Amerika Plads (
lit. "America Square") is a public square and surrounding neighbourhood in the
Østerbro
Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") 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 clo ...
district of
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. It is the result of a redevelopment of an area in the southern part of the former
Freeport of Copenhagen
The Free Port of Copenhagen is a bonded area in the northern part of Port of Copenhagen of Copenhagen, Denmark. Created to consolidate Copenhagen's position as an important maritime hub in Northern Europe, it was established in the area just nort ...
into a mixed-use neighbourhood which consists of dwellings, offices and retail establishments, combining converted historic buildings and modern architecture. The former Free Port Station building was put in storage during the redevelopment and is now located in the middle of the square where it serves as a café. The area is to the west bounded by
Kalkbrænderihavnsgade, part of a major thoroughfare, and to the east by Dampfærgevej connected to Kalkbrænderihavnsgade in both ends and separating Amerika Plads from
America Quay, the western quay of the
Southern Free Port dock. The name of the area, like that of the quay, is a reference to the large passenger ships which used to transport Danish emigrants to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
during the first half of the 20th century.
History
Dating from circa 1903, the name Dampfærgevej (English: Steam Ferry Road) refers to the steam ferries to
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
which used to berth on the north side of the area. The Copenhagen-Malmö link was founded as a joined venture between the Swedish and Danish state railways in 1895 in connection with the opening of the new free port in Copenhagen. The Amerika Plads neighbourhood is located in the former steam ferry terrain. The route was discontinued in 1974.
In 1986, the premises were taken over by DanLink which operated a cargo line on the route Copenhagen-
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
until 30 June 2000 when it closed due to the opening of the
Øresund Bridge
The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
.
Redevelopment
Due to the area's attractive location on the border between Østerbro and the
City Centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
and near some of the most expensive addresses in Copenhagen, it was decided to redevelop the area in the late 1990s. It happened as a joint venture between
Port of Copenhagen
The Port of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Havn) is the largest Denmark, Danish seaport and one of the largest ports in the Baltic Sea basin. It extends from Svanemølle Beach in the north to Hvidovre in the south. Along with Malmö harbour, Copenh ...
(now
CPH City & Port Development
By & Havn (English: ''City & Port'') or ''Udviklingsselskabet By & Havn I/S'' (en.: ''The corporation for development of City and Port I/S'') is an organisation, tasked with the development of Ørestad and the port of Copenhagen and the daily ope ...
) and private development companies TK Development and Sjælsø Gruppen. In 2000, Port of Copenhagen commissioned Dutch architects
West 8
West 8 is an urban planning and landscape architecture firm founded by Adriaan Geuze and Paul van Beek in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1987. It is known for its contemporary designs and innovative solutions to urban planning problems using lighting, ...
to draw up a masterplan for the transformation of the area. The aim of the plan is to create a dense and active urban environment with multiple functions and diverse architecture. As part of the masterplan, the new buildings all have interior courtyards that are accessible to the public, unlike those in the older parts of the city, so as to expand the street areas and create life and movement between the buildings.
The neighbourhood comprises about 50,000 em2 of renovated buildings and 95,000 em2 of new buildings distributed on 53,000 em2 of offices and buildings and about 42,000 em2 of dwellings.
The square
The square is dominated by the former Free Port Railway Station which was dismantled in 2002 and rebuilt in 2005 to serve as a café pavilion near its original location. The half-timbered
National Romantic
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
building from 1895 was designed by
Heinrich Wenck
Heinrich (Henry) Emil Charles Wenck (10 March 1851 – 3 February 1936) was a Danish architect, known for the numerous railway stations he designed in his capacity of chief architect for the Danish State Railways from 1894 to 1921. During the yea ...
, who also designed
Copenhagen Central Station
Copenhagen Central Station ( da, Københavns Hovedbanegård , abbreviated ''København H'') is the main railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the largest railway station in Denmark. With more than 100,000 travellers every day, it is the se ...
and numerous other railway stations around the country, and served as a hub for the Copenhagen-Malmö ferries.
Buildings and residents
Among the older buildings in the area is the former headquarters of
Nordisk Fjer
Nordisk Fjer, formerly named Nordisk Fjerfabrik A/S (Nordic Feather Factory), was a Danish feather processing company established in 1901 and existing until 1991. It was founded in Svendborg by Hans Ove Lange, but moved to Copenhagen during its r ...
which was built in 1901. It now serves as headquarters for
Banedanmark
Banedanmark (; previously Banestyrelsen) is a Denmark, Danish company that is responsible for the maintenance and traffic control on all of the state owned Rail transport in Denmark, Danish railway network.
History
In 1997, Banedanmark came into ...
. The Twin Warehouses, also known as Warehouse D and E, were built in the 1920s. Other historic buildings are found along Dampfærgevej.
The most prominent modern buildings in the area are the Copper Tower on the north side of the area, next to the Ferry Terminal, and Fyrtårnet (en. The Lighthouse) on its south side. The Copper Tower is a 16-storey, copper-clad office building which was designed by
Arkitema
Arkitema Architects is a Danish architectural firm headquartered in Aarhus, with branch offices in Copenhagen, Malmö, Stockholm and Oslo. Arkitema Architects was founded in 1969 in Aarhus, and nowadays has about 400 employees with its main activi ...
and built in 2004. It houses the law firm
Plesner as well as an Italian supermarket in its ground floor. The Lighthouse is a residential tower block designed by
Lundgaard & Tranberg
Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter is a Danish architectural firm, based in Copenhagen Denmark. It is most noted for the Tietgenkollegiet student housing in Ørestad from 2006 and the Royal Danish Playhouse on the Copenhagen harbourfront from 2008 ...
and was completed in 2007. Other modern buildings in the area have been designed by
C. F. Møller Architects
Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, internationally also known as C. F. Møller Architects, is an architectural firm based in Århus, Denmark. Founded in 1924 by C. F. Møller, it is today the largest architectural firm in Denmark based on number of em ...
and
Hvidt & Mølgaard Hvidt & Mølgaard was a Copenhagen-based, Danish design and architectural firm which existed from 1944 until 2009. Founded by Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen, it continued to thrive after the founders' retirement but was split in two in 20 ...
.
Transport
Amerika Plads is located between
Østerport station and
Nordhavn station
Nordhavn station is a commuter rail and rapid transit railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The station serves the eastern part of the district of Østerbro, as well as the harbour area of Nordhavn. The station is by the lines A, H, B, C, ...
on the
S-train
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
main railway line through Copenhagen.
References
External links
Amerika PladsAmerika Pladson Copenhagen X
{{coord, 55.6997, 12.5941, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title
Squares in Copenhagen
Redevelopment projects in Copenhagen
Relocated buildings and structures in Denmark