Esbjerg is a seaport city and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is 71 kilometres west of Kolding and 164 kilometres southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,505 it is the fifth-largest city in Denmark, and the largest in West Jutland. Before a decision was made to establish a harbour at Esbjerg in 1868, the area consisted of only a few farms.