Bellahøj is an area situated 5 kilometres to the northwest of central

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 a ...

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. It features the Bellahøj Houses, a functionalist

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

, as well as parkland with an open-air theatre. The 37 metre high hill situated in Bellahøj Park is the highest point in Copenhagen. The area offers an extensive view over the skyline of Copenhagen.

History and description

King

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

's fortified camp Carlstad was located at the site during his siege of Copenhagen from 1658 to 1660. The area later belonged to a farm which moved out from the village of

Utterslev Utterslev is a neighbourhood in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Utterslev is centered on Utterslev Torv (Utterslev Square) and is most known for the Utterslev Mose marshland which straddles the border with Gladsaxe Municipality to ...

in 1791. The estate was acquired by

Copenhagen Municipality Copenhagen Municipality ( da, Københavns Kommune), 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 ...

in 1932. The area was used for

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

s between 1938 and 1967. The old farmhouse was converted into a restaurant in 1938 and is still used as such. Copenhagen Municipality sold the building in 2005 The Bellahøj Houses contains 28

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...

s. Each block has between 9 and 13 floors. The housing project was among the earliest in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

. It was completed in 1956. The park contains an open-air theatre which was built from surplus earth from the construction of the Bellahøj Houses in the 1950s. It was designed by

Carl Theodor Sørensen Søren Carl Theodor Marius Sørensen (24 July 1893 in Altona, Hamburg, Germany – 12 September 1979 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish landscape architect who is considered to be one of the greatest landscape architects of the 20th century. ...

and seats 2,000 spectators. In 1965, Copenhagen Municipality built an exhibition centre,

Bella Center Bella Center (abbreviated BC) is Scandinavia's second largest exhibition and conference center (after Messecenter Herning), and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Located in Ørestad between the city centre and Copenhagen Airport, it offers an ...

, which kept its name when it moved to its current location on

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

in 1975. The old building is now used as a sports centre under the name Grøndal MultiCenter. Other buildings in the area include Bellahøj School, a hostel and Bellahøj Swimming Centre. The park also contains three or four burial mounds from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. In the southeastern corner is a small wooded area. The trees are mainly

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

and

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

. The

Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix is a vintage motor sports car race held annually on the grounds of Bellahøj in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been arranged since 2001 (at Fælledparken from 2001 to 2012) and takes place in the first weekend of Augu ...

auto race is held on the streets of Bellahøj.

References

External links

Information on BellahøjBellahøj Huse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellahoj Brønshøj-Husum