The Solgrylle at the Blacksmith's Bridge

Smedens Bro, "The Blacksmith's Bridge", is a pedestrian and cycling bridge in central Aarhus. It was built in 1911 at the initiative of the local ironsmith and businessman Hans Peter Jensen, who funded its construction to improve access for residents of his neighbourhood.

Spanning the Aarhus River, the light grey railings rise and curve outward at both ends, framing the city's coat of arms. But the real curiosity is elsewhere.

On eight pillars at either end of the bridge, four on the inside and four facing outward, squat identical relief figures with large elongated ears, unsettlingly blank eyes, and strangely contorted faces. The pose is unmistakable: the creatures appear to be relieving themselves.

What exactly they are meant to represent remains uncertain, but they are most commonly identified as solgryller, Danish folkloric creatures associated with the sun at its zenith on the summer solstice. According to tradition, the sun pauses in the sky for precisely as long as it takes a solgrylle to finish its business.

Until a renovation completed in 2025, the figures were painted in colour and far more conspicuous than they are today. They now blend into the bridge, easier to overlook, though no less strange once spotted.