Press Information
January 2010

Christianshavn - Copenhagen's Bohemian Rhapsody

We're talking about Denmark's answer to Amsterdam. Where the trendy hang, where super models strut their stuff, where we ain't impressed by nobody, where you can live without crossing the bridge.

That's how the Danish rapper, Jokeren, describes Christianshavn. And, he has a point.

Once a working-class neighbourhood, today Christianshavn is a trendy part of the city with its own unique personality. Businessmen, artists, yuppies, hippies and traditional families with children live side-by-side among cool cafes, Michelin-starred restaurants and charming 19-century houses along picturesque canals.

Residents here regard themselves first as Christianhavners, and then as Copenhageners. Christianshavn is at once a small town and a big city. And since the opening of the Metro Station at Christianshavns Torv, it has become quick and easy to reach.

Copenhagen's own Amsterdam
Christianshavn begins at the Knippels Bridge, its connection to the heart of the city, and is bordered by ramparts on all sides. Christian IV - the Danish king that transformed Copenhagen from an insignificant town to Denmark's pre-eminent capital and port - founded the quarter in 1619 with help from Dutch architects.

Many of the industrial workshops and trading houses in Christianshavn are built in the Dutch style with the gables facing the quay. This distinctive building style that originated in major Dutch trading cities such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam enabled traders to easily move their goods. On the gables, you can still see the remains of cranes, pulleys and hoisting devices that were used to load and unload products for transport and shipping.

Some of the most atmospheric streets in Christianshavn are those that run along the canal. Christianshavn's Canal functions as a community garden park for the residents from the adjoining streets. Locals stroll here with their sweethearts or dogs, sit with their coffee thermoses or beer - and, on warm summer evenings enjoy dinner outdoors. Pleasure boats of all types are moored here, and a canal boat tour is highly recommended.

On Strandgade, you can still experience the charming 17th century renaissance houses and magnificent merchant courtyards. At number 32, you will find perhaps the oldest building in Christianshavn, which dates back to 1624. Since the fledgling days of the first courtyards in Strandgade, the area has flourished. The newest addition to the quarter's waterfront is an office building designed by the famous Danish architect, Henning Larsen.

Meet the locals
On Wildersgade, you will find several inviting local pubs. Café Wilder is a charming mix of the old Christianshavn and an eclectic group of regulars. The kitchen's menu is so limited that it can all be listed on a little chalkboard, but the quality is rather high. This is also the place where you will get Christianshavn's undisputed best cup of coffee. The owner, Birgitte, has lived in Italy and is passionate about the quality of the coffee served there.

A pub where there is a good chance to have a chat with the locals is Eiffel Bar, Christianshavn's oldest pub. Here you can meet a wide variety of Christianshavn's colourful residents: young students, business people, and Christianites - as the occupants of Christiania are called.

Fingerbøllet (The Thimble) is another real Christianshavner pub where the locals come to play billiard and drink a beer. At Fingerbøllet, not only can you hear live rock and jazz, but also enjoy your favourite sports programming on large screen television, try your luck at dice or backgammon or even play the piano and guitar.

Directly on the canal is Bådudlejningens restaurant and cafe. Here you can watch the canal tours and other boats sail by while you enjoy your coffee or beer to a serenade of churning water. Or, you can rent a rowboat and take a trip down the canal. In the evenings, all that is good from the grill is served under open skies. This is a regular haunt for many locals, but residents from all over the city come here as well to enjoy Christianhavn's unique atmosphere and summer concerts.

Stroll through Christianshavn
Just past Christianhavns Torv, a large open square, and to the left on Prinsessegade is Christiania. One of Copenhagen's most popular attractions, more than one million tourists visit Christiania each year. Formerly an abandoned military compound, Christiania was occupied by a band of radical artists and intellectuals in 1970. They claimed it as a kind of independent state within Denmark with its own rules and regulations.
Please see separate press feature on Christiania at www.visitcopenhagen.com/press.

The ramparts
Enclosing the whole district of Christianshavn is a fortification system of ramparts and moats dating back to the late 1600’s. These are in remarkably fine condition and on two of the bastions the Frederiks Bastion and Carls Bastion the buildings were formerly used as gunpowder keeps. To day they are used for intimate concerts, art exhibitions and there is a small café where you can take in a light refreshment after a stroll along the fortification. During the summertime the Netto boats from downtown Copenhagen make one of their stops here.

