eat style oughout enturies - Copenhagen Tourist

CenTuRies in The mAking
The centrepiece of Frederik V’s new district
was to be a grand basilica rivalling those of
europe’s greatest cities, and although the
founding stone of Frederikskirken (also
known as Marmorkirken, or the Marble
Church) was laid with great ceremony in 1749
the church stood as a mere project-in-themaking
– or a romantic ruin in the eyes of
many artists – for more than a century while
the grand project fell out of grace with the
king’s successors.
In 1874, the site was sold to a wealthy
Danish industrialist and patron of the arts, C. F.
Tietgen (1828-1901), under the condition that
he concluded the project within ten years,
although it took a further decade and countless
design revisions by architect F. Meldal (1827-
1908) before the church was finally consecrated.
More than a century later the grand
scheme was finally completed in 2010 when
contemporary RIBa award-winning architect
Tony Fretton added the final corner building.
The Russian
Alexander Nevsky
Church in Bredgade.
naturally, a district built on renaissance ideals
needed a grand monumental square, and an
octagonal plaza was created on the transverse
axis running from Frederikskirken to the
harbour, complete with an equestrian statue of
the district’s founder, Frederik V. here four
noble families commissioned four almost
identical manors, today considered among
europe’s finest examples of Rococo architecture.
They remained separate aristocratic
homes until a winter’s night in 1794 when
Christiansborg palace was razed by a great fire
and the Danish royal family fell in dire need of
a new home.
now known as Amalienborg Palace, the
four palatial homes still remain the official
residence of the Danish monarch (see page 42).
gAlleRies AnD
boATmen’s houses
Vintage Danish design stores and contemporary
art galleries flank today’s Bredgade,
one of Frederikstaden’s two main arteries. here
you also find one of the nation’s leading
decorative art museum, the Designmuseum
Danmark (see page 99). Be sure to notice
some of the small surprises, such as the golden
onion domes of the Russian alexander nevsky
Church (1883) and Medical Museion (see page
105). When you’ve reached the end of the
street, when heading from Kongens nytorv,
Nyboder is one of the first row house districts in the world.
turn left to discover a unique neighbourhood,
Nyboder. The boatmen’s row houses were
commissioned in 1631 by one of Denmark’s
most enterprising renaissance monarchs, King
Christian IV (1577-1648), who with this new
neighbourhood created homes for the
personnel of the rapidly growing Royal Danish
navy and their families during that time. Many
of the streets carry exotic names, such as
Krokodillegade (Crocodile Street) and
Tigergade (Tiger Street). and the quaint row
houses are lime-washed with a warm hue
known as ‘nyboder yellow’. a small museum,
Nyboders Mindestuer, relates the area’s
colourful history.
on your way back to the city centre, head
down Frederiksstaden’s other main artery,
Store Kongensgade, with its blend of design
boutiques and foodie temptations, including
restaurant noma co-founder Claus Meyer’s
much-lauded nordic bakery. Indeed you’ll
find that Frederiksstaden has as much to offer
your taste buds as its history offers food for
thought.
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