3.4.2 Denmark: Copenhagen
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
3.4.2 Denmark: Copenhagen
Copenhagen's metropolitan area is the home of more than 25% of
Denmark's population. The city lies on the eastern shore of the island
of Sjælland (Zealand), at the southern end of Øresund (The Sound), the
waterway that separates Denmark from Sweden and links the Baltic with
the North Sea. Copenhagen is protected from the Baltic by the small
island of Amager. Between Amager and Sjælland there was formerly a
group of sand flats. Drained and reclaimed, they now constitute the
islet of Christianshavn, which has been developed as the chief dock
area of the city. The harbor of Copenhagen occupies the narrow
waterway between Christianshavn and Sjælland.
The nucleus of the city is Slotsholmen, or Castle Isle, where a
fortification was built in 1167. Its site is now occupied by
Christiansborg Palace, constructed between 1907 and 1915 as a home for
the legislature and government ministries. Nearby are the Thorvaldsen
Museum and the Exchange (Børsen), built from 1619 to 1640, with a
twisting spire made up of the interwoven tails of four sculptured
dragons. North of the old city is Frederikstad, a planned suburb built
in the 18th century. In it is the Amalienborg Palace, originally
luxurious town houses but since 1794 the residence of the Danish
monarch; a ceremonial changing of guards takes place every day at 12
noon. Nearby is the massive Marble Church started in 1749 but finished
only almost 150 later, and to the west of the church is Rosenborg
Palace, built in the early 17th century as the summer residence of the
king but now acts as a museum. The city's university was founded in
1479 by King Christian I and was re-founded in the 19th century. To
the southeast, beyond the dock quarter of Christianshavn, is the
largely residential suburb of Amager. The island of Amager, much of
which is low-lying and marshy, is the site of Copenhagen's Kastrup
airport, one of the largest in Europe. A gigantic bridge has been
planned for Amager across Øresund to Malmö in Sweden.
Copenhagen has many canals, wide boulevards and public parks and
gardens. Among these is the famous Tivoli, in the heart of the city to
the southwest of the old town, a highly sophisticated amusement park
laid out in 1843, with e.g 28 restaurants, music, dance, and theater,
fountains, carousels, etc., as well as more modern amusement park
devices. Other parks worth a visit and maybe a picnic are the
Botanical Gardens (Botanisk Have) and Rosenborg Gardens with the
palace. The famous pedestrian shopping street Strøget starts from The
City Hall (Rådhuset), which is an impressive piece of neo-gothic
architecture, and runs to Kongens Nytorv where Charlottenborg palace
and the Royal Theater are located. The pedestrian center itself, which
includes many winding, medieval streets, is a marvellous place to
stroll around, but keep in mind that businesses close by early
afternoon on Saturday and aren't open on Sunday. There are a couple of
old churches in the pedestrian center as well, e.g. Nikolaj Church and
the neo-classic Cathedral. In Christianshavn, be sure to climb to the
spiral tower of the baroque Vor Frelsers Kirke (Our Saviour's Church)
for a great view.
Christiania
While you're in Christianshavn you may want to visit the "alternative
city" of Christiania. The story of Christiania began in 1971 when a
large number of hippies took over the abandoned military barracks in
Bådmanstrædes Kaserne; after futile attempts by police to empty the
area, the matter ended up in the parliament and Christiania got
political exemption and acceptance as a "social experiment" in return
for agreeing to pay for the use of water and electricity. After many
colourful struggles against threats of closing and "normalization" as
well as hard drugs and violent motorcycle gangs, Christiania's tale
still continues. The Freetown's self-government is arranged in an
anarchist fashion, with common decisions being made in various
councils such as the Common Meeting, The Economy Meeting, The House
Meeting, etc. Christiania has no laws, but there's a series of bans
put up by the inhabitants of the Freetown: no hard drugs, no weapons,
no violence, no trading with buildings or residential areas.
Christiania is probably best known to the outside world for the free
availability of cannabis products; they are indeed being openly sold
on the main street, but this does not mean hash is legal in Denmark,
or that you can't be punished for carrying or using it. The Danish
police have a policy of not fining for small amounts of cannabis and
for the most part tolerate the trade in Christiania, but they do
sometimes patrol the area. Tourists should think twice before abusing
the liberal attitudes and good will of the Danish officials. Also,
don't take photos of Christiania or Christianians, they won't like it
and you may have your film taken from you if do.
Legal intoxicants can be tried out by taking a guided excursion to the
two major Danish breweries, Carlsberg and Tuborg. Tuborg is located in
the suburb of Hellerup in northern Copenhagen, Strandvejen 54,
excursions are Monday-Friday 10 a.m, 12.30 and 2.30 p.m. Carlsberg
breweries are at Ny Carlsbergvej (at the Elephant Gate; take bus 16
from Rådhuspladsen toward Sydhavn), excursions Monday-Friday at 11 a.m
and 2 p.m. Carlsberg has always been a major patron of the arts in
Denmark, and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (near the Tivoli gardens),
which houses a collection of antique artifacts as well as French and
Danish art, is well worth a visit. Nyhavn canal close to Kongens
Nytorv square is a popular place to walk around; there's also a H. C.
Andersen exhibition at Nyhavn 69. Statens Museum før Kunst (Sølvgade
48-50) is the Danish National Gallery; European masters and Danish
art. Nationalmuseet (National Museum) has, among other things, a
splendid collection of unique prehistoric finds (rich, well-preserved
bronze age bog-finds, the Gundestrup Cauldron, the Solvagn, Viking age
gold treasures, etc) and an exhibition of Eskimo culture. North of
Copenhagen lies Frilandsmuseet: open air museum of the history of folk
architecture in Denmark and the formerly Danish part of Sweden (Skåne)
- it can be accessed by train or bus.
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