A major exporter of grain, cement, and liquors, its thriving business interests include Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Alfa Laval, and Aalborg Portland.

[24] The area around the narrowest point on the Limfjord attracted settlements as far back as the Iron Age, leading to a thriving Viking community until around the year 1000 in what has now become Aalborg.

In the Middle Ages, royal trading privileges, a natural harbour and a thriving herring fishing industry contributed to the town's growth.

The first mention of Aalborg under its original name Alabu or Alabur is found on coins from c.1040, the period when King Harthacnut (Hardeknud) settled in the area.

[28] The Franciscan friary, or Greyfriars, on the east side of Østerå, was probably built around 1240; it was documented in 1268, but like many other Roman Catholic monasteries and convents was shut down in 1530 as a result of the Reformation.

[28] Aalborg's earliest trading privileges date from 1342, when King Valdemar IV received the town as part of his huge dowry on marrying Helvig of Schleswig.

[26] During the Middle Ages a number of important institutions were established in Aalborg, including Budolfi Cathedral in the late 14th century and the Hospital of the Holy Ghost, a monastery and nunnery founded in 1451 to help those in need.

[28] In 1530 a large part of the town was destroyed by fire, and in December 1534 it was stormed and plundered by the king's troops after a peasants' revolt known as the Count's Feud led by Skipper Clement.

Since 1970, Aalborg and the northern suburb of Nørresundby have become a major administrative centre, thanks in part to the offices of the Region Nordjylland established in the east of the city.

The tornado caused severe roof damage to many buildings, snapped and uprooted trees & tossed caravans over hedges along its 6.6 kilometer long path.

The Himmerland region to the south still has a number of moors which once formed a vast area of heathland extending 35 km (22 mi) to the Rold Forest near Arden.

Rebild Hills in the Rold Forest stretch over 425 acres (172 ha) of rolling heath country about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Aalborg.

[51] The city centre, dating from the Middle Ages, lies on a series of clay banks between the former streams of Vesterå and Lilleå, which used to run into the sound.

[60] The Aalborg Zoo was opened in 1935 and typically houses 1,300 animals from 138 different species, including tigers, chimpanzees, zebra, elephants, giraffes, penguins and polar bears.

[94] Aalborg was home to De Danske Spritfabrikker or Danish Distillers (now owned by the Norwegian company Arcus), which produces numerous brands of akvavit, until 2014.

[109] Despite its industrial background and the factories along its waterfront, the city has gained popularity for tourism in recent years, offering a wide variety of attractions and historic buildings in addition to its museums, churches and parks.

Built in 1624 by the Aalborg merchant Jens Bang in the Dutch Renaissance style, the four-story sandstone building is noted for its rising gables and sculpted auricular window decorations.

The yellow-washed façade is decorated with white pilasters and a frontispiece featuring the Danish coat of arms and a bust of King Frederick V. His motto, Prudentia et Constantia, is also seen above the main entrance.

The city hosted the world's largest event for sailing vessels again in 2004, 2010, and 2015 Aalborgs Kongres & Kultur Center, designed in a functional style by Otto Frankild, was completed in 1952.

Kunsthal Nord, established in the centre in 2009, arranges up to five exhibitions a year of all forms of contemporary art, especially of local origin but also from other parts of Denmark and beyond.

[134][135] The North Jutland Historical Museum conducted a series of archaeological excavations in the 1950s at Lindholm Høje, revealing ancient burial sites.

Next to Aalborg Hall, Ansgar's Church with its tall tower was built in 1929 to a design by Hother August Paludan in a modern Baroque style.

The Biblical figures known as the Johannes Group (based on Christ's meeting with John the Baptist in Matthew, Chapter 3) sculpted by Bertel Thorvaldsen are displayed around the interior.

The site was chosen in a district outside the city as it provided isolation for those affected by the plague, many of whom died in the neighbouring hospice, Sankt Jørgens Gårde.

[156][157] Antisemitism continues to exist in Denmark, and in 1999, an unlicensed Nazi radio station began operating from a neo-Nazi stronghold in Fynen, Nørresundby, within Aalborg municipality.

[158] The activity has been widely denounced with organized opposition in Aalborg and the rest of Denmark, and in February 1999, 12 anti-fascists were arrested for possession of explosives at their base in Fynen.

[161] It has sought to develop what is known as "contextual knowledge", a form of problem-based learning based around the project work conducted by students, rather than the curriculum focusing on traditional academic disciplines.

Aalborg Business College provides basic training in retail and trading for private enterprises and the public sector, with courses which cover information technology, economics, sales and communication, and languages.

Among those who contributed to Aalborg's prosperity in the 19th century were Poul Pagh (1796–1870) who significantly developed trade and shipping, and Christen Winther Obel (1800–1860) who increased production at the C.W.

Another important figure of the times was Marie Rée (1835–1900) who ran the local newspaper Aalborg Stiftstidende until 1900, often promoting women's rights.