Hirtshals

Sister cities

• Grindavíkurbær
• Lysekil Municipality

History

Originally the site of a small fishing settlement known as Hirshals or Lilleheden, the location at the promontory by the Skagerak between the Jammer Bay and the Tannis Bay meant that a lighthouse was built on the site early on: Hirtshals Lighthouse which was constructed between 1860 and 1863. The town of Hirtshals itself developed around the artificial harbour which was constructed between 1919 and 1931. In 1919, an architectural competition was held for the city plan for a new port city at Hirtshals; it was won by the Danish architects and urban planners Steen Eiler Rasmussen and Knud Christiansen. In 1925, the Hjørring–Hirtshals railway line opened to link the port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network. In 1966, the harbour was expanded and became one of the largest fishing ports in Denmark. On 8 September 1989, Partnair Flight 394 crashed off the coast of Hirtshals killing all 55 passengers on board making it the worst in Denmark's history. Until 1 January 2007, Hirtshals was also the seat of Hirtshals Municipality which was merged with existing Hjørring, Løkken-Vrå, and Sindal municipalities to form an enlarged Hjørring Municipality.

Geography

Hirtshals is located on the sand and clay promontory Hirtshals, overlooking the Skagerrak between the Jammer Bay and the Tannis Bay. The shoreline is backed by low cliffs, beneath which is a narrow and rocky beach. The sea level has been as high as 1 metre over the norm. But in days where there is no wind, the waves typically will not be higher than maximum over normal sea level. Due to the proximity of the town to the coast, sea fog is not an uncommon occurrence. 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. Hirtshals Havnekontor (Hirtshals' Harbour Office) keeps track of wave periods. Annual wave periods fluctuate between half a second, up to about 9 seconds. According to Hirtshals Havnekontor (Hirtshals' Harbour Office) normal wave heights are between 2 and 2.5 metres. The prevailing wind in Hirtshals is to the south or south-west. Wind speeds vary all year long, usually topping at 10 m/s during the winter.

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,966
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,391
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,317
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,106
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,072
• Red Kite

  Milvus milvus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,031
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,985
• Eurasian Bullfinch

  Pyrrhula pyrrhula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,908

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-04-25
  9 km NNW of Strandby, Denmark
• M 2.6 — 2005-06-08
  3 km WNW of Skagen, Denmark
• M 2.7 — 2005-04-26
  24 km N of Hirtshals, Denmark