Karl WP Beyer Our cruise with the Nieuw Statendam ends in the morning at Copenhagen's Oceankaj. We are traveling to Germany by train and have booked a train after 15pm. We use the remaining time to stroll through the center of Copenhagen on our own.
The ship is located at the middle of the three Oceankaj terminals. Disembarking also involves waiting times in Copenhagen. After about an hour we are in the taxi that will take us from the quay to the train station in the center of Copenhagen. We deposit our suitcases in the left luggage office in order to start our city tour to familiar destinations in the center of Denmark's capital – free of luggage.
Copenhagen - Oceankaj
Copenhagen Central Station
Dante's Plads - Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
The first destination is the gardens of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, the huge collection of sculptures donated by the industrialist family Jacobsen (Carlsberg Bier). Every bottle of Carlsberg beer sold still contributes to financing the museum – alongside the state. Its fund consists of more than 10.000 art objects from ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Italy. The modern part of the collection is dedicated to paintings and French sculptures, beginning in the 19th century. The 35 works of Auguste Rodin enjoy special attention. His figure, the “Thinker”, stands in the garden. We find the sculpture of the “Trold” bizarre; a female nude is beautiful to look at.
We don't have enough time to visit the museum and the wonderful winter garden with the café. How should one get an overview of the many works of art in a short time?
Højbro Plads - our next stage
We leave the museum gardens and follow Stormgade and then Vindebrogade until we reach Højbro Plads.
On our way are the huge National Museum of Denmark, Thorvaldsens Museum and Christiansborg Palace. On the other side of Slotsholmens Kanal lies Gammel Strand. The street and its square are lined with a row of magnificent houses. On the square are the Kunstforeningen art gallery and the Ministry of Culture. By the way, the Kunstforeningen art gallery is the oldest house on the square.
Thorvaldsen's Museum
Gammel Strand - art gallery Kunstforeningen
However, our destination is not Gammel Strand but the neighboring Højbro Plads. There is the bronze monument of Bishop Absolon of Lund near the Gammel Strand metro station. In historiography he is regarded as the founder of the city of Copenhagen. The martial monument shows the bishop on a shying horse. The priest apparently holds a battle ax in his right hand. With a bishop we generally associate different equipment. But Bishop Absolon lived in the 12th century. Times were rough, and even clergymen seemed to be required to master the art of riding.
Højbro Plads - Monument to Bishop Absolon
Højbro Plads - Monument to Bishop Absolon
In front of the monument there is an unrestricted view of Christiansborg Palace and its palace church. Christiansborg Palace is the youngest of the three city palaces in the Danish capital and the seat of the Reichstag. The 106 meter high castle tower is open to the public. Under Copenhagen attractions – We introduce it to Christiansborg Palace.
Christiansborg Palace
Next destinations – Amågertorv and Trinitatis Kirke
Less than 150 meters separate Bishop Absolon's monument from the stork fountain on Amågertorv. Amågertorv borders the pedestrian street Strøget.
The stork fountain at Amagertorv
The flagship store of porcelain brand Royal Copenhagen is located on Strøget. For the first time, we take a look at the inner courtyard next to the shop, where a friendly Dane is brewing coffee and – how could it be otherwise – serving it in matching Royal Copenhagen porcelain.
Flagship Store Royal Copenhagen porcelain
Royal Copenhagen - coffee bar
At Amågertorv starts Købmagergade, another pedestrian street with attractive shops and brands. We follow the road to Rundetårn, the former university observatory: Our destination is Trinitatis Kirke, which is adjacent to Rundetårn. We know Rundetårn from previous visits. The church has so far remained hidden from us.
Købmagergade with Rundetårn
The building complex of the Trinitatis Kirke also includes the former university library and the 37 meter high Rundetårn. The Danish king Christian IX initiated the construction of the church. The undertaking began in 1637 and ended in 1651. The purpose of the construction work: the tower served as an observatory, the church was used for the religious training of students, and parts of the university library were housed in the attic of the church.
Trinitatis Kirke - nave
Trinity church - organ
The church was severely damaged in the town fire of 1728 and the furnishings and the library were lost. The church was rebuilt within three years. The interior of the church was designed in the baroque style of the time. In addition to the Protestant services for the surrounding parish, the church is still used today as a university church. From the outside, the church building doesn't look like much; compared to that, the interior of the church is very worth seeing.
Detour to the trendy district of Nyhavn
Copenhagen spoils us with beautiful weather on our day of visit. It makes sense to take a look at the Nyhavn harbor basin, which was artificially created in the 17th century. To do this, we first follow the Landemærket road. It ends in front of Kongens Have, the park area of Rosenborg Castle.
Kongens Have with Rosenborg Castle
There we turn right into Gothersgade. The road leads to Kongens Nytorv, in English "King's New Market". The large square is surrounded by important buildings. Under Copenhagen attractions let's introduce some of them. In the center of the square is the bronze equestrian statue of King Christian V.
Kongens Nytorv - Monument to King Christian V on horseback
From Kongens Nytorv it is only a few steps to the Nyhavn harbor basin. The harbor basin is surrounded on both sides by colorful gabled houses. Nyhavn is one of Copenhagen's trendy districts, a museum harbor and the starting point for harbor tours.
Nyhavn - trendy district, gastronomy scene and museum harbour
Through Strøget to Rådhuspladsen and back to Central Station
Two of Kongens Nytorv's most striking buildings are Magasin Du Nord and Hotel D'Angleterre. Between the two, the pedestrian street Strøget leads to Royal Square.
Magazine Du Nord
Hotel D'Angleterre
There are many interesting shops and a number of sights along Strøget. These include the Guinness World Records Museum, the Amagertorv with the stork fountain, the Helligåndskirken, the Gammeltorv with the subsequent Nytorv Square
In the pub "The Dubliner" on Amagertorv, an Irish restaurant, we enjoy a well-deserved break with a Kilkenny beer on tap, before we then start off to the worth seeing Rådhuspladsen with the impressive Copenhagen City Hall and then to the central station.
Copenhagen City Hall
In total, we covered about six kilometers on foot on the tour described. We took the opportunity to refresh our memories of Copenhagen's sights. We are convinced that it will not be the last time; but who knows, the world is big and colourful.
August 2023