Randers is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmarks sixth-largest city, with a population of 61,163. Randers is the municipalitys main town and the site of its municipal council. The municipality is also a part of the East Jutland metropolitan area, which has 1.2 million inhabitants.
By road it is north of Aarhus, east of Viborg, and northwest of Copenhagen.
Randers became a thriving market town in medieval times, and many of its 15th-century half-timbered houses remain today, as does St Martins Church, also from that period. Trade by sea was facilitated through the Gudenå River, entering Randers Fjord. During industrialization, Randers quickly became one of the most important industrial towns in the country, but it saw itself outpaced by the cities of Aarhus and Aalborg at the beginning of the 20th century. Most of the larger historic industries in Randers are gone today. From 1970, the population saw a decline from a peak of 58.500 citizens, until a stabilization in the 1990s occurred, followed by a modest rise since then.
The main tourist attraction is Randers Tropical Zoo thanks to its artificial rainforest, the largest in Northern Europe, its 350 varieties of plant and over 175 species of animals. The citys football team, Randers FC, play their homes games at the AutoC Park Randers, and are in Denmarks first league, the Superligaen. The town is also home to Randers rugby union club and Jutland RLFC, a rugby league team, as well as Randers Cimbria, a Basketligaen team that took 2nd place in the 2013-2014 season.