The Fortification Ring (

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 ance ...

: Fæstningsringen) 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 ...

, is a collective name used to refer to the grounds where the city's old

17th-century fortifications The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural moveme ...

used to lie, now surrounding the

City Centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

. Since the fortifications were decommissioned in 1870, the Fortification Ring has been dominated by a number of parks and distinctive greenspaces and it is still maintained and developed as a

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

within the city limits, running between the city centre and the -bro districts. The ramparts, bastions and moats of the former fortifications are still clearly seen in the topography. At

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

and the citadel Kastellet, the fortifications have been preserved and remain intact.

History

The decommissioning of Copenhagen's fortifications was a lengthy process. Though the four city gates were finally dismantled in 1858–60 to allow for traffic to pass more freely in and out of the city, work on the ramparts continued and it would take another two decades before a denise fell into place. In 1867 a law abolished the

demarcation line {{Refimprove, date=January 2008 A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire. Africa * Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahrawi- ...

around the city and in the same time it provided the legislative foundation for the

City 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 ...

, on certain conditions, to take over the extensive areas which the fortifications had occupied till then. When an agreement fell into place in 1868, with effect from 1 January 1870, it stipulated that the City was required to use certain specified areas for green spaces. An area was to be put at the disposal of the

University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden ( da, Botanisk have), usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly ...

and a minimum of 300,000 square ell (12 hectares) were to be laid out as

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

s. In addition, a master plan for the redevelopment of the area had to be approved by the State. A master plan for the area was approved in 1872 and ground work proceeded, first at the Northern Rampart. A revision of the master plan in 1885 increased the area to be laid out as parkland to 23.5 hectares. The decommissioning of the Christianshavn Rampart finally followed in 1916.

The Fortification Ring today

Parks & greenspaces

Parks and other open or semi-open spaces located in the fortification ring, starting at Kastellet and proceeding anti-clockwise, include:: * Kastellet * Churchill Parken *

Østre Anlæg Østre Anlæg is a public park in Copenhagen. Once it was a part of the old city fortifications. The park was designed by landscape architect H.A. Flindt who also designed Ørstedsparken and Copenhagen Botanical Garden on the old fortification. ...

Copenhagen Botanical Garden The University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden ( da, Botanisk have), usually referred to simply as Copenhagen Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly ...

Ørstedsparken Ørstedsparken is a public park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One in a series of parks which were laid out on the grounds of the Fortifications of Copenhagen (17th century), old fortification ring after it was decommissioned in the 1870s, the par ...

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...

* Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Garden * Christianshavn Rampart *

Freetown Christiania Freetown Christiania, also known as Christiania ( da, Fristaden Christiania or '), is an intentional community, commune and micronation in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of the Danish capital city of Copenhagen, Christinia, Christianshavn, C ...

Notable buildings

Notable buildings and institutions include: *

Copenhagen Municipal Hospital Copenhagen Municipal Hospital (Danish language, Danish: Københavns Kommunehospital) was a hospital that existed from 1863 until 1999 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its buildings, located on Vester, Nørre and Øster Farimagsgade, Øster Farimagsgade, opp ...

(1858–63) *

Østervold Observatory Østervold Observatory (or Copenhagen University Observatory; da, Københavns Universitet Astronomisk Observatorium) is a former astronomical observatory (IAU code 035) in Copenhagen, Denmark owned and operated by the University of Copenhagen (K� ...

(1859–61) *

Copenhagen Central Fire Station Copenhagen Central Fire Station (Danish: Københavns Hovedbrandstation) is the headquarters of Copenhagen Fire Department and located on H.C. Andersens Boulevard just behind Copenhagen City Hall and opposite Tivoli Gardens. It was designed by Ludv ...

(1889–92) *

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

(1896) *

Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen City Hall ( da, Københavns Rådhus) is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen. Architect ...

(1905) *

The Hirschsprung Collection The Hirschsprung Collection (Danish: Den Hirschsprungske Samling) is an art museum located on Stockholmsgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in a parkland setting in Østre Anlæg, near the Danish National Gallery, and houses a large colle ...

(1911) *

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

References

{{coord missing, Denmark Parks and open spaces in Copenhagen Fortifications of Copenhagen Parks in Copenhagen Urban planning in Denmark