Salling Christmas Garden opens – Aarhus gets its own winter adventure in the mountains

It's one of those evenings when darkness falls softly over the city, and the light from the Christmas decorations takes over. As soon as we get to the Rooftop a little before 17pm, people are standing in groups, talking in the cold, while looking up at the glass bridge. You can feel it clearly. Something is about to happen.
Because tonight, Salling opens their new Christmas Garden, a brand new Christmas attraction on top of the department store.
There are children with red noses, families warming their hands around paper cups, and friends speaking to each other in several different languages. It's as if all of Aarhus has found its way here.

The waiting time before the magic

The lights are already on at the Roofgarden. The Christmas baubles glow in gold and white, and the Christmas trees stand in rows. But the Christmas landscape itself is blocked off, and people stand in small groups, looking towards the string. You can feel the anticipation building in the cold.

The clock strikes 17 and Marianne Bedsted steps forward. She smiles at the crowd and welcomes them with the words, “Welcome to the opening of Salling’s new Christmas Garden. It’s great to see that so many of you have braved the cold to be the first to experience our new Christmas and winter garden.”

She then talks about this year's project, "we have more than 100 Christmas trees, over 65.000 lights and several small Christmas universes. We hope that it will be a place where you can really get into the Christmas spirit."

Finally, she points to the hope that the Christmas garden will become a natural meeting place for the people of Aarhus, “Herman Salling always said that we meet in Salling. And that is why we also hope that this will become a meeting place for many.”

And then she passes the floor to Karin Salling, who steps forward and says, “I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very, very Happy New Year.”

There is silence for a second, and then the ribbon is cut. People clap and the entire Rooftop opens up to a beautiful winter universe.

First steps into the Christmas Garden

Then we walk in a calm line up the walkway and on to the next floor of the Rooftop. Here we are greeted by violinists and a double bassist playing Christmas music that makes people lower their shoulders and just be present.

The large Christmas balls lie both on the ground and hover above you, like little suns in the winter darkness. There are decorated trees, small luminous reindeer and a landscape with moss and sparkling LED dots that flash like fireflies. In one corner stands a large mirror sculpture that catches the Christmas lights and sends fragments of gold, green and white out in all directions. It gives the feeling of walking through a modern Narnia Christmas land, a mixture of nature and art, just without snow. With lights, the smell of fir and people who become more and more quiet the further they move in.

And right behind it all, the city peeks out. You can see the church tower, the rooftops and the famous ARoS rainbow, like a colorful circle behind all the gold. It just makes the experience even more adventurous.

A new Aarhus Christmas tradition

The further you walk, the more small universes appear. A path of light winding between the trees. A branch that sparkles in the mirror. A six-meter-high wooden structure that rises up to the sky. There are places that feel intimate and quiet, and corners where several people stand together and point. It's the kind of experience where you constantly discover something new.

When we finally go down the stairs back into Salling, there is still a queue all the way up. People who have not yet seen the light garden, but who clearly intend to wait patiently. That really says it all. Salling Christmas Garden is already a new destination in Aarhus Christmas. A place you will visit several times in December. Either for the coziness, the lights or just to stand for a while and let the winter peace settle into your body.

You can visit Rooftop all year round. Read more about the free experiences and the unique view at Salling Rooftop.