Nyhavn Copenhagen

Nyhavn - picturesque harbour in Copenhagen

Nyhavn - Copenhagen Denmark

In old days, Nyhavn was a place for sailors coming to Copenhagen, and the port was splited in two parts - one “naughty”, and one “nice” side.

Nowadays Nyhavn - with its picturesque harbour with old sailing ships bobbing on the canals’ water, and colourful facades of old houses - is as expected a tourist attraction, along with the nearby Kongens Nytorv, Strøget, and Amalienborg Palace. It is here various canal tour excursions start, too.

However, Nyhavn is still popular among the locals, who as soon as weather permits occupy numerous outdoors bars and restaurants by the canal. Others prefer to spend time simply sitting by the waterfront and chatting over some beers. Today, on this formerly gloomy side of the street, the atmosphere is always cosy and familiar.

Where H. C. Andersen lived and died

Carlsberg Denmark

The Carlsberg Breweries & The Carlsberg Visitors Centre

Carlsberg - Copenhagen Denmark

The Carlsberg Breweries & The Carlsberg Visitors Centre

Learn why the Carlsberg bear, one of the most famous Danish brands, is "Probably the best beer in the world".

Family Jacobsen

The brewery

Address:
11, Gamle Carlsberg Vej
DK-2500 Valby
Phone (+45) 33 27 12 82

Bus # 18 or 26

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

The New Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen

The New Carlsberg Glyptotek (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen) was one of Copenhagen's and Denmark's larger cultural investments in the end of the 19th century. The city and the state paid one million and the Carlsberg brewer Mr Carl Jacobsen donate 250.000 crowns besides his collections of art, filling the museum today. Quite a lot of money in 1892, when the plans for Glyptoteket were laid out.

Already as a boy, when travelling to Italy with his parents, Carl Jacobsen was fascinated by the classical arts. 1879 he made the first major buy - a portrait of a young man from 540 BC. Today Jacobsen's collection is unique in Europe. The extensive collection was donated in 1888 by Carl Jacobsen and his wife Ottilia.

It consists of one collection of ancient art with sculptures from Egypt from 3,000 BC to the end of the Roman imperial period in the 5th century AC, and one modern collection with Danish and French art from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The museum also has a very good book store.

Address: Dantes Plads 7, 1556 Köpenhamn V

Open: 10-16, except Mondays. On Sundays free admission.

Copenhagen Hop On Hop Off

Wonderful Copenhagen?

In case you are wondering about exactly what is so wonderful about Copenhagen, the city's motto is taken from the Frank Loesser song Wonderful Copenhagen featured in the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. Sung by Danny Kaye it's a bit of an evergreen, and not accustomed to Hollywood attention the city has stuck to it ever since — what also seems to have stuck is the pronunciation, but don't listen to old Danny, it's koh-pehn-HAY-gehn not koh-pehn-HAH-gehn.

Visit Copenhagen / København,  and where to Go Copenhagen

 Dansk sprog

Copenhagen ( Danish: København) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,181,239 (2010) and a metropolitan population of 1,901,789 (2010). Copenhagen is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager.

Copenhagen is a major regional centre of culture, business, media, and science, as indicated by several international surveys and rankings (see International rankings below). Life science, information technology and shipping are important sectors and research & development plays a major role in the city's economy. Its strategic location and excellent infrastructure with the largest airport in Scandinavia located 14 minutes by train from Copenhagen centre, has made it a regional hub and a popular location for regional headquarters as well as conventions.

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life. Copenhagen is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. The water in Copenhagen inner harbour is so clean that it can be swum in, and 36% of all citizens commute to work by bicycle. Every day they cycle a total of 1.2 million km.

Since the turn of the millennium, Copenhagen has seen a strong urban and cultural development and has been described as a boom town. This is partly due to massive investments in cultural facilities as well as infrastructure and a new wave of successful designers, chefs and architects.

Vor Frelsers Kirke

Freetown Christiania.

Vor Frelsers Kirke Copenhagen

The Church of our Saviour

This magnificent church is named after King Christian V, the first monarch on the Danish throne with absolute power. The church is located in the Christianshavn area, close to the Freetown Christiania.

Look up at the church tower and you'll see an exterior golden staircase winding up to the spire. At the top, there is a golden globe crowned by a statue of a flag-bearing statue.

The golden staircase enables you to climb to the top of the church’s 95 meters high spire and from there you have a fantastic 360 degree view of Copenhagen, as well as the Oresund Bridge connecting Copenhagen / Denmark with Sweden.
To climb to the top is a must when you visit Copenhagen; even if it can be quite a climb, it is well worth it for the excellent views. There is a total number of 400 steps to the top of the spire, the last 150 being outside.

When inside the church, look up into the ceiling, where you'll see the chains of the Order of the Elephant and the Order of the Dannebrogen. Both decorations were instigated by King Christian V. The church's exquisite organ is supported by a relief of two elephants.

