Copenhagen is a green city well endowed with open spaces. It has an extensive and well-distributed system of parks that act as venues for a wide array of events and urban life. As a supplement to the regular parks, there are a number of congenial public gardens and some cemeteries doubling as parks. It is official municipal policy in Copenhagen that all citizens by 2015 must be able to reach a park or beach on foot in less than 15 minutes. [1]
King's Garden ( 55°41′07″N12°34′48″E / 55.6852°N 12.5799°E ), the garden of Rosenborg Castle, is the oldest and most visited park in Copenhagen. [2] Its landscaping was commenced by Christian IV in 1606. Every year it sees more than 2.5 million visitors, [3] and in the summer months it is packed with sunbathers, picknickers and ballplayers. It also serves as a sculpture garden with a permanent display of sculptures as well as temporary exhibits during summer. [4] Just north of King's Garden a series of parks make up a green strand running right through the centre of the city. These are constructed on the old ramparts of the city and include Østre Anlæg ( 55°41′26″N12°34′53″E / 55.6906°N 12.5813°E ) and Ørsted Park ( 55°40′52″N12°33′59″E / 55.6811°N 12.5663°E ), as well as the Botanical Garden ( 55°41′12″N12°34′25″E / 55.6867°N 12.5736°E ), which is particularly noted for a large complex of 19th-century greenhouses donated by Carlsberg founder J. C. Jacobsen. [5]
Fælledparken ( 55°42′08″N12°34′02″E / 55.7023°N 12.5672°E ) in the northern part of the city is, at 58 hectares, the largest park in Copenhagen. [6] It is popular for sports and hosts an array of annual events, including a free opera concert at the opening of the opera season, other open-air concerts, carnival, Labour Day celebrations and the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, which is a race for antique cars. Another popular park is the Frederiksberg Gardens ( 55°40′31″N12°31′33″E / 55.6754°N 12.5257°E ), which is a 32-hectare romantic landscape park. It houses a large colony of very tame grey herons along with other waterfowl. The park also offers views of the elephants and the elephant house, designed by the world-famous British architect Norman Foster, at the adjacent Copenhagen Zoo.
Some of Copenhagen's newer parks draw from their position by the water. Havneparken ( 55°39′59″N12°34′31″E / 55.6663°N 12.5754°E ), established in 1995, covers 2.8 hectares of dockland in the Islands Brygge neighbourhood and has a bandstand roofed by an upside-down old wooden ship, as well as the first of Copenhagen's harbour baths. Amager Beach Park ( 55°39′24″N12°38′28″E / 55.6566°N 12.6411°E ) was founded in 1934, but in 2005 a 2.4-kilometre-long artificial island was added, separated from the original beach by a lagoon crossed by three bridges. [7]
It is official municipal policy in Copenhagen that all citizens by 2015 must be able to reach a park or beach on foot in less than 15 minutes. [8] In line with this policy, several new parks are under development in areas poor in green spaces. [9] [10] One of those recently completed is Superkilen, an innovative park for the ethnic inhabitants of the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. [11]
Besides the regular parks, a number of gardens open to the general public serve as important green spaces in central Copenhagen. These include:
Characteristic of Copenhagen is that a number of cemeteries double as parks, though only for the more quiet activities such as sunbathing, reading and meditation. [13] Assistens Cemetery ( 55°41′28″N12°32′59″E / 55.6912°N 12.5497°E ), the burial place of Hans Christian Andersen among others, is an important green space for the district of Inner Nørrebro and a Copenhagen institution. The lesser-known Vestre Cemetery ( 55°39′28″N12°31′46″E / 55.6578°N 12.5294°E ) is, at 54 hectares, the largest cemetery in Denmark [14] and offers a maze of dense groves, open lawns, winding paths, hedges, overgrown tombs, monuments, tree-lined avenues, lakes and other garden features.
Copenhagen Municipality is developing a system of interconnected green bicycle routes, Greenways, with the aim to facilitate fast, safe and pleasant bicycle transport from one end of the city to the other. The network will cover more than 100 kilometres and consist of 22 routes when finished. [15]
Some open spaces on the outskirts of Copenhagen have a more informal and semi-natural character, having originally been countryside areas protected against surrounding urbanisation. They include:
Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. As of 1 January 2022, the city had a population of 805,402. 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 portion of the city is located on Amager, and it is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.
Indre Østerbro, is one of the 15 administrative, statistical, and tax city districts ("bydele") comprising the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the eastern edge of the municipality. It covers an area of 6.76 km², has a population of 46,095 and a population density of 6,817 per km².
Vesterbro is one of the 15 administrative, statistical, and city tax districts (bydele) comprising the municipality of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 3.76 km², and has a population of 51,466 and a population density of 13,688 per km².
