Nyboder

Christian IV began Nyboder in 1631 to house the crews of the navy and their families, and it is generally reckoned the oldest purpose-built social housing in Denmark, though apart from one row in Sankt Pauls Gade the houses standing today were built from 1757. The plan is a grid of long low terraces in ochre yellow with red tile roofs and white-painted doors and window frames, Christian IV's rows single-storey, some raised by a storey in 1771, and the later rows built with two, laid out along straight streets with small gardens. Sankt Pauls Gade holds the oldest surviving row, largely unaltered. The houses are still lived in, mostly by defence personnel, so this is a residential quarter and not a museum, though one house is kept as a museum showing how a naval family lived in a two-room dwelling.

History

As Christian IV's navy grew fast, its sailors and their families urgently needed housing, and in 1631 construction of Nyboder began on land the king had acquired outside Copenhagen, laid out around two streets radiating from a planned square that was never built, with rows set at right angles to them; Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger and later Leonhard Blasius assisted, and Christian IV's Nyboder was finished around 1641. It became part of the fortified city in 1647, when the Eastern Gate was moved, and on 16 December 1658 a gunpowder magazine just to the north exploded, damaging or destroying many houses. A guardhouse with a bell to call people out in case of attack or fire, and a jail for troublesome residents, served the quarter. After plans to rehouse naval personnel elsewhere came to nothing, new building began: in 1756 Philip de Lange designed 24 two-storey houses, whose pattern later architects followed, and in 1771 some of Christian IV's rows gained an extra storey. Apart from one row in Sankt Pauls Gade, the Nyboder seen today dates from 1757 on, and its houses were originally red and white rather than the yellow now named after them (Wikipedia, Nyboder).

The main sights

• Ochre terraces in a grid - long low rows with red tiles and white frames.
• Sankt Pauls Gade - the oldest surviving row, largely unaltered.
• The museum house - one dwelling kept as a naval family lived in it.
• A quarter still occupied - housing rather than a preserved set piece.

When to go

Year round. One hour to walk the streets. The museum house keeps limited hours, generally a few afternoons a week, so check before relying on it. Morning light down the straight streets is best for photographs.

What to expect

People live here and the quarter is not an attraction; keep to the streets and do not photograph into windows. There is very little to do beyond walking and looking. The museum house is small and often closed. No facilities.

Nearby

Kastellet is east; Rosenborg and the King's Garden lie south-west.

Key facts