Copenhagen Waterworks (

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 ...

: Københavns Vandværk) opened in 1859 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 ...

. Located in

Studiestræde Studiestræde is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, running from Bispetorv on Nørregade in the northeast to Axeltorv in the southwest. The oldest section of the street, between Nørregade and Vester Voldgade, is part of Copenhagen's Latin ...

, between

Axeltorv Axeltorv is a public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located across the street from Tivoli Gardens' main entrance on Vesterbrogade. History Axeltorv was inaugurated on 8 November 1917. The grounds were formerly part of Farigmagsvej and us ...

and

H. C. Andersens Boulevard H. C. Andersens Boulevard is the most densely trafficked artery in central Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.3 km long six-lane street passes City Hall Square on its way from Jarmers Plads, a junction just north of Vesterport station, to Lange Bridge wh ...

, it was Denmark's first waterworks and continued operations until 1951. The complex was designated an Industrial Heritage Site in 2007 and listed in 2010. The former engine house is now home to concert venue Pumpehuset. The other buildings house a daycare.

History

Copenhagen's water supply was until the second half of the 19th century based on surface water from

Damhus Lake Damhus Lake ( da, Damhussøen or ') is a lake located just north of Roskildevej, between Rødovre, Vanløse and Frederiksberg, on the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Damhus Meadow ( da, Damhusengen, links=no), once a part of the la ...

. A dam on Harrestrup Å at Roskilde Road made it possible to lead water through Grøndalsåen and Ladegårdsåen to Sortedam and Peblinge Lakes. Copenhagen Waterworks was one of the first buildings to be built outside Copenhagen's old city walls. The arrangement of the individual buildings, which appears random today, resulted from construction on a former

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

. A commission was set up in 1847 to investigate possible improvements of Copenhagen's water supply but it took the

1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak The 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak was a severe outbreak of cholera which occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1853 as part of the third cholera pandemic. It killed about 4,800 people. Background Medical professionals had since the 1840s warned ag ...

to make the politicians take action. The British company Cochrane & Co was charged with the design and construction and overall design of the system while the architect

Niels Sigfred Nebelong Niels Sigfred Nebelong (14 October 1806 – 9 October 1871) was a Danish architect who worked in the Historicist style. He was city architect in Copenhagen from 1863 and also designed many lighthouses around Denmark in his capacity as residen ...

designed the individual buildings. Cochrane & Co. had previously also constructed of the city's first gasworks. Carlsberg-founder

J. C. Jacobsen Jacob Christian Jacobsen (2 September 1811 – 30 April 1887), mostly known as J. C. Jacobsen, was a Denmark, Danish industrialist and philanthropist best known for founding the brewery Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg. Biography He had no formal acad ...

set the foundation stone on 16 May 1857 and waterworks was inaugurated on 9 August 1859. The new pumping station contained three large steam engines drove the pumps. They produced a combined capacity of 300 hp. It extracted water from the lakes around Copenhagen as well as ground water and used an elevation reservoir in

Søndermarken Søndermarken ( lit. "The Southern Field") is a park in Frederiksberg on the border to Valby and the Carlsberg area in Copenhagen, Denmark. It shares much of its history with Frederiksberg Gardens from which it is separated only by Roskildevej. Ci ...

The capacity was increased in 1875 and 1889. The waterworks ceased operations in 1951.

Architecture

The original buildings are all built in yellow brick with arched windows and have slate roofs. The pumping station is located in the centre of the site and consists of a two-storey machine house and a one-storey boiler house that are attached to each other as well as a small coal house on the south side of the boiler house. The chimney is from 1929. It was originally 43 m high but it was shortened by 10 m for security reasons. The other buildings are residences for the inspector and technical employees, a half-timbered gatehouse (1887,

Ludvig Fenger Ludvig Peter Fenger (7 July 1833 – 9 March 1905) was a Danish architect. He was a proponent of the Historicist style, and from 1886 to 1904 he held the title of City Architect in Copenhagen. Among his works are several churches, the Centra ...

) and three administration buildings the youngest of which is from 1951.

Today

The music venue has used the central pumping station since 1987. The other buildings are under transformation into a kindergarten.

References

External links

første vandværk
text and images {{coord, 55.6768, N, 12.5645, E, source:wikidata, display=title Water supply Listed industrial buildings in Copenhagen Buildings and structures completed in 1859 1859 establishments in Denmark Niels Sigfred Nebelong buildings