Kongens Enghave, commonly known as Sydhavnen or the postal district of 2450 Copenhagen SV (southwest) is a district in southern Copenhagen. While its core is a largely pre-WWII former working class district, it also contains an upscale residential area along the harbour having been developed after 2000, scattered industrial areas, large parks such as Valbyparken and Sydhavnstippen, allotment gardens and parts of Vestre Kirkegård, the city's largest cemetery.
Valby (help·info) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single-family houses and allotments, plus the remaining part of the old Valby village, around which the district has formed, intermingled with past and present industrial sites.
Vanløse is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the western border of the municipality. Vanløse covers an area of 6.69 km², and has a population of 36,115, making Vanløse the smallest district of Copenhagen, by population.
Brønshøj-Husum is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The district is bisected by Frederikssundsvej and consists mainly of vast areas of single family detached homes. It lies on the northwest border of the municipality. It covers an area of 8.73 km², has a population of 39,588. The district, now a quiet suburban area, has developed around the two old villages of Brønshøj and Husum.
Østerbro is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day Østerport Station. From the beginning, Østerbro has been a wealthy district, and it remains one of the most affluent areas in Copenhagen.
Vestre Cemetery is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark.
The park Fælledparken in Copenhagen, Denmark, was created 1906–1914 by landscape architect Edvard Glæsel in cooperation with the Copenhagen Municipality on the commons previously named Nørrefælled and Østerfælled. Fælledparken is located in the eastern part of Copenhagen called Østerbro.
Copenhagen Municipality, also known in English as the Municipality of Copenhagen, located in the Capital Region of Denmark, is the largest of the four municipalities that constitute the City of Copenhagen, the other three being Dragør, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby. The Municipality of Copenhagen constitutes the historical city centre and the majority of its landmarks. It is the most populous in the country with a population of 647,339 inhabitants, and covers 86.4 square kilometres (33.4 sq mi) in area,. Copenhagen Municipality is located at the Zealand and Amager islands and totally surrounds Frederiksberg Municipality on all sides. The strait of Øresund lies to the east. The city of Copenhagen has grown far beyond the municipal boundaries from 1901, when Frederiksberg Municipality was made an enclave within Copenhagen Municipality. Frederiksberg has the largest population density of the municipalities of Denmark.
The Copenhagen Harbour Baths are a system of recreational bathing facilities along the waterfront of Copenhagen, Denmark. There are currently four harbour baths, the first and best-known of which is located at Islands Brygge.
Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The district has an area of 8.22 km² and a population of 53,351.
Amager Øst is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It encompasses the part of Copenhagen located on the island of Amager, east of the major shopping street Amagerbrogade.Prior to an administrative reform in 2006–08, the district was known as Sundbyøster.
The Fortification Ring in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a collective name used to refer to the grounds where the city's old 17th-century fortifications used to lie, now surrounding the City Centre. Since the fortifications were decommissioned in 1870, the Fortification Ring has been dominated by a number of parks and distinctive greenspaces and it is still maintained and developed as a green belt within the city limits, running between the city centre and the -bro districts. The ramparts, bastions and moats of the former fortifications are still clearly seen in the topography. At Christianshavn and the citadel Kastellet, the fortifications have been preserved and remain intact.
The Stork Fountain is located on Amagertorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a present to Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Louise in connection with their silver wedding anniversary in 1894. It depicts three storks about to set off.
The Royal Library Garden, often referred to simply as the Library Garden, is a small, somewhat hidden garden between the Royal Library, the Tøjhus Museum, ChristianIV's Supply Depot and Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It has a reputation for being one of the most tranquil spots in the city centre.
Nordvest or The North West Block is an area in Denmark's Copenhagen municipality. It is located in the southwestern part of the Bispebjerg district. Although there are no clear borders nor any official demarcation, it is broadly recognized as the area covered mostly by the Danish postal code 2400 København NV, although some areas lie outside this postal code. As of 2005, 44,177 people resided in the area.
The City Campus is one of the University of Copenhagen's four campuses in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is home to the Faculty of Social Sciences and parts of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and the Faculty of Science. The main campus area, the Center for Health and Society, is situated on Øster Farimagsgade, across the street from the University's Botanical Garden, which is also part of the campus area. The City Campus also comprises a building on Øster Voldgade and the university headquarters on Frue Plads.
Copenhagen Skatepark, also referred to as CPH Skatepark, is an indoor skateboarding venue located at Enghavevej in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen Skatepark is also involved in the operation of a 4,500 square metre outdoor skatepark in Fælledparken in which opened in 2011.
Media related to Parks in Copenhagen at Wikimedia Commons