Dyrehavsbakken

Visit Copenhagen - It’s Chic, It’s Exciting

Copenhagen, the premier capital of Northern Europe, is Scandinavia's most fantastic city and the centre of the most dynamic region in Europe, the Øresund Region. The city is one of Europe's oldest capitals with a royal touch - the monarchy in Denmark is the oldest in the world!

A slogan for new houses “There's something modern in the state of Denmark”, a paraphrase on the well-known Shakespearian quote from Hamlet, somehow encapsulates the spirit of the youthful dynamism present in Copenhagen. Discover it, mirrored in the walls of Black Diamond, but pay also attention to all those historical architectural pearls such as the Royal Castle Amalienborg, and our special favorite the - Church of Our Saviour.

Copenhagen is so bursting with exciting attractions, we can not list them all here, but click with the mouse on the map to learn more about the specific area.

Alternatively, you can also select specific attractions and sights in Copenhagen, or see what happens in Copenhagen now, or search for a specific company or business or shop or Restaurants in Copenhagen

Tivoli is Copenhagen's Pride and Joy

Smiling Denmark

It’s official: Denmark is the world’s most contented country. The diminutive nation tops most happiness studies with Scandinavian reliability. It’s easy to see why: standards of living are sky-high. Transport runs on time; summer houses on the beach are the norm (there’s an abundance of sandy shores); cycle paths thread through the cities, forests, dales and wetlands; restaurants in Denmark serve up some of world’s best (and freshest) grub. Cafe-cruise in laid-back Copenhagen, Copenhagen restaurant Noma has been named the best restaurant in the world. Book your table at Noma. canoe the fjords of North Jutland or hire a bike to tackle the 11 national cycle routes, and find out what they’re smiling about.
June to August boasts good weather and many open-air festivals; Roskilde (www.roskilde-festival.dk), the biggest, is in early July.

The Royal Library Copenhagen

Copenhagen has many public libraries covering and specializing in many different subjects like science, physics, music and e.g. special collections. The Royal Library has today four sites, but the main building is the one with the new section called The Black Diamond.

The Royal Library Copenhagen

The Royal Library was founded by King Frederik III in 1648. The king was a real book-worm and required four private libraries. In 1793 the library was opened to the public, and in 1906 the present main building on the Isle of Slotsholmen was inaugurated.

Since 1989 the Royal Library Copenhagen and the University Library, founded in 1482, have merged into one institution.

The Black Diamond Copenhagen

Amalienborg Castle Copenhagen

As the capital of the oldest kingdom in the world, royal Copenhagen has many interesting landmarks and architectural master-pieces reminding us of Danish history so intimately associated with the Danish throne and the royal family.
Right in the centre of the city you'll find four royal palaces of which Amalienborg Copenhagen is the residence of Queen Margrethe ll.

Amalienborg Copenhagen

Amalienborg Palace Copenhagen is the residence of Queen Margrethe, her husband prince Henrik and her son the crown prince Frederik. Actually the royal palace is not one, but four different palaces flanking a square.

The four palaces wear built by four noble families in the middle of the 18th century on direct orders by the king Frederik V. The King needed a new royal palace but he didn't want to pay. The four families were given tax immunity for 40 years as token for their services to the crown.

In 1794 the royal family moved into the four palaces around the square which is considered to be one of the great architectural masterpieces in Europe. The statue in the middle of the square was sculptured by the French artist Saly.

Every day at noon you can watch the change of guards in the court-yard. When the Queen is at home she flies her colours with her royal coat of arms.

Vor Frelsers Kirke Copenhagen

As the religious centre of Denmark, Copenhagen has quite a few churches which are architectural masterpieces. At least three of them are worth a closer look:
The Church of our Saviour Vor Frelsers Kirke Copenhagen 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 Copenhagen

Every Danish sailor who ever stood on a deck knows that the waters of Øresund used to be full of Mermaids. According to a legend, the home of all Mermaids was Mermaid Banks in Øresund - the very same place where today the Copenhagen's most famous attraction - Little Mermaid - sits on a rock.

The inspiration

 The sculpture ( Danish: Den lille havfrue) was commissioned in 1909 by the Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen, impressed by a ballet "The little Mermaid" based on a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. The sculptor Edward Eriksen sculptured the mermaid in bronze, using his wife Eline as a model for the body. The head was modelled after a primaballerina Ellen Price.

Be prepared: The Little Mermaid is really little - the city's attraction #1 is only 1.25 metres/4 feet high.

The fairy tale
The fairy tale is a tragic story of a mermaid, the youngest daughter of a sea king, who wants her soul to have an eternal life, like humans have. Mermaids live only 300 years, and then they turn into sea foam. The Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid has been sitting on her rock since 1913, so she still has some more years to go…

The Little Mermaid is on tour
The Little Mermaid became a symbol for Copenhagen, and attracts almost one million tourists every year. However, in summer 2010, it is to Shanghai where all tourists should go, if they want to see The Little Mermaid. The statue, that has had quite turbulent life on its rock – over the years, it has been abused, defaced and painted pink – has gone on a trip in order to make an appearance during the world exposition EXPO 2010.

The Gefion Fountain Copenhagen

The Gefion Fountain (Gefionspringvandet) is the largest monument in Copenhagen. The fountain is to Copenhagen what  the Fontana di Trevi is to Rome, a wishing-well. The goddess Gefion is the fountain’s main figure.
The fountain was donated to the city of Copenhagen by the Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the brewery’s 50-year anniversary. The artist, Anders Bundgård, sculpted these huge naturalistic figures in 1897-99, and the fountain was inaugurated in 1908.
The fountain is situated at the end of Amaliegade, near the Kastellet.

