Nordre Toldbod

Last updated April 28, 2019

Nordre Toldbod is a waterfront area in Copenhagen, Denmark, located at the north end of Larsens Plads and just south of Kastellet. It takes its name after the custom house or toldbod which used to be located in the area. Most of the historic buildings in the area were torn down in 1973 when the site was redeveloped but its central waterfront space has remained intact and features a number of structures which bear testament to its former use. Among the modern buildings in the area are the headquarters of Mærsk and the Danish Energy Agency. The area is adjacent to Churchill and Langelinie Parks.

Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. As of July 2018, the city has a population of 777,218. It forms the core of the wider urban area of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen metropolitan area. Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Nordic country and the southernmost of the Scandinavian nations. Denmark lies southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and is bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, Funen and the North Jutlandic Island. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. Denmark has a total area of 42,924 km² (16,573 sq mi), land area of 42,394 km² (16,368 sq mi), and the total area including Greenland and the Faroe Islands is 2,210,579 km² (853,509 sq mi), and a population of 5.8 million.

Larsens Plads is a waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs along the Zealand side of the main harbour from the Nyhavn canal in the south to the Nordre Toldbod area just south of Langelinie to the north. The name refers to a shipyard which used to occupy the grounds but is now more associated with emigration to America after it became a major hub for trans-Atlantic traffic later in the century. It is dominated by Amalienborg Palace with the Amalie Garden and a number of late 18th-century warehouses which has been converted to other uses. The buildings facing the waterfront have their address on the parallel street Toldbodgade.

History

The Custom House

In Copenhagen, customs duties have been collected from ships since the 13th century. In 1617, the Royal Anchor Forge came into use as a custom house but when the king's grand plans for St. Ann's Rotunda, a monumental naval development, were abandoned and it was decided to convert the Anchor Forge to a naval church in its place, now the Church of Holmen, the custom house was moved to the other side of the harbour where it found a temporary home in a 10-bay building at Christianshavn. In 1628, it was moved back across the harbour where a new custom house had been constructed on a filled site north of the city. The entrance to the harbour was blocked with a barrier at night which marked the boundary between the northern and southern custom house areas.^[1]

The Church of Holmen is a Parish church in central Copenhagen in Denmark, on the street called Holmens Kanal. First built as an anchor forge in 1563, it was converted into a naval church by Christian IV. It is famous for having hosted the wedding between Margrethe II of Denmark, current queen of Denmark, and Prince Henrik in 1967. It is the burial site of such notabilities as naval heroes Niels Juel and Peter Tordenskjold, and composer Niels Wilhelm Gade, and contains artwork by, among others, Bertel Thorvaldsen and Karel van Mander.

Christianshavn is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of the city centre by the Inner Harbour. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen. Originally, it was laid out as an independent privileged merchant's town with inspiration from Dutch cities but it was soon incorporated into Copenhagen proper. Dominated by canals, it is the part of Copenhagen with the most nautical atmosphere.

King Christian VI ordered the construction of a new custom house which was completed on the same site in 1734 to a Baroque design by Johan Cornelius Krieger.

Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of King Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, but he was a skilled politician, best known for his authoritarian regime. He was the first king of the Oldenburg dynasty to refrain from entering in any war. He was married to Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and was the father of Frederick V. His chosen motto was "deo et populo".

Baroque architecture is the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late 16th-century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church. It was characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity. Common features of Baroque architecture included gigantism of proportions; a large open central space where everyone could see the altar; twisting columns, theatrical effects, including light coming from a cupola above; dramatic interior effects created with bronze and gilding; clusters of sculpted angels and other figures high overhead; and an extensive use of trompe-l'oeil, also called "quadratura," with painted architectural details and figures on the walls and ceiling, to increase the dramatic and theatrical effect.

Johan Cornelius Krieger (1683–1755) was a Danish architect and landscape architect, who from the 1720s served as both the country's chief architect, and head of the royal gardens.

