1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections

Denmark: A city gives up a spelling convention

January 21, 2011

Since the beginning of the year, the Danish city of Århus has been subject to a new spelling rule. And that's got many of its inhabitants up in arms.

https://p.dw.com/p/QtkL
Image: DW
Altstadt von Århus/Aarhus
Old Town in Aarhus.Image: DW

An opinion poll showed 57 percent of the 300,000 population are against the change. But the mayor of Aarhus only sees advantages. He says it makes the city easier to look up on the internet. He also argues that in Denmark, double A comes right at the beginning of the alphabet, while the ring above the A puts it right at the end. But for centuries, the city was known as Aarhus. The ring above the A was only introduced as part of a Danish spelling reform in 1948.