Asiatisk Plads is a waterfront area in the

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") 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 th ...

neighbourhood 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 bounded by Torvegade to the south, next to Knippel Bridge, Strandgade to the east and the

Old Dock The Old Dock, originally known as Thomas Steers' dock, was the world's first commercial wet dock. The dock was built on the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, starting in 1710 and completed in 1716. A natural tidal pool off the River Mersey ...

area to the north. It takes its name from

Danish Asia Company Danish Asiatic Company (Danish: Asiatisk Kompagni) was a Danish trading company established in 1730 to revive Danish trade on the Danish East Indies and China following the closure of the Danish East India Company. It was granted a 40-year monopo ...

which was based at the site from its foundation in 1732 until 1843 when it was dissolved. The

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

is now based in the area, in a purpose-built office complex from 1980 as well as in the surviving buildings of the Danish Asia Company, its former head office and two converted warehouses, all of which are listed. Asiatisk Plads is frequently used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the Ministry.

History

Danish Asia Company was founded in 1732 as a replacement for the

Danish East India Company The Danish East India Company ( da, Ostindisk Kompagni) refers to two separate Danish-Norwegian chartered companies. The first company operated between 1616 and 1650. The second company existed between 1670 and 1729, however, in 1730 it was re-fo ...

which had been dissolved in 1729. A head office for the company was built at a site just south of Old Dry Dock in 1738 to a design by

Philip de Lange Philip de Lange (c. 1705 – 17 September 1766) was a leading Dutch-Danish architect who designed many different types of building in various styles including Dutch Baroque and Rococo. Early life and family Philip de Lange was probably born ...

. The complex was later expanded with the addition of two warehouses. PTP Strandgade - Asiatisk Kompagnis Bygning

Danish Asia Company was dissolved in 1843 and the company's premises at Christianshavn were then acquired by Jacob Holm, owner both of a shipyard and what had grown to be the largest shipping company in the country at the time. The southern part of the grounds was redeveloped in 1978-1980 when a new home was built for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to designs by Haldor Gunnløgson (1918-1985) and Jørn Nielsen (1919-1996). The complex consists of three buildings with gables facing the water in accordance with the traditions for warehouses. Their monotonous Modernist designs have been heavily criticized.

Architecture

Philip de Lange's former head office for the Danish Asia Company is designed in the Late Baroque style. The facade is decorated with a relief, probably by

Johann Christoph Petzold ¨Johan Christoph Petzold (5 October 1708 - 15 September 1762) was a German sculptor who mainly worked in Denmark. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from its establishment in 1754 and briefly held the post of Sculptor to ...

, featuring

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

. A short wall with a gate connects the building to a warehouse which was built at the neighbouring site in 1781 to a design by J. B. Schottmann. To achieve symmetry, the warehouse has a facade similar to that of the head office in terms of proportions and facade pattern while it is a typical warehouse as seen from the water. The site also includes the Eigtved Warehouse which was built for the Danish Asia Company from 1748 to 1750. It is named after its architect,

Nicolai Eigtved Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved (4 June 1701 – 7 June 1754) was a Danish architect. He introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo or late baroque style in Danish architecture during the 1730s–1740s. He designe ...

, who was responsible for the planning of

Frederiksstaden Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...

around the same time as well as for many prominent buildings such as

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

Erik Møller Svend Erik Møller (7 November 1909 – 24 March 2002) was a Danish architect. Møller used to work with the famous Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. Together they won the competition to design the new City Hall in Aarhus, which was ...

Architects refurbished all three buildings and adapted them to the needs of the Foreign Ministry between 1979 and 1982.

Public art

The quay features three abstract sculptures by

Søren Georg Jensen Søren Georg Jensen (4 October 1917 – 20 September 1982) was a Danish silversmith and sculptor. Son of the noted silversmith Georg Jensen, he was the artistic director of the Georg Jensen Silversmithy from 1962 to 1974. Early life and education ...

: The Cyclop (''Kyklopen''), The Long Journey (''Den Lange Rejse'') and Figurehead (''Galionsfigur).

References

External links

{{Christianshavn, Copenhagen Christianshavn Streets in Christianshavn

History

Architecture

Public art

See also

References

External links