Esplanaden (English: The Esplanade) is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends eastwards from Store Kongensgade and runs along the south side of the city's 17th-century fortress Kastellet and Churchillparken until it reaches the waterfront at

Nordre Toldbod Nordre Toldbod is a waterfront area in Copenhagen, Denmark, located at the north end of Larsens Plads and just south of Kastellet. It takes its name after the custom house or ''toldbod'' which used to be located in the area. Most of the historic ...

, just south of

Langelinie Langelinie (English: Long Line) is a pier, promenade and park in central Copenhagen, Denmark, and home of ''The Little Mermaid'' statue. The area has for centuries been a popular destination for excursions and strolls in Copenhagen. Most cruise s ...

, passing Amaliegade,

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major str ...

and

Grønningen Grønningen is a Danish artists cooperative whose members arrange exhibitions and similar events. Founded in 1915, it is one of the oldest and most important groupings of its kind in Denmark and currently has 54 members. It is named after the stre ...

on the way. It marks the northern border of the Frederiksstaden district. It is best known as the address of the headquarters of A.P. Moller-Maersk, the largest shipping company in the world. In Danish media and daily usage, the street name is often used as a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for company's top management.

History

The street is located on Kastellet's former

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

. Then known as Toldbodvej, literally "Custom House Road", was created as an access road to the

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

, complementing

Toldbodgade Toldbodgade ( lit. "Custom House Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends north from Nyhavn at the Nyhavn Bridge, continuing Holberggade, passes Sankt Annæ Plads after just one block, and continues straight until it reache ...

("Custom House Street"), which came from the south along the water. In the 1780s, a tree-lined avenue, which quickly became a popular venue for promenades, was established between the end of Bredgade and the harbourfront a little to the north of Toldbodvej. A total of 3,000 trees from

Jægersborg Dyrehave Dyrehaven (Danish 'The Deer Park'), officially Jægersborg Dyrehave, is a forest park north of Copenhagen. It covers around . Dyrehaven is noted for its mixture of huge, ancient oak trees and large populations of red and fallow deer. In July ...

were planted in the grounds. It was around the same time that the first town houses began to appear on the south side of Toldbodvej. The tree-lined promenade largely disappeatrdd with the construction of the Port Authority Building (1868 ), the Royal Nautical Charts Archive (1873), and later the Resistance Museum. On 21 October 1885, council president

Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup, (16 April 1825 – 24 December 1913), was a Danish politician, member of the Højre party. He was Interior Minister from 1865 to 1869 in the Cabinet of Frijs and Council President as well as Finance Minister ...

was the target of an attempted assassination outside No. 34. The unsuccessful assassin was Julius Rasmussen. In the 19th century, the

Guard Hussars The Guard Hussar Regiment ( da, Gardehusarregimentet, GHR) is a cavalry unit of the Royal Danish Army, whose primary task is to train the Guard Hussars for various functions in the mobilisation force. The Guard Hussar Regiment is one of two acti ...

barracks were located at the western end of the street, first on its north side and later also in a building on its south side. It was demolished about 1900 and the site was built over in connection with the establishment of

. The masterplan for the area was adopted on 29 June 1903. The smaller streets in the area have names associated with the island of

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled b ...

. Toldbodvej was renamed Esplanaden in 1953.

Notable buildings and residents

Several of the buildings on the streets were designed by

Andreas Hallander Andreas Hallander (13 November 1755 – 3 April 1828) was a Danish master carpenter and architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with the buildings of Johan Martin Quist, his classically styled apartment ho ...

, including the two buildings on the corner of Amaliegade, No. 46 (1791) and No. 48 (1789), which are both listed. No. 6 is from 1785 and was designed by

Andreas Kirkerup Andreas Johannes Kirkerup (9 June 1749 – 22 October 1810) was a Danish architect and master builder, one of the most significant pupils of Caspar Frederik Harsdorff. Together with architects such as Andreas Hallander and Johan Martin Quist, he ...

. No. 15 was completed in 1850 to a Neoclassical design by

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch Gustav Friedrich (von) Hetsch (28 September 1788 – 7 September 1864) was a Danish architect. Biography Hetsch was born in Stuttgart, he was the son of Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch (1758–1838). He studied at the University of Tübingen and i ...

. It now houses the A.P. Møller and Wife Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation. Bertelsen & Scheving completed a major renovation of the building in 2013. No. 19 originally housed the Royal Nautical Charts Archive as well as the Meteorological Institute. The building was designed by

Vilhelm Petersen Vilhelm Valdemar Petersen (5 April 1830 – 3 July 1913) was a Danish architect who became Royal Building Inspector from 1892 until his death. He was the father of architect Knud Arne Petersen. Biography Vilhelm Petersen was born in Copenh ...

and built in 1872–1873. Restaurant

Lumskebugten Lumskebugten is a restaurant located in a listed building at Esplanaden, Copenhagen, Esplanaden 21 in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been owned by Erwin Lauterbach since 2011. With a history that goes back to 1854, it is one of the oldest restaurant ...

has existed since 1854 and is located in a listed building. Babette Hotel (No. 22 ) is a boutique hotel operated by Guldsmeden Hotels..

References

External links

Esplanaden
on indenforvoldene.dk {{coord, 55, 41, 16, N, 12, 35, 41, E, region:DK_type:landmark_source:kolossus-nowiki, display=title Streets in Copenhagen

History

Notable buildings and residents

See also

References

External links