Aarhus Custom House: A Symbol of the City’s Growth

The story of the Aarhus Custom House spans several chapters. The current building is the fourth of its kind, with space constraints being the reason each time for constructing a new and larger building.

Aarhus Custom House – in Danish called Toldboden or Aarhus Toldkammer – stands solidly on Aarhus Harbor, gazing out over the water. Despite the open space around the red-brick custom house, it still feels surrounded by the hustle and bustle of harbor life, cultural institutions, and the light rail system that runs alongside it. All of these elements arrived long after the custom house was built, but for the same reason – the growth of Aarhus.

Custom Houses Evolve with the City

Aarhus’ first custom house literally stood on wooden stilts in the harbor. It was a half-timbered building that was removed as the need for more space arose. This early custom house can still be seen today, reconstructed in Den Gamle By (The Old Town), where it is preserved as part of Aarhus’ history.

In 1832, architect Jørgen Hansen Koch designed a five-bay, two-story building, which had to be expanded by 1835, highlighting how rapidly things were developing at that time. By 1868, the custom house had outlived itself, and a new custom house was built north of the river that same year. It was designed by former royal building inspector Laurits Albert Winstrup, who had also designed several other Danish custom houses. However, once again, the city’s rapid growth made it impossible to keep the building, as it had become too small.

A larger custom building was needed, and this became the first task in Aarhus for the newly appointed royal building inspector, Hack Kampmann.

Gateway to the City

This custom house marked a departure from earlier ones. Hack Kampmann used the city’s coat of arms as a motif for the building’s facade, featuring a large square tower flanked by two lower, polygonal towers. The basic design is believed to have been inspired by a study trip to the French town of Chaumont, where a pencil drawing from 1882 of the Château de Chaumont shows a similar layout.

Masterful Brickwork

Everything is executed with precision – especially the brickwork. The largest tower features a diagonal brick pattern, and the gable triangle is decorated with a herringbone pattern, made more striking by the varied colors of the bricks. Additionally, several places on the facade feature relief-embossed stones with various motifs.

Beyond the intricate brickwork, several rooms inside the custom house feature imaginative wall and ceiling paintings by artist Karl Hansen Reistrup, including coats of arms, sea creatures, and references to seafaring.

A Key Role in Trade

Since ancient times and the Middle Ages, it has been common to charge tolls or fees at city gates, river mouths, or narrow waterways. In the first half of the 19th century, as harbors were built in market towns and later railways were constructed, the custom service had to either build a custom house or rent space in existing buildings. The location of the Aarhus Custom House is therefore far from coincidental.

Since 1995, the building has served various purposes, including a drawing hall for architecture students, a student house, a corporate headquarters, and a concert venue. Today, the historic building houses a restaurant.