Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe.

In 1925, the Hjørring-Hirtshals railway line opened to link the port of Hirtshals with the Danish rail network.

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.

[clarification needed] But in days where there is no wind, the waves typically will not be higher than maximum 20 cm (8 in) over normal sea level.

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

This was built in 1984 as Nordsømuseet, The North Sea Museum, and got its present name after it was extended in 1998 to include a fish tank containing 4.5 million litres of water, making it the largest in northern Europe.

Each year thousands of tourists travel back and forth between Hirtshals and the Norwegian cities of Kristiansand and Larvik.

Previously, Color Line also offered services to Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo, but decided to stop operating these routes in early 2008.