Classensgade is a street 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 runs from

Østerbrogade Østerbrogade is the principal shopping street and thoroughfare in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends from Lille Triangel at the north-eastern tip of The Lakes, Copenhagen, The Lakes, passes Trianglen, Copenhagen, Trianglen, ...

in the southwest to

Østbanegade Østbanegade is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Østerport Station on Oslo Plads and continues north along the west side of the railway tracks for about 2 kilometres to Aarhusgade where an underpass connects the street to the other ...

in the northeast.

History

The street is named after major-general and industrialist

Johan Frederik Classen Johan Frederik Classen, frequently also J. F. Classen, (11 February 1725 – 24 March 1792) was a Danish-Norwegian industrialist, major general, landowner and founder of Det Classenske Fideicommis. He served as chancellery adviser to King ...

. whose summer retreat, Classens Have ("Classen's Garden") was located in the area. It had a vast garden as indicated by the name. Having no children, Classen endowed his estate to a foundation,

Det Classenske Fideicommis Det Classenske Fideicommis (literally "The Classen Fideicommiss") is a Danish charitable foundation. By testament in 1789 and his codicil of March 23, 1792, the industrialist Major General Johan Frederik Classen left behind his wealth and possessi ...

. Classensgade originates in the access road to a property, Justineborg, which was named after Classen's sister-in_law. The street was officially named Classensvej ("Classen's Road#) in 1860. The short section from Lille Triangle to Kastelsvej was then part of Kastelsvej. In 1889, Classensvej and the first short section of Kastelsvej were renamed Classensgade.

Notable buildings

One of the only surviving country houses in Østerbro, Øbrogård or Vennero, is located in the courtyard of No. 11. It dates from the 19th century. Classensgård (Np. 17-19), located opposite

Kastelsvej Kastelsvej is a street in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs from Classensgade to Strandboulevarden. History Kastelsvej was originally called Citadelsvej. It continued to the northern entrance gate to Citadellet Frederikshavn ...

, is a high-end apartment building. The facade surrounds a small cul-de-sac, a solution chosen to make the most of the site without employment of the traditional courtyard buildings. The building features two corner towers and a small bell tower as well as a clock gface at the bottom of the cul-de-sac. The building is from 1909. Høkerforeningens Stiftelse (No. 44) is from 1862. Classens Have (No. 52-68) is a large Neoclassical apartment complex from 1922-24 designed by

Povl Baumann Povl Erik Raimund Baumann (9 November 1878 – 3 July 1963) was a Danish architect who was a central figure during the transition from Neoclassicism to Functionalism in Danish residential architecture. In 1910, he was one of the founders of ''De ...

, Peter Nielsen and Ole Falkentorp based on a project by Hans Koch og Carl Petersen. The perimeter block surrounds a large garden complex. The Neoclassical property at No. 59-65 was designed by Henning Hansen. No. 70, a building from 1931 designed by Thorkild Henningsen, is an example of the transition from Neoclassicism to Modernism.

Public art, monuments and memorials

On a small mound in Classen's Garden stands a memorial to Johan Frederik Classen. The medallion with a portrait relief of Classen was designed by

Johannes Wiedewelt Johannes Wiedewelt (1 July 1731 – 17 December 1802), Danish neoclassical sculptor. He became a court sculptor, introducing neoclassical ideals to Denmark in the form of palace decorations, garden sculptures and artifacts and, especially, mem ...

. A marble plaque on No. 40 commemorates that the entertainer

Victor Borge Børge Rosenbaum (3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000), known professionally as Victor Borge ( ), was a Danish-American comedian, conductor, and pianist who achieved great popularity in radio and television in the North America and Europe. His ...

was born in the building. The plaque features a portrait of Borge as well as a quote by him, stating that the smile is the shortest distance between two people.

Transport

The nearest station is Østerport, served both by

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

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 ...

s, regional and intercity trains. Movia bus line 37 runs through the street.

References

External links

Source

Source
Streets in Østerbro {{Denmark-road-stub