Hirtshals

Hirtshals
Hirtshals
Coordinates: 57°35′N 9°57′E
North Jutland County	Hjørring Municipality
Settled	1995, when the HCH was born
Incorporated (city)	1919-1931
Government
• Overfishman	Gert Sejlmann, Social Fishing Party
Area
• Total	929.5 km2 (359.0 sq mi)
• Land	929.2 km2 (358.7 sq mi)
• Water	0.1 km2 (1.0 sq mi)
Elevation	90 m (295.5 ft)
Population (1 January 2011)
• Total	6,194
• Density	6.82/km2 (17.67/sq mi)
• Demonym	Fisherman
Time zone	Central European Time (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	European Summer Time (UTC+2)
Danish	9850
Website	Hjørring Municipality

Hirtshals is a town in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland on the north coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe.

The town of Hirtshals

Memorial in Hirtshals to the crew of lifeboat RF 2, sunk in 1981

The town of Hirtshals has a population of 6,194 (1 January 2011). Located on the Skagerrak, it is especially known for its fishing and ferry harbours.

It is the home of one of the largest aquariums in Europe, the Nordsøen Oceanarium. It was built in 1984 as Nordsømuseet, The Norths Sea Museum. It got its present name after it was expanded in 1998 with a fish tank containing 4,5 million liters of water, making it the largest in northern Europe. The Oceanarium has 70 different species in its collection. A fire in December 2003 destroyed the new expansion, but the Nordsøen Oceanarium was rebuilt and reopened on July 22, 2005.

The town's 35 meter high lighthouse, Hirtshals fyr is a local landmark. Building was begun June 28, 1860, and it was first lit on January 1, 1863. It is constructed of red brick, and covered with Dutch tile.

Fishing plays a big role for the town and its inhabitants, as does tourism and the renting of summer homes.

Hirtshals is the Danish hometown for the Norwegian ferry company, Color Line. Each year thousands of Norwegian, German and Dutch tourists travel back and forth from Hirtshals to the Norwegian cities of Kristiansand and Larvik. Previously, Color Line also offered trips to Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo, but decided to stop operating these routes in early 2008. Another ferry operator, Fjord Line now operates a route that goes to Bergen and Stavanger. It has also been possible since the autumn 2010 to travel to Torshavn on the Faroe Islands and to Seyðisfjörður on Iceland with Smyril Line. The shops in Hirtshals thrive on the excessive number of especially its Norwegian visitors, who shop regularly in the small town all year long.

Hirtshals municipality

Until January 1, 2007, Hirtshals was also a municipality (Danish: kommune) in North Jutland County. The municipality covered an area of 196 km² (76 sq mi), and had a total population of 14,088 (2005). Besides Hirtshals, it covered the villages Tornby, Vidstrup, Asdal, Tuen, Bindslev, Tversted, Emmersbæk, Lilleheden and Horne. Its last mayor was Knud Størup (independent).

Hirtshals municipality ceased to exist due to Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with existing Hjørring, Løkken-Vrå, and Sindal municipalities to form an enlarged Hjørring municipality. This created a municipality with an area of 92 km² (36 sq mi) and a total population of ca. 67,816.

Local Climate

The nature of Hirtshals: the beach, the cliffs, the North Sea and the history: the bunkers and the lighthouse

The Sea Level

The sea level has been as high as 1 meter over the norm. But in days where there is no wind, the waves typically won't be higher than max 20 cm (8 in) over normal sea level.

Air Temperature (Celsius)

The air in Hirtshals can be foggy sometimes, because of the seawater, which vaporizes. In the winter, the air temperature can fall as low as 1.6 degrees, but in the summer, it can reach over 25 degrees Celsius.

Waves periods

Hirtshals Havnekontor (The local Office of the open sea) do have a meter, who measures how many seconds there is between to waves. It has been between 0.5 sec. up to about 9 seconds all year.

Waveheights

The waves can be high in Hirtshals, but the normal wave heights are about 2-2.5 meters, according to the Harbour Office.

Wind direction

The prevailing wind in Hirtshals is to the south or south-west.

Force of the Wind

The force of the wind in Hirtshals varies. During some winter days it could easily top out at 10 m/s, and in the summer it's much more calm, but there can be strong winds.

Links to Hirtshals Weather

• Hirtshals Havnekontor Weathermeasurings, updates every minute (Only in metric)
• DMI Hirtshals (Only in metric)'
• Weather-Forecast.com Hirtshals (Metric & Imperial)

Webcams of Hirtshals Harbour

• 2 Webcams on Hirtshals Harbour
  • The first one on the page is Pier II, and the second is Frontbassin towards northeast.

Local Radio

• Skaga FM, formerly known as Radio Hirtshals, is a local radio station that plays domestic and foreign hits from the 80s, 90s and onwards, and reports on current events happening within the municipality of Hjørring. MHz: 105,6 FM.

[1] The Skaga FM official website (Mainly in Danish, but offers German tourist radio during the summer)

• Since the early year 2010, local ferry operator Color Line (serves two ferry routes between Hirtshals and Norway) have had their own radio station, Color Radio, that plays popular songs from mostly the 80's and 90's. Also it gives travelers from Hirtshals to Norway informations about the next departure, and when check-in closes. The radio can be listened to all over Hirtshals town, and from the motorway roundabout near Aabyen at the E39. MHz: 95,3 FM.

External links

• Hjørring Municipality's official website (Danish)
• North Sea Museum

References

• Municipal statistics: NetBorger Kommunefakta, delivered from KMD aka Kommunedata (Municipal Data)
• Municipal mergers and neighbors: Eniro new municipalities map