[2] It is unknown exactly when people first settled near the mouth of the Aarhus River on the east coast of Jutland.

Aarhus' first church, Holy Trinity Church, a timber structure, was built during the reign of Frode King of Jutland around year 900 on top of the city's pagan burial site in what was then the center of town.

The second cathedral was a timber structure built in 1102 by bishop Ulfketil near the present site to house the relics of St. Clement.

St. Clement was an early Bishop of Rome who was martyred by having an anchor tied to his neck and thrown into the Black Sea, according to a fictional biography of the saint.

[6] This timber church was the center of the local veneration of St. Niels of Aarhus (also called St. Nickolas).

St. Niels was a younger son of King Canute V. As a young man, Prince Niels lost interest in life at court and withdrew to the village of Skibby near Aarhus and built a church with his own hands.

[7] The construction of Aarhus Cathedral began in the decade after year 1190, by Bishop Peder Vognsen (d.11 April 1204) of the powerful Hvide family from Zealand.

The church was finished in 1300 in typical Romanesque style with half-rounded arches supporting a flat timber ceiling.

The transept was widened, and the typical Gothic vaulting raised the ceilings and permitted high windows which fill the building with light.

Luther's ideas quickly spread to Aarhus and soon the townspeople demanded the right to hear the liturgy in Danish.

[9] In 1533 Frederik I died and his son, Christian III was proclaimed King of Denmark at the Viborg Assembly (Danish: Landsting), but the State Council denominated by the Catholic bishops refused to accept the election and called upon count Christopher of Oldenburg to assist in restoring Catholic Christian II to the throne.

Despite the odds, Christian III prevailed and in the summer of 1536 arrested several of the bishops and threw them into prison.

The last Roman Catholic Bishop of Aarhus, Ove Bille (d. 1555) was imprisoned in the summer of 1536 when Denmark officially became a Lutheran nation.

In 1642 lightning struck the tower and set it ablaze, destroying some of the historic bells, but damage to the interior of the church was minimal.

It is believed that the window was used to give food to the lepers who weren't permitted inside the building.

It stands 14 metres (46 ft) high and is the largest stained glass window in all of Denmark.

The most unusual feature is the Crucifixion scene, which (for an unknown reason) shows Jesus's head falling to the left, unlike traditional scenes which always show Jesus's head falling to the right.

[11][12] The cathedral has a wonderful altarpiece (pictured, left) carved by the famous Lübeck sculptor and painter Bernt Notke) (c. 1440–c.

[14] The baptismal font was created in copper by the bell maker, Peter Hansen of Flensborg, in 1481.

It was a gift of Bishop Jens Ivarsen Lange, (d. 1482) who just two years earlier had given the great altarpiece to St Clements.

[15] The font has four scenes, carved in relief, from the life of Christ and nine of the apostles (the rest of the figures cannot be identified).

The scenes are the Baptism, the Crucifixion, Christ on Judgement Day, and Mary's heavenly coronation.

With the model ship's length of 2.65 metres (8 ft 8 in) and height of 3.50 metres (11.5 ft), it is the largest church ship in any Danish church, and it is thought of as a symbol of man's sail from cradle to grave.

The most striking is the Marselis Chapel, built for the Marselis family by the Flemish baroque sculptor Thomas Quellinus (1661-c.1710); the chapel's high Baroque memorial is the largest of its kind in Denmark, and beneath the floor is the family burial vault.