Christianshavns Kanal (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Christianshavn Canal) is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

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 ...

. Running northeast–southwest, it bisects the neighbourhood along its length. To the north it connects to Trangraven, the canal which separates Christianshavn from Holmen; to the south it makes an angular break and empties in the main harbour a little north of the

Langebro Langebro (literally "Long Bridge") is a bascule bridge across the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Zealandside H. C. Andersens Boulevard to Amagerside Amager Boulevard. It is one of only two bridges to carry motor vehicles across ...

bridge. At the middle, Christianshavns Kanal is crossed by Børnehusbroen. This bridge is part of

Torvegade Torvegade (literal translation, lit. "Market Street") is the central thoroughfare of Christianshavn in Copenhagen, Denmark, linking the city centre by way of Knippelsbro, Knippel Bridge with Amagerside Copenhagen at Christmas Møllers Plads. The st ...

, the main thoroughfare of Christianshavn, connecting the city centre across

Knippelsbro Knippelsbro (English: Knippel Bridge) is a bascule bridge across the Inner Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Børsgade (English: Stock Exchange Street) on Zealand-side Slotsholmen to Torvegade (English: Market Street) on Christianshavn. ...

to the northwest to

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 ...

the southeast. The only other bridge traversing the canal is Snorrebroen, located further north. Christianshavns Kanal is noted for its bustling sailing community with numerous

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

- and

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s, particularly in the northern half of the canal.

Canal side streets

Overgaden oven Vandet and Overgaden neden Vandet are two streets running along each their side of Christianshavns Kanal. ''Over-'' in the street names derives from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

word ''Ufer'', meaning ''

shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

'' or ''

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

''. "oven vandet" and "neden vandet" refers to the two halves which Christianshavn is cut into by the canal, "neden vandet" being the inner (City Side) side of the neighbourhood and "oven vandet" being the outer (Amager Side) side . The streets date back to the original foundation of Christianshavn by

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

Notable buildings

Brøstes Samling

''Brøstes Samling'' (English: The Brøste Collection), at oven Gade No. 10, is a display on the

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

of Christianshavn, founded by wholesaler Ulf Brøste. The collections are exhibited in a building from 1785, known as ''Potters Gård'' (English: Potter's House). It is named for Thomas Potter who was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and arrived in Copenhagen as a young man. He received permission to open a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and became a pioneer within his field, producing "iron pots in all shapes" as well as

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

s and

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

s. Part of his production was exported to the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Devastated by grief after losing two wives, he sold his property in 1790.

Søkvæsthuset

Søkvæsthuset, at oven Vandet No. 38, was built in 1754 as an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

for boys, in 1776 converted into a naval hospital. Since 1989 the side wing has housed the Royal Danish Naval Museum (Danish: Orlogsmuseet).

Cultural references

* ''Christianshavns Kanal'' is the last track on Danish band

Gasolin' Gasolin' were a Danish rock band from Christianshavn, Copenhagen, formed by Kim Larsen, Franz Beckerlee, and Wili Jønsson in 1969. Their first drummer was the late Bjørn Uglebjerg. He was replaced by Søren Berlev in 1971. At their formatio ...

s 1973 debut album

Værsgo ''Værsgo'' is the debut album of Kim Larsen who formed Gasolin' in 1969 with Wili Jønsson and Franz Beckerlee. It was released in 1973 while he was still a member of Gasolin', and the album contains songs which were not found suitable for Gaso ...

. * ''Over gaden under vandet'', named after the street that runs along both sides of the canal, is the title of a 2009 drama film directed by

Charlotte Sieling Charlotte Sieling (born 13 July 1960) is a Danish actress and film director. She began her career as an actress in the mid-1980s. In the 2000s, she turned to film directing, working on a number of successful DR TV series such as the Emmy-winnin ...

References

External links

{{coord, 55.6737, 12.5929, dim:1000_region:DK, display=title Canals in Copenhagen Streets in Christianshavn