The Little Mermaid Statue has been delighting children of al

Visit Copenhagen Denmark and the Little Mermaid

Dansk sprog

Located at Langelinie on the harbor, the Little Mermaid Statue has been delighting children of all ages for many years. The life-size sculpture is based on the popular fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson who called Copenhagen home.

Copenhagen is also home to the world s longest pedestrian mall that spans five streets. With museums, boutiques, specialty shops and cafes dotting the streets, this is the ideal place to boot around and get a feel for visit Copenhagen at the same time. Europeans love to spend time outdoors and take full advantage of warm sunny days.

Copenhagen is teeming with beautiful parks, fountains and gardens. A picnic is always a wonderful way to spend a lazy afternoon. Another unique aspect of Copenhagen is the daily changing of the guard. Everyday at noon, come rain or shine, the Royal Guard, accompanied by the band, marches from Rosenborg Slot, - a Dutch Renaissance castle, through Copenhagen. Rosenborg Castle is the only castle that was not turned over to the state once Denmark did away with absolute monarchy. Although the castle still belongs to the monarchy it is open to the public. An entire day could be spent just exploring the inside of the castle with its displays of jewelry, art and toys. The architecture is absolutely magnificent and the finely sculptured gardens will leave visitors speechless.

King Christian IV Denmark, had a true passion for the intricate workings of architecture, the Borsen being an excellent example. Three intertwined dragons? tails located at the top of the spire are quite a sight to behold. The Borsen is also the oldest stock exchange in the world that is still in use. Another must see is Charlottenborg Palace which today serves as the seat of the Academy of Arts.

Visit Copenhagen culture

The conurbation of Copenhagen consists of several municipalities. After Copenhagen Municipality, the second largest is Frederiksberg Municipality which is an enclave inside Copenhagen Municipality. Both are contained in the larger Capital Region of Denmark, containing most of the Copenhagen metropolitan area.



Copenhagen and Frederiksberg were two of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county. On the 1st of January 2007, the municipalities lost their county privileges and became part of Copenhagen Capital Region and Greater Copenhagen has a  population of 1.7 mill.

Christiania Copenhagen

Across the bridge Knippelsbro is Christianshavn, a quite fashionable area of Copenhagen. Take a stroll along the canals, enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the many cafes along the waterfront and visit the famous Freetown Christiania.

Copenhagen Hippies with their own set of rules

Christiania was founded in 1971 when a group of hippies took over an area of abandoned military barracks and developed their own set of rules, completely independent of the Danish government.

Copenhagen Architecture

The oldest section of Copenhagen s inner city is often referred to as "Middelalderbyen" (The Medieval  City). However, the most distinctive district of Copenhagen is Frederiksstaden developed during the reign of Frederick V Denmark. It has Amalienborg Palace at its centre and is dominated by the dome of the Marble Church as well as a number of elegant 18th century mansions. Also part of the old inner city of Copenhagen is the small island of Slotsholmen  with Christiansborg Palace and Christianshavn. Around the historical city centre lies a band of congenial residential bouroughs (Vesterbro, Inner Nørrebro, Inner Østerbro) dating mainly from late 19th century. They were built outside the old ramparts of the city when the city was finally allowed to expand beyond this barrier.

Sometimes referred to as "the City of Spires", Copenhagen is known for its horizontal skyline, only broken by spires at churches and castles. Most characteristic is the baroque spire of Church of Our Saviour with its spiralling and narrowing external stairs that visitors can climb to the very top of the spire. Other important spires are those of Christiansborg Palace, the City Hall and the former Church of St. Nikolaj that now houses a modern art venue. A bit lower are the renaissance spires of Rosenborg Castle and the "dragon spire" of Christian IV s former stock exchange, so named because it is shaped as the tails of four dragons twined together.

Recent years have seen a tremendous boom in modern architecture in Copenhagen both when it comes to Danish architecture and works by international architects. For a few hundred years, virtually no foreign architects had worked in Copenhagen but since the turn of the millennium the city and its immediate sourroundings have seen buildings and projects from international star architects. In the same time, a number of Danish architects have achieved great success both in Copenhagen and abroad. Buildings in Copenhagen have won RIBA European Awards four years in a row ("Sampension" in 2005, "Kilen" in 2006, "Tietgenkollegiet" in 2007 and the Royal Playhouse in 2008). At the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Bjarke Ingels Group won an award for the World s Best Residential Building 2008 for a house in Ørestad. The Forum AID Award for Best building in Scandinavia went to Copenhagen buildings both in 2006 and 2008. In 2008 British design magazine Monocle named Copenhagen the World s best design city 2008.

The boom in urban development and modern architecture means that the above mentioned horizontal skyline has seen some changes. A political majority has decided to keep the historical centre free of highrises. But several areas will see or have already seen massive urban development. Ørestad is the area that until now has seen most of the development. Located near Copenhagen Airport, it currently boasts one of the largest malls in Scandinavia and a variety of office and residential buildings as well as an IT University and a high school. The two largest hotels in Scandinavia are currently under construction (ultimo 2008).