Bispebjerg Cemetery (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: Bispebjerg Kirkegård), established in 1903 on the moderately graded north slope of Bispebjerg Hill, is the newest of five municipal cemeteries in

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 ...

. The main entrance to the cemetery is located next to the monumental

Grundtvig's Church Grundtvig's Church ( da, Grundtvigs Kirke) is located in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a rare example of expressionist church architecture. Due to its originality, it is one of the best known churches in the city. History ...

, built later in 1921-40. A tall poplar avenue extends from the main entrance towards

Utterslev Mose Utterslev Mose (English: Utterslev Boglands) is a large semi-natural area of lakes, reed beds and parkland located on the border between Copenhagen and Gladsaxe municipalities, approximately six kilometers northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmar ...

in the west. The old chapel has been converted into a centre for dance and is now known as Dansekapellet (Chapel of Dance). One of the cemetery’s main attractions is an avenue of Japanese cherry trees that, when in bloom during spring, form a long, pink tunnel.

History

Bispebjerg Cemetery was established in 1903 to release the pressure on Copenhagen's other cemeteries. The plan was designed by Edvard Glæsel.

Buildings

Chapel and administration building

The architect Andreas Clemmensen have designed most of the buildings in the cemetery. His contributions include the main entrance, the administration building at Frederiksborgvej 125 (1903), the North Chapel (1910), now used as a storage building, the South Chapel (1912), which in 1931 was rebuilt to designs by architect Tyge Hvass. Clemmensen also designed the East Chapel which was extended by Tyge Hvass in 1930 but demolished in 2001.

Old crematory and personnel building

The old crematory was designed by

Holger Jacobsen Holger Jacobsen (30 October 1876 – 27 March 1960) was a Danish architect. His best known work is Stærekassen, an extension to the Royal Danish Theatre on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. Biography Holger Jacobsen was born on 30 October 1876 in ...

as the result of an architectural competition. The building was completed in 1907 with inspiration from Roman architecture. and later extended in 1915-16 and 1932-34. The building has now been converted into a venue for modern dance, Dansekapellet. Holger Jacobsen has also designed a cluster of buildings in the northwestern corner of the cemetery. They date from 1916 and were used for storage purposes and personnel. Tyge Hvass added a stables building in 1935 and was also responsible for a larger extension of Jacobsen's buildings I 1945.

Crematory

A new crematory was inaugurated on 14 January 2003. The building was designed by

Friis & Moltke Friis & Moltke is a Danish architectural practice headquartered in Aarhus with branch offices in Copenhagen and Aalborg. Friis & Moltke has about 50 employees and is mainly active in the Scandinavian market. The firm was founded in 1955 by the arc ...

Sections

The old communal burial site features a monument by

. The new communal burial site features a sculpture by Knud Nellemose. The Swedish section was established in 1927 and moved to the current location in Section 5 in 1957. It was designed by Sven-Ingvar Andersson. Other special sections are dedicated to Swedish, Russian, Catholic and Muslim graves. There is also a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "'' colu ...

with a special room dedicated to Buddhist urns.

World War II

In the southwestern corner of the cemetery is a section dedicated to Danish soldiers, police officers and resistance fighters who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The complex was designed by city architect Poul Holsøe and features a monument created by the sculptor Povl Søndergaard. Another monument commemorates the resistance fighters who died at two incidents on 29 August 1943 and 19 September 1944. It was designed by Povl Søndergaard in 1947. The area also features a group of graves of British soldiers with traditional British Commonwealth war grave

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

s and a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...

. Many of the interred were crew members of British aircraft that were shot down over Zealand. The British casualties were buried at the site upon orders from the German occupying forces but most of them were transferred to

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...

in March 1944. Section 10 also features 16 graves of Soviet soldiers who died in Denmark during and immediately after the war. A monument designed by the Russian artist Anatolij Dioma was installed in 1990. Section 8 contains 594 German refugees and 370 German soldiers from March 1944.

Notable people

The writer

Johannes V. Jensen Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (20 January 1873 – 25 November 1950) was a Danish author, known as one of the great Danish writers of the first half of 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944 "for the rare strength and fert ...

and the sculptor Astrid Noack are interred in at the Old communal burial site. The architect and writer

Poul Henningsen Poul Henningsen (9 September 1894 – 31 January 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and designer. In Denmark, where he often is referred to simply as PH, he was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the Worl ...

, former lord mayor of Copenhagen

Egon Weidekamp Egon Holde Weidekamp (14 March 1921, Copenhagen – 26 April 2000, Copenhagen) was a Danish politician.Henrik Dam Carl Peter Henrik Dam ( da, Carl Peter Henrik Dam), (21 February 1895 – 17 April 1976) was a Danish biochemist and physiologist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1943 for joint work with Edward Doisy in discovering vitamin ...

are interred in the new communal burial site.

References

External links

Official website

CWGC: Copenhagen (Bispebjerg) Cemetery
{{Bispebjerg Cemeteries in Copenhagen 1903 establishments in Denmark Buildings and structures in Copenhagen Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Denmark