Fiolstræde is a

pedestrianised Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

shopping street in central

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 passes the square

Frue Plads Frue Plads (literally "Square of (Our) Lady") is a public square located on the north side of the Church of Our Lady in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It occupies a rectangular space which is bounded on the other sides by University of Copenhagen's ...

on its way from

Nørreport station Nørreport station is an S-train, metro and main line railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in the district of Indre By, and is named after the historic '' Nørreport city gate'', at the original location of which it is located ...

in the north to

Skindergade Skindergade is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Running roughly parallel to Strøget, to which it is connected through Jorcks Passage, it extends for approximately 400 metres from Gammeltorv to Købmagergade. History Its name dates bac ...

in the south where

Jorcks Passage Jorcks Passage is a passageway and associated building in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects the pedestrian street Strøget to Skindergade at the end of Fiolstræde. History Construction Jorcks Passage takes its name after the developer a ...

connects it to the shopping street

Strøget Strøget () is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city o ...

Copenhagen Cathedral The Church of Our Lady ( da, Vor Frue Kirke) is the cathedral of Copenhagen. It is situated on the Frue Plads public square in central Copenhagen, next to the historic main building of the University of Copenhagen. The present-day version of the ...

is located on the street which also passes the rear side of

Copenhagen University Library The Copenhagen University Library ( Danish: Københavns Universitetsbibliotek) in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the main research library of the University of Copenhagen. Founded in 1482, it is the oldest library in Denmark. The old main building of th ...

History

The area along the street was until the 17th century dominated by green areas and the name more likely refers to the

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

flower (Danish: viol) rather than the fiddle (Danish: Fiol). The section from

Nørre Voldgade Nørre Voldgade ( lit. "North Rampart Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs north-east from Jarmers Plads for approximately 600 metres to Gothersgade where it turns into Øster Voldgade. The succession of Nørre Voldgade, ...

Krystalgade Krystalgade (literally "Crystal Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, connecting Nørregade to Købmagergade. Copenhagen Central Library and the Great Synagogue of Copenhagen are located in the street. History The street is menti ...

was originally called Store Fiolstræde (Large Violet Alley) while the section from Krystalgade to Skindergade was called Lille Fiolstræde (Small Violet Alley).

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

lived the last years of his life (died 1754) in a professorial residence at No. 8. The building was destroyed during the British bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. A plaque on the wall at No. 8 commemorates the event. The street was formerly known for its many

used bookstore Used bookstores (usually called "second-hand bookshops" in Great Britain) buy and sell used books and out-of-print books. A range of titles is available in used bookstores, including in print and out-of-print books. Book collectors tend to frequent ...

s. Fiolstræde was pedestrianised in 1968 following the successful pedestrianisation of Strøget in the early 1960s. The narrow street (8 metres) was considered a natural second phase in the pedestrianisation of the area after the closure of Strøget in 1962.

Notable buildings and residents

The most notable building in the street is the former

. It was completed in 1861 to a

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

design by

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th an ...

No. 4–6 is the former Metropolitan School from 1811–15. It was designed by

Christian Frederik Hansen Christian Frederik Hansen (29 February 1756 – 10 July 1845), known as C. F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''De ...

who was also responsible for the rebuilding of Church of Our Lady on the other side of the street in the years after the British bombardment. Hotel Sankt Petri is located in the former Daells Varehus department store. Built in 1935, it was one of the first buildings designed by

Vilhelm Lauritzen Vilhelm Lauritzen (9 September 1894 – 22 December 1984) was a leading Danish modern architect, founder of the still active architectural firm Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter. Biography Vilhelm Lauritzen was born in Slagelse, Denmark. He studie ...

and one of the earliest Modernist buildings in Copenhagen. Stiftsprovstsboligen (No 8), located on the corner of Store Kanikkestræde, was built in 1841 as official residence for the provost (''Stiftsprovst'') at Church of Our Lady. The house and a section of wall shielding the courtyard from the street was listed in 1939. Fiolstræde 18

. No. 11 (1828), No. 12–14 (1839), No. 13 (1831), No. 15 (1834), No. 16 (1732), No. 17 (1851), No. 18 (1734), No. 19 (1836), No. 20 (1811), No. 21 (1836), No. 12 (1835), No. 24 (1857), No. 25–27 (13–15), No. 26 (1809), No. 28 (1814–51), No. 29 (1810), No. 30—32 (1809/1823), No. 34–36 (1812), No. 38 (1827) and No. 40–42 (1828) are also listed. The Neo-Baroque building with a rounded corner on Nørre Voldgade was built for the School of Merchantry (Købmandsskolen) in 1902 to design by Valdemar and Bernhard Ingemann. It still houses one of the campuses of

Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College, usually referred to simply as Niels Brock, is a school of secondary education and post-secondary education in Copenhagen, Denmark. The school offers programmes within business and management including Voca ...

Public art and memorials

Under a group of trees at the southern end of the street stands

Jean Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter, and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born in Straßburg (now Stras ...

's abstract sculpture ''Cupulate Fruit''. It was installed at the site in 1979. In front of Copenhagen University Library's gable towards Frue Plads stands a monument to the geophysicist

Inge Lehmann Inge Lehmann (13 May 1888 – 21 February 1993) was a Danish seismologist and geophysicist. In 1936, she discovered that the Earth has a solid inner core inside a molten outer core. Before that, seismologists believed Earth's core to be a sin ...

. It was unveiled on 15 May 2017.

Today

Today pedestrian traffic is consistent throughout the year due to the presence of students during winter (about 11-12,000 people daily). However, it is a quiet street on weekends and evenings.

References

External links

Fiolstræde
on indenforvoldene.dk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiolstraede Streets in Copenhagen Pedestrian streets in Copenhagen