The legend of Gefion
Long before the dawn of our civilizations the powerful goddess Gefion was given land by the Swedish king Gylfe. Well, not really given for nothing but involving hard work. King Gylfe told Gefion that she could plough up as much land as she could for one night and one day and it would all be hers to do with whatever she wanted.
Gefion turned her four sons into big strong oxen and plough they did! When time expired she put all the earth into the Øresund and created Zealand, the very island where Copenhagen is situated today.

The big hole which Gefion left in the ground, when her ploughing was done, is now the lake Vänern, north of Gothenburg, in Sweden. And if you don’t believe it just look at a map and you’ll find that Zealand and Vänern are shaped alike.

The Museum of Modern Art, Arken

Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst  The Museum of Modern Art, Arken, Copenhagen / Ishøj, seems like a stranded ship which has been thrown out on the beach by a giant hand. The young Danish architect, Søren Robert Lund, has designed the building; the architecture is dramatic, with odd angles, sudden staircases and large windows looking out on the beach.

The museum is quite young (inauguration in 1996), and since January 2008 har also a permanent exhibition, that includes the unique Damien Hirst room, with ten works by this world-renowned artist.

The permanent collection, comprising about 300 works of art, focuses on the post-war period, especially the period after 1990. The special interest is put in Danish, Nordic and international art.

Arken's beautiful café offers the visitor a fantastic view out the sound. The sandy beaches nearby truly invite for a bath in Køge bay, so bring your swimsuit.

Address: Strandparken Ishøj; Skovvej 100. S-train till Ishøj (25-minutes) from the central station. Then bus No. 128
Open: Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Wednesday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m., Monday closed.

www.arken.dk

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 Copenhagen V

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

Bakken - one of the most popular attractions in Denmark

Bakken - Copenhagen Denmark / Dyrehavsbakken is presumably the oldest amusement park in the world. It's thanks to a woman, a Ms. Kirsten Piil that Dyrehavsbakken, Bakken for short, is at all.
In 1583 Kirsten Piil found a spring right here. People came from far and near, and where there are people there are jesters.
And that's how it all begun.

Rides, games and competitions, restaurants, dance and live music. Bakken the fun fair has everything any grown-up or kid could ever want from a place like this. It's tradition, it's joy, and it's laughter. In the centre of it all stands Pjerrot, the classic jester who entered the scene already in 1800.

Dyrehaven - The Royal Deer Park

But it's thanks to the royal family that Dyrehavsbakken with its amusement park also is a recreation area. In 1669 the king decided to establish his royal hunting-grounds right here.
Today, there are still some 2000 deer and bucks descendants from that very same royal stock. If you happen to be here in the beginning of November, the Hubertus hunt is held right here.

Location:
Bakken is situated north of the city, on the south edge of Dyrehaven. The nearest S-train station is Klampenborg. 25 min from central Copenhagen.
Free entrance.
Open from March until the end of August.

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 was founded by the visionary brewer J.C. Jacobsen in 1847, and named after Jacobsen’s son, Carl. Jacobsen not only pioneered steam brewing and single yeast strain, but immensely contributed to cultural and social life in Denmark. He involved himself in numerous projects like reconstructing Frederiksberg Castle or founding the Botanical Garden of Copenhagen, and Danish Museum of Art and Design.

His son Carl Jacobsen continued his path: he donated The Little Mermaid to the city, and he founded Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, today one of the finest museums in Denmark. The Gefion Fountain was erected on occasion of Carlsberg’s 50th birthday, and partly financed by the Carlsberg Foundation.

The brewery
The Carlsberg Visitors Centre attracts around 150,000 visitors every year. Visitors can learn about the brewing process, taste the bear in the Bar and Brewhouse, enjoy the collection of over 18,000 beer bottles from all over the world, and visit the stables with the "brewery horses".

The Visitos Centre is located in Valby (about 3,5 km from the central Station), in the 19th century building of the brewery, one of the finest examples of late classical industrial architecture in Denmark.

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

Bus # 18 or 26

The Bridge to Sweden Øresundsbroen

The Øresund Bridge (Øresundsbroen), which opened up for traffic in July 2000 is unique since it connects two countries, Denmark and Sweden.

For more than a houndred years the two countries planned a fixed link between Malmø and Copenhagen but one obstacle after another graveled the plans, until now. The bridge is a combined bridge and tunnel and one of the largest constructions in Europe with its 8 kilometre bridge, 4 kilometres artificially made island, called Pepparholmen, and a 4 kilometres long tunnel.

The Øresund Region is one of today's most important and dynamic areas in Europe in terms of growth and environment. There are roughly 3.5 million people living within a radius of about 100 km.

You can cross the bridge by car or take the Øresund-train to the former Danish town Malmø. You will be there in less than 20 minutes!

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.

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.

One could say that Christiania is an alternative society within society, which also means that the darker sides of modern life are represented. Some parents advise their teenage children not to go there after dark, and tourists are advised not to take photos in Pusher Street.

Art everywhere in Christiania

The freetown in the heart of Copenhagen has always been known for its human diversity, but also that the independent community was a place where hash was sold openly on Pusher Street; but in 2004 the Danish government succeeded in closing the permanent stands. Christiania has been described as a life surrounded by art. There is art everywhere.

Human diversity makes the freetown so special

Many of the houses, which have been built by the present or previous inhabitants and which nobody owns, are works of art in themselves. Everywhere you go in Christiania there are paintings and sculptures, and there is always live music or theatre playing somewhere. The art and the human diversity of Christiania are what make Christiania so special. and it is definitely worthwhile a visit.

Read more about Christiania