Every design for Hadsten

Inside Modelbane Europa, miniature trains run through one of the largest model railways in Europe, and it fits Hadsten perfectly. The real railway made this town: it was founded on the day the East Jutland line opened, and the station still sees intercity trains stop on their way between Aarhus and Randers.

What sets Hadsten apart is its valley. The town sits in the meltwater valley of the river Lilleåen, where people lived as far back as the Stone Age. Its old name, Halstiern, points to a little lake that the river once formed at Kollerup, back when the water stood higher and the valley was full of lakes. Hadsten Mølle, the water mill by the river, goes back to the early High Middle Ages. Around the town lie ancient mounds such as Store Lynghøi and Tinghøj.

Locals say Ha'sten, with a silent d, and they will tell you the town also has the shortest pedestrian street in Europe. Walk it, then follow Lilleåen out of town, and you have seen the whole of Hadsten in one afternoon.