The Copenhagen Harbour Baths (

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 Havnebade) are a system of recreational bathing facilities along the waterfront 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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. There are currently four harbour baths, the first and best-known of which is located at

Islands Brygge Islands Brygge ( English: Iceland's Quay) is a harbourfront area in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located on the north-western coast of Amager. The neighbourhood is noted for its waterfront park Havneparken, which is one of the most popular are ...

. The harbour baths serve as a supplement to the beaches around the city, such as the extensive urban beach at

Amager Strandpark Amager Strandpark (Amager Beach Park) is a seaside public park in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located on the island of Amager and includes an artificial island and offers a total of of beaches. From the beach, the Middelgrunden wind farm can be ...

. In 2010 the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

also established the temporary artificial Ophelia Beach on the Kvæsthusbroen pier next to the Royal Playhouse.

History

For the swimming season of 2002, the harbour bath at Islands Brygge opened as the first harbour bath in town. In 2003, the harbour bath was towed to the other side of the harbour and set up at

Fisketorvet Fisketorvet - Copenhagen Mall is a shopping centre located on Kalvebod Brygge waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is Denmark's third largest shopping center by size. Fisketorvet - Copenhagen Mall regularly hosts events for the guests such as: ...

, while Islands Brygge got a new larger and permanent harbour bath designed by PLOT. In 2010, the third harbour bath opened at the Svanemølle Bay after several delays and changes to the design.

Water quality

The water in the harbour today is as clean as that of

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width ...

. The harbour baths are a result of a consistent effort to improve the water quality in Copenhagen Harbour to an extent that allows for bathing to take place. The harbour baths are generally open all days of the week in the bathing season. In the event of unusually strong rains, sewage water may spill into the harbour and cause pollution with ''E. coli'' bacteria, closing the harbour baths temporarily. Such a closure normally lasts for a couple of days until tidal flux has changed all the water. Water quality is being monitored and reported on
dedicated web site

Individual venues

Islands Brygge

The harbour bath at Islands Brygge has a total of 5 pools and a capacity for 600 people. It is 7 meters deep. There are two pools dedicated to children, two 50-metre pools for swimming and a diving pool with three and five metre

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

s. The project was completed in 2003 by

JDS Architects Julien De Smedt (born 1975 in Brussels, Belgium) is the founder and director of JDS Architects based in Brussels, Copenhagen, Belo Horizonte and Shanghai. Projects include the VM Housing Complex, the Mountain Dwellings, the Maritime Youth House ...

and Bjarke Ingels Group.

Copencabana

Copencabana (the name being a portmanteau of '' Copacabana'' and ''Copenhagen''), or Harbour Bath Fisketorvet, lies next to the Fisketorvet Shopping Centre and

Havneholmen Havneholmen (literally "The Harbour Isle") is a mixed-use development located on reclaimed land off Kalvebod Brygge in the harbor of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just east of the shopping centre Fisketorvet from which it is separated by a na ...

in Vesterbro It is a 650-square-meter complex with three pools and springboards of 1 metre, 2 metres and 3 metres.

Svanemølle Beach

Svanemølle Beach is located in Svanemølle Bay in

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 clos ...

and was inaugurated on 20 June 2010. It provides 4,000 square metres of beach with family-friendly low waters, as well as a 130-metre-long pier providing direct access to deeper waters.

Sluseholmen

The newest venue, at Sluseholmen in South Harbour was inaugurated on 16 December 2011.

References

External links

Check water quality
{{Copenhagen Buildings and structures in Copenhagen Tourist attractions in Copenhagen Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Denmark Coastal construction Bathing Swimming venues in Germany Port of Copenhagen Bjarke Ingels buildings 2002 establishments in Denmark