(Kongelige) Grønlandske Handels Plads ( English: "(Royal) Greenland Dock") is a waterfront area at the end of

Strandgade Strandgade ( lit. "Beach Street") is one of the principal streets in the Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs along the full length of the neighbourhood, following the harbourfront, from Christian's Church in the south-west to ...

in the northwestern corner of the

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 ...

neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area is bounded by the Trangraven canal to the north, Christianshavn Canal to the east,

Krøyers Plads Krøyers Plads is a waterfront mixed-use development in the Christianshavn neighbourhood of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located between Wilders Plads to the south and Grønlandske Handels Plads to the north. The current buildings were compl ...

to the south and the main harbor to the west. The waterfront is also known as Nordatlantens Brygge (English: North Atlantic Quay). It is named for the Royal Greenland Trading Department and was for more than 200 years a hub for Danish trade on Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The most notable building is North Atlantic House, an 18th-century warehouse now used as a cultural centre for the North Atlantic area. The threeway Trangravsbroen bridge connects Grønlandske Handelsplads to Holmen on the other side of Trangraven and

Bodenhoffs Plads Bodenhoffs Plads is an area located in the north-eastern part of Christianshavn, Copenhagen, Denmark. The site is separated from Grønlandske Handels Plads to the west by Christianshavns Kanal and by Trangraven from Holmen, Copenhagen, Holmen to th ...

(Islands Plads) on the other side of Christianshavn Canal while the Inderhavnsbroen bridge connects the area to Nyhavn on the other side of the harbor.

History

Grønlandske Handels Plads is part of the area that

Andreas Bjørn Andreas Bjørn (28 October 1703 – 27 January 1750) was a Danish merchant, shipbuilder and ship owner. Early life Andreas Bjørn was born in Skælskør to Mads Andersen Bjørn and Karen Pedersdatter. He settled as a merchant in Copenhagen in 17 ...

reclaimed in the 1730s for his shipyard which became known as Bjørnholm ("Bjørn's Isle"). In 1747, Bjørn sold the northern part of the site to Det almindelige Handelsselskab ("The General Trading Company") which in 1750 obtained a monopoly on trade on Greenland. From 1763 the company was also responsible for trade on Iceland,

Finmarken ''Finnmarken'' is a local newspaper published in Vadsø, Norway. It covers eastern Finnmark. It was established in 1899 by Adam Egede-Nissen and others. In 1942 ''Finnmarken'' was taken over by the national socialist occupant regime. They incorp ...

and the Faroe Islands. Master builder Johan Christian Conradi was commissioned to build a large warehouse for the company which was completed in 1767. Conradi had led the construction of the Eigtved Warehouse for the Danish Asia Company at Asiatisk Plads in 1750 and later also been involved in the construction of several other large warehouses in Christianshavn either as a builder or architect. The new warehouse was initially known as the Icelandic Warehouse and later as the Greenlandic Warehouse. In 1774, Det Almindelige Handelsselskab was dissolved and the Royal Greenland Trading Department came under direct control of the state. The southern part of Grønlandske Handels Plads was sold to Hans Krøyer in 1802 and became known as

. Krøyers Plads was reacquired by Royal Greenland in 1938. The company sold the area to the Danish state in 1975 but continued to use the buildings until 1980. The buildings were left empty for a few years but then were used by the Danish Customs and Taxes Authority, then by the Danish Polar Center and University of Copenhagen's Arctic Institute and Institute of Eskimology.

Public art

On the quayside next to Danish Polar Center stands

Eva Sørensen Eva Sørensen (February 14, 1940 - December 31, 2019) was a prolific Danish sculptor and ceramist whose granite and marble works are exhibited in museums and public spaces across Denmark. She died in Verbania in Italy. Life and work Born in He ...

's granite sculpture ''Pearl Anglais''. It is three and a half metres high, weight 13 tons, and consists of five volumes in a

Cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

-like composition.

Notable buildings

Conradi's warehouse is now known as North Atlantic House. The building contains representations of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands as well as a cultural centre dedicated to the North Atlantic area. Restaurant Noma was originally based in the building. A row of four smaller buildings is located on the east side of

with their gables facing Christianshavn Canal. Danish Polar Center occupies the building at Strandgade 102. Then follows the so-called Skindpakhuset ("The Hide Warehouse", No. 104), a listed warehouse from 1906. Strandgade 106, which is variously known as Det Brede Pakhus ("The Wide Warehouse") or Store Bakkehus ("Great Warehouse"), is from 1781 and also listed. No. 108, located on the corner of Christianshavn Canal and Trangraven, is now home to the one Michelin starred restaurant 108. It is operated by the same owners as Noma.

Redevelopment

Grønlandske Handelsplads has an area of approximately 6000 square metres. An architectural competition for the design of a new masterplan for Grønlandske Handelsplads, Christiansholm, Arsenaløen and Dokøen was launched in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gronlandske Handels Plads Christianshavn History of Greenland