Royal Reception Quay

The quay at Nordre Toldbod also served as the place where foreign monarchs and other peers were received when they arrived at Copenhagen by ship. It was also the place where the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen was received, with great festivity, on 17 September 1838, when he returned home after four decades in Rome.

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish sculptor of international fame and medallist, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Danish Academy of Art when he was eleven years old. Working part-time with his father, who was a wood carver, Thorvaldsen won many honors and medals at the academy. He was awarded a stipend to travel to Rome and continue his education.

Events from the year 1838 in Denmark.

Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km² (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Late 19th-century change

The last decades of the 19th century brought change to the area. A new building for the Port Authority was built in 1868 to a design by Vilhelm Dahlerup and Frederik Bøttger, and a new custom house designed by Vilhelm Petersen was built a little further south between 1872 and 1875. The new Free Port was inaugurated just north of Kastellet in 1884. Christian VI's custom house at the boundary between Søndre and Nordre Toldbod was torn down in 1891 to make way for a new warehouse for goods in transit, the Frilagerbygningen building.

Jens Vilhelm Dahlerup was a Danish architect who specialized in the Historicist style. One of the most productive and noted Danish architects of the 19th century, he is behind many of the most known buildings and landmarks of his time and has more than any other single architect contributed to the way Copenhagen appears today.

Vilhelm Valdemar Petersen was a Danish architect who became Royal Building Inspector from 1892 until his death. He was the father of architect Knud Arne Petersen.

The Free Port of Copenhagen is a bonded area in the northern part of Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark. Created to consolidate Copenhagen's position as an important maritime hub in Northern Europe, it was established in the area just north of the fortress Kastellet and later expanded northwards several times. The original grounds, now known as Søndre Frihavn, has since been released for other uses. It comprised Amerika Plads, a modern mixed-use development, America Quay, India Quay, Langelinie and Marble Pier, the four quays which bounded the harbour, and Midtermolen, a pier which divides it into an east and west basin.

Recent history

In 1973 the majority of the buildings in the area were torn down. Most of the land was sold to A. P. Møller-Mærsk which built a new head office designed by Ole Hagen on the corner of Nordre Toldbod and Esplanaden between 1974 and 1979. To the south of that, a new building for the Customs Department (Danish: Toldvæsenet) was constructed to a design by Niels and Eva Koppel. The latter has later been taken over by the Danish Energy Agency.

Eva Koppel née Ditlevsen was a Danish architect who together with her husband Nils ran one of Denmark's largest architectural firms.

The Danish Energy Agency was established in 1975 as an agency of the Danish Ministry of Transport and was in 2007 transferred to the newly created Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy The agency is headquartered in 44 Amaliegade.

Buildings and features

Port Authority Building

Vilhelm Dahlerup's building from 1868 for the Port Authority marks the western boundary of the quayside space at Nordre Toldbod. The design was inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture and the building originally consisted of two stories with a small one-story appendix topped by a balustrade on each side. The original building was extended with an extra floor by Einar Madvig and now consists of a three-story main building with two low lateral wings in 1939, and a rear wing was added in 1901. The building is now the head office of By & Havn.

Main entrance

Located just south of the Port Authority Building, the former main entrance to the Nordre Toldbod area is a gate with gate pillars topped by lions. Just inside the gate, the access road passes between two long one-story buildings with 8-arch arcades facing the traffic. They were designed by Gustav Friedrich Hetsch and built in 1856.

Langelinie Gate and rough iron grill

The north side of the Port Authority's building connects to a rough iron fence which defines the northern boundary of the space. It is the only surviving section of the fence that used to surround the Freeport. The fence opens through a gate toward Langelinie. The gate pillars double as guardhouses and they are topped by two zinc statues depicting Neptune and Mercury.

Royal pavilions

The two small pavilions on the quay in front of the Port Authority Building were built in 1905. It remains unclear who designed them but they are attributed to Osvald Rosendahl Langballe. They are today used when the Royal Family crosses the harbour to board HDMY Dannebrog , the Royal Yacht, which is docked at Holmen.

