickr.)

Randers [RANNors] is a by (town, city) in Nordøstjylland (North Eastern Jutland), between the cities of Århus and Aalborg. This efterår (Autumn/Fall), I got a bit of work up there. I must say I’ve fallen in love with the city!

Randers lies next to Gudenåen, the only å (stream) in Denmark that’s wide enough to be considered a flod (river). It’s also very close to Djursland, Jyllands næse (Jutland’s ”nose”), which is as wild and hilly as it possibly gets in Denmark. For some reason, the Randers area is called Kronjylland (Crown Jutland). The locals I asked, didn’t know why.

What really attracts me is stemningen (the mood, the atmosphere). There are several gågader (pedestrian ways, literally ’walk-streets’), winding past little torve (squares) and kirker (churches). The streets are lined by small butikker (shops), cafeer (cafés) and gallerier (art galleries). Many of the bygninger (buildings) are nicely decorated with small figures etc. People seem to be less stressed than in Copenhagen or Århus, strolling through the gader (streets) as in an old movie.

All of a sudden, you leave the narrow streets and find yourself in a broad, sloping avenue [aveNEE], with plenty of air to breathe. It gave me a really ”French” feeling when I first saw it. 🙂 In the middle of the avenue you’ll find the biggest horse-without-a-rider you’ve ever seen: Den jyske Hingst (the Jutlandic stallion) by the sculptress Helen Schou.

Historically, Randers was known for its production of handsker (gloves) and reb (rope). A classic reklame (ad) had the text Hæng Dem ikke i Bagateller, brug Randers Reb! (”Don’t make a fuss over trifles, use rope from Randers!” This is a wordplay on ”hæng Dem ikke” – don’t hang yourself – and ”hæng Dem ikke i bagateller” – don’t worry about trivialities.)

Randers is also the home of Niels Ebbesen, who in 1340 became a national helt (hero) for killing a German greve (count) who had invaded Jutland with his hær (army). There’s a statue of Niels Ebbesen next to one of the churches.

One of the domes of Randers Regnskov, as seen from afar. (Photo courtesy of Malene Thyssen at Wikimedia Commons.)

Finally, Randers is a famous destination for børnefamilier (children’s families), who go to see Randers Regnskov (Randers Rainforest). In the cold Danish winter you can enter these domes, and all of a sudden you find yourself in the company of tropical planter og dyr (plants and animals)…