Christianshavn is also the gateway to the new Opera House and Holmen. Denmark's new Opera House, built with funds donated by Danish shipping magnate A.P. Møller, opened in January 2005. Architect Henning Larsen, who is also responsible for the Nordea building's new addition on the waterfront to the right of the Knippels Bridge, designed it. If opera is not quite your style, it is still worth your while to see this stunning architectural gem up close and enjoy a cup of coffee or lunch in the cafe.

A trip to Holmen to see the many restored warehouses, military barracks and canon boat houses that date back to 1808 should definitely be on the agenda. Holmen is also home to many of the city's creative educational institutions: The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, The National Film School of Denmark, The Danish National School of Theatre and the RMC (Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium).

Christianshavn's Cuisine
In Christianshavn you will find restaurants at different price levels serving a variety of culinary delights.

Overlooking the canal is Era Ora - the only Italian restaurant in Northern Europe that can proudly lay claim to a coveted Michelin star. Close attention is paid to details here, and the finest ingredients are flown in weekly from Umbria in Italy. The Italian family behind Era Ora also owns L'Altro, located on Torvegade. The food is rooted in the Italian county kitchen, and the chefs, waiters, ingredients, recipes, wine and decor are 100% Italian.

Further out in Christianshavn, located in the old mill on the ramparts, is Bastionen & Løven. This is an extremely popular place for brunch on the weekends because of its lavish buffet. It would be a good idea to make a reservation ahead of time in order to be sure of getting a table.

Set back away from traffic and noise in an old boathouse is Restaurant Kanalen, one of the best places to eat in Copenhagen. The lunch menu features traditional Danish cuisine, but the dinner menu is inspired by the Mediterranean. During the summer months, enjoy your meal outdoors on the terrace and in the winter, inside where there is a cosy fireplace.

If you continue on Strandgade to Wilders Plads, you'll come to a large, newly renovated warehouse, Nordatlantens Brygge, which was used in the 1700s to store Greenlandic goods such as dried fish, seal skins and mountains of whale meat. This warehouse is home to Restaurant Noma, a Nordic two Michelin Star restaurant where traditional Nordic ingredients and cooking methods are inspired by innovative and gastronomic ways of thinking. Here they smoke, salt, pickle, dry, fry and bake on basalt stones. They also make their own vinegar and mix their own schnapps. Fresh ingredients are flown in from Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland several times a week.

On the right side of Overgade Oven Vandet is Sofiekælderen, which in 2006 came under new management and has been transformed from a classic Christianshavn pub into a modern cafe that serves lunch (often open-faced sandwiches) and dinner. Friday and Saturday nights from 22.00 there are professional DJs and a wide selection of foreign beers in the bar. Every Sunday afternoon the legendary ‘Sofies jazz Club' organizes jazz concerts with an array of professional artists.

Sights and attractions
A visit to The Church of Our Saviour from 1696 is a must while in Christianshavn. The church's famous tower and gold steeple can be seen glistening high above the city's rooftops. Ever since the steeple’s inauguration in 1752, it has been extremely popular to climb the 400 steps up to the top. The exterior areas of the steeple are accessible from April to October.

To the right on Strandgade, right after the Knippels Bridge, is Christian's Church. It was built in the 1750s on the initiative of the German parishioners in Christianshavn. Royal master builder, Nicolai Eigtved, designed the church and its shapes reminds one of The Royal Theatre that Eigtved designed in 1748.

The old warehouse Gammeldok, which has a front row seat on Copenhagen's harbour, is home to the Danish Architecture Center. Each year, 5-10 exhibitions on Danish and foreign architecture can been seen here. Conferences, lectures and guided tours are held in connection with exhibitions. Close by is Overgaden - Institute of Contemporary Art where you will encounter changing modern art exhibits which are often controversial and subject to debate.

The B&W Museum is located in another restored warehouse from 1789 on Strandgade. The museum shows the historic development of ships, steam engines and diesel motors. There are many model ships and motors on display.

Situated facing the canal are Holmen's beautiful arsenal building from the mid-1700s and Søkvæsthuset (Holmens hospital or infirmary). The Naval Museum, tracking the Danish Navy's development from 1650, is also located on the canal. The museum boasts an impressive collection of original model ships and models of machinery and instruments that have been produced and used by the naval shipyard or by the navy's installation in Copenhagen over the last 300 years.

Lille Mølle is the last remaining mill on the Christianshavn ramparts located between Torvegade and Bådmandsstræde - today a museum. It is a Dutch windmill built in 1783 together with the present miller residence, which currently houses the restaurant Bastionen & Løven. The original romantic and Germanic style décor has been preserved.

Restaurants, museums and picturesque surroundings - Christianshavn has it all.

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