Dragon street lights

The place where the royal challup lands is also flanked by two street lights topped by dragon figures which hold the fixtures. One of the dragons has red eyes. They were designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup and installed in 1892.

In connection with their design of a master plan for the nearby Amerika Plads area, the architectural practice West 8 created a special street light for the new neighbourhood which is a Cubist reinterpretation of Dahlerup's dragon lights at Nordre Toldbod.^[2]

Gefion Fountain

The Gefion Fountain is located immediately outside the Langelinie Gate and portrays the legendary Norse goddess Gefjun driving a group of oxen, a reference to a legend about the creation of Zealand.

Gefion Bridge

The Gefion Fountain is situated next to the Gefion Bridge, a foot bridge which provides access to Langelinie along an elevated promenade. Designed by Asger Ostenfeld and completed in 1894, it originally spanned the Free Port rail line which connected the Free Port to the custom house, but now appears in a new context after the restoration of Kastellet.

Related Research Articles

The Gefion Fountain is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of animal figures being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie.

Kastellet, located in Copenhagen, Denmark, is one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. It is constructed in the form of a pentagon with bastions at its corners. Kastellet was continuous with the ring of bastioned ramparts which used to encircle Copenhagen but of which only the ramparts of Christianshavn remain today.

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Langelinie is a pier, promenade and park in central Copenhagen, Denmark, and home of The Little Mermaid statue. The area has for centuries been a popular destination for excursions and strolls in Copenhagen. Most cruise ships arriving in Copenhagen also berth at Langelinie Pier.

Holmen is a water-bound neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark, occupying the former grounds of the Royal Naval Base and Dockyards. In spite of its name, deceptively in singular, Holmen is a congregation of small islands, forming a north-eastern extension of Christianshavn between Zealand and the northern tip of Amager.

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Dahlerups Pakhus, originally known as Pakhus 1, is a former Warehouse situated on the west side of the Langelinie Pier, opposite the Middle Pier, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup, from whom it now takes its name, it was built between 1892 and 1893.

This 1728 map of Copenhagen shows the overall layout of Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as the location of important buildings and other features, as it appeared Anno 1728, immediately before the Copenhagen Fire of 1728. The map shown here was published by Oluf Nielsen in 1884 but relies on a map published J. F. Arnoldt in January 1728. The original map can be seen here.

By & Havn or Udviklingsselskabet By & Havn I/S is an organisation, tasked with the development of Ørestad and the port of Copenhagen and the daily operations of the latter, which is done through a subsidiary, Copenhagen Malmö Port. By & Havn is owned by Copenhagen Municipality (55%) and the Danish government, through its ministry of transport (45%). Key areas of the organisation are Ørestad, Nordhavnen, Amerika Plads, Sluseholmen and Teglholmen. Currently the CEO is Jens Kramer Mikkelsen, while Carsten Koch serves as director of the board.

Østbanegade is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Østerport Station on Oslo Plads and continues north along the west side of the railway tracks for about 2 kilometres to Aarhusgade where an underpass connects the street to the other side of the railway line. A second underpass is situated at Nordre Frihavnsgade, just south of Nordhavn station, while a foot and cycle bridge is found at Mandalsgade near the beginning of the street.

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The Langelinie Pavilion is a venue located at the Langelinie waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first Langelinie Pavilion was built in the 1880s but the current building is a Modernist structure from 1958 and was designed by Nils and Eva Koppel. It was listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 12 March 2006. Poul Henningsen's PH Artichoke lamp was designed for the building.

References

↑ "Toldboderne" (in Danish). Gribskov Gymnasium. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
↑ "Dragonlight". West 8. Retrieved 2012-01-10.

External links

Coordinates: 55°41′20″N12°35′56″E / 55.689°N 12.599°E / 55.689; 12.599

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[1] "Toldboderne" (in Danish). Gribskov Gymnasium. Retrieved 2012-01-10.

[2] "Dragonlight". West 8. Retrieved 2012-01-10.