User:Crystal Buchanan Falck/Hasseris Å

Hasseris Å is a small river in the northern region Himmerland, southwest of Aalborg. It runs from Øster Hornum north to Limfjord, near Aalborg. The river has developed from being a source for hydropower, to being a main water supply to Aalborg, to currently being used as a agriculture drainage channel.

The Headwater
The river begins at Præstegårdsdam, a dam in Øster Hornum. It sits approx. 35 m above sea level.

Hydropower
The river lowers in elevation the first half of its length between Øster Hornum and Store Restrup. Hydropower was utilized in this portion of the river.


 * From the first half of the 1500s until 1897, a hydropower submersible mill, Ny Mølle, was in use in Aalborg at Vesterå (an area of Aalborg in the Theater District) until Vesterå was annexed.
 * From 1570 (but plausibly from the Middle Ages), south of Store Restrup, Hestvad Mølle was in use. A 450 m long dam was built. Now, the dam reaches approx. 10 m wide and approx. 3 m above the ground. Originally, the dam was supposed to have been taller. The dam has created a 61 hectare lake, which fueled the mill with hydropower and water for the moat around the main farm. The dam is now protected. Around 1650, a dyke burst at the mill, washing the mill away along with four millstones. The mill was not rebuilt, but presumably, it was replaced by a weather mill.
 * In 1569, a watermill, Tostrup Mølle, was established on the river, south of Tostrup, and was in use until the 1620s.
 * From approx. 1710 to 1738, Tostrup Ny Mølle was in use until a dam break in 1738.
 * From 1783 to 1978, a watermill, Restrup Vandmølle, was in use. It was located where the river crosses (old) Nibevej.
 * In approx. 1915, during WWI in Øster Hornum, a small electricity plant with a dam was built at the source of the river. As early as 1921, this plant was replaced by a high-voltage plant. The dam still exists and was once named Svanedammen, and was later changed to Andedamme.

The Mouth
Hasseris Å empties into the Limfjord, south of the island of Egholm, west of Aalborg. The mouth of the river was established by digging a canal in 1897. For more than 300 years prior to this (since 1594), the river emptied in Aalborg via a seven kilometer canal. It was constructed in order to increase the water flow in Vesterå. On topographical maps and leaflets, the waterway was referred to as Vesterå. Even earlier, the river emptied close to the current location. 800 m west of the current mouth, a ditch and a parish border indicate the previous location.