Vestereng

Vestereng is a nature site in the environs of northern Aarhus and the suburb of Skejby. The name literally translates as 'westward meadow'. The Municipality of Aarhus took ownership in 1939.^[1]

The area has a lively history of recent times and is now used extensively by several civil groups and organizations. The most prevalent groups as of 2013, being Aarhus

Dirt Jump Park and Aarhus civil dog handling

Association.

History

Two of the many WW II bunkers in the woodlands on Vestereng.

Vestereng was used by the German occupational forces as ammunition storage for the

Danish Home Guard took over the military practice on Vestereng.^[1]

Music

Up until 2013, Vestereng was used as a venue for large outdoor concerts, but this activity has been discontinued due to the newly expanded Aarhus University Hospital in Skejby close by and inaccessibility to emergency and firefighting units.^[2]

The Aarhus leg of the annual Danish

D-A-D, Metallica, etc. to name a few.^{[citation needed}

]

Nature

The nature of Vestereng comprise meadows, scattered vegetation and a woodland area. There are a number of smaller ponds here and a stream is running through the area to join the larger Egå, a few kilometres north of here. The meadows are very popular with moles apparently, as evidenced by the many molehills. Hawthorns is the most common tree at Vestereng and they also forms a peculiar habitat of hawthorn-forest.

Despite the relatively high level of activity, Vestereng supports a rich flora and fauna, with some species rare or almost rare to Denmark even. These are primarily insects and organisms depending on a wet environment.^[4] Roe deer can sometimes be seen here, as they roam the area of Vestereng and Brendstrup Skov further east. They are to be protected.

Gallery

Hawthorn

View across Vestereng and the Hawthorn-forest in May.
Single-seeded hawthorn (crataegus monogyna)
Inside the Hawthorn-forest (March)
Hawthorn trees (March)
Forest floor in the Hawthorn-forest. Hawthorn outcompetes other plant-life.
The stream of Vestereng Bæk (March)

Nature and landscape

View across the meadows in May
Flowers and insects in the meadows (June)
Vestereng in July. The meadows change character throughout the year.
An abandoned marl pit has turned into a small pond (July)
Shelter
Forest path in June
Winter Aconite (eranthis hyemalis) in the forest floor, one of the earliest flowers to appear (March).
Snowdrop (galanthus nivalis), another early flower in the forest floor (March).

References

^ ^a ^b "Vestereng". Aarhus Leksikon. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
^ Green Concert comes to an end on Vestereng after complaint Archived June 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Jyllandsposten (17.11.2013)
^ Green Concert is ready for Aarhus AOA
^ "List of species from Vestereng (Aarhus Municipality, Central Region Denmark)". fugleognatur.dk. Retrieved March 9, 2014.

Sources

Vestereng ULF i Aarhus, Aarhus Municipality (in Danish)
Vestereng Arrangør i Aarhus, Aarhus Municipality (in Danish)
Vestereng Aarhus Akademi (in Danish)
Thorkild Steenberg: Vestereng educational pamphlet (biology), Aarhus Akademi (in Danish)

External links

Map of Vestereng

56°11′12″N 10°10′47″E / 56.18667°N 10.17972°E / 56.18667; 10.17972

[leksikon-1] "Vestereng". Aarhus Leksikon. Retrieved 6 January 2015.

[2] Green Concert comes to an end on Vestereng after complaint Archived June 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Jyllandsposten (17.11.2013)

[3] Green Concert is ready for Aarhus AOA

[4] "List of species from Vestereng (Aarhus Municipality, Central Region Denmark)". fugleognatur.dk. Retrieved March 9, 2014.

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