Dyrehavsbakken

Bakken, at Klampenborg north of Copenhagen, is the oldest operating amusement park in the world, running since 1583, a cheerfully old-fashioned free-to-enter funfair set within a royal deer park. Its historic wooden rollercoaster, games and beer gardens sit among ancient oaks where herds of deer roam freely just beyond.

History

The crowds that came to Kirsten Piil's spring from 1583 - many believed its water could heal - drew entertainers and hawkers, and those are the park's beginnings. The ground became a royal hunting park, and the public was kept out until 1756; once it reopened, entertainers, traders and innkeepers came back, among them the clown Pjerrot, still a fixture today. Steamships from 1820 and the railway from 1864 brought more visitors, and as conditions worsened with the crowds, the stallholders founded the Dyrehavsbakken Tent Owners' Association in 1885, which improved rubbish collection, toilets and water and helped bring electricity; every business in the park still has to join it. The cabarets Sansouci (1866) and Bakkens Hvile (1877) were early favourites (Wikipedia, Dyrehavsbakken).

Background

Bakken traces its start to 1583, when Kirsten Piil found a natural spring in what is now Dyrehaven, about 10 km north of central Copenhagen. King Frederick III set up an animal park here in 1669, the area was named Jægersborg Dyrehave in 1671, and the public was let in from 1756 under Frederick V. The cabarets Sansouci and Bakkens Hvile opened in 1866 and 1877, and in 1885 the stall holders, still called tent owners, formed their own association. Today the park covers 75,000 sq m, with 33 rides and five roller coasters, among them Rutschebanen, a wooden coaster open since 1932, and it draws 2.5-2.9 million visitors a year.

Source: Wikipedia, "Dyrehavsbakken"

The main sights

• The historic funfair - the old-fashioned rides, games and a wooden coaster.
• Free entry - the park you can wander in and pay only for rides.
• Dyrehaven deer park - the royal park of ancient oaks and roaming deer around it.
• The beer gardens - the traditional restaurants and cheerful atmosphere.

When to go

The summer season from spring to autumn, when the funfair is open; the deer park around it is a lovely walk year-round. Weekends are lively.

Things to know

It is an old-fashioned, unpretentious funfair rather than a modern mega-park, which is its charm. It is seasonal for the rides, though the deer park is always open. Free entry is generous, with rides paid separately.

Nearby

The Dyrehaven deer park and its hunting lodge are around; the Bellevue beach is nearby.

Key facts