Christianshavn

Christian IV began ramparts here in 1618 and founded Christianshavn in 1639 on reclaimed ground across the harbour, laid out on a Dutch model with a central canal, ramparts and a grid, intended as a merchant town and a defensive outwork. The canal is still the centre of it, lined with old warehouses converted to flats, moored houseboats and small wooden craft, and crossed by low bridges that are the standard place to sit in summer. Above the quarter rises the black and gold external spiral spire of the Church of Our Saviour. The northern end holds the converted warehouses of the old shipyard district and the Opera House across the water; the eastern edge holds Christiania, the self-declared free town established in a former barracks in 1971.

History

In 1612 Christian IV began an ambitious programme to fortify Copenhagen, and in 1618-1623 he raised earthen embankments with five bastions in the marshy ground between the city and Amager. The idea of a new merchant town arose at the same time, and in 1639 the small merchant and fortress town of Christianshavn was founded on the Dutch model, but Copenhagen proved too strong a competitor and by 1674 it had been incorporated into its larger neighbour. Six more bastions followed in the 1660s and seven more in 1682-1692, the defences were strengthened again in 1779-1791 and 1810-1813, and while the inner city's fortifications were dismantled in the late 19th century, Christianshavn's stayed in use into the 20th, parts opening to the public in the late 1910s and 1920s and the last areas in 1961. They are among the best-preserved 17th-century fortifications in Denmark and now form a park (Wikipedia, Christianshavn).

Highlights

• The central canal - houseboats, wooden craft and low bridges.
• Converted warehouses - merchant storehouses turned into flats.
• The spiral spire above the roofs - the Church of Our Saviour landmark.
• Old ramparts and grid plan - the Dutch-model town layout of the 1600s.

When to go

April to October for sitting on the canal bridges, which is the local habit. Half a day for a walk, longer with a meal. Summer evenings are the liveliest. Winter is quiet but the quarter still works.

Things to know

It is heavily gentrified and expensive. Photography inside Christiania is not permitted in parts of it and the rules should be respected. Bridges and quays get very crowded on warm evenings. Cycling traffic is fast and pedestrians are expected to keep out of the lanes.

Nearby

The Church of Our Saviour is in the quarter; the Opera House is across the water.

Key facts