The Gunboat Sheds (''Kanonbådsskurene'') is a row of 32 black-painted wooden sheds located on the east coast of Frederiksholm, part of
Holmen, 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
...
. Built in the first half of the 19th century for the
naval base which used to occupy the grounds, they have now been adapted for other use. They were listed in 1964.
History
The Gunboat Sheds owe their existence and name to the so-called
gunboats
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to shore bombardment, bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for troopship, ferrying troops or au ...
which were built after the Danish naval fleet had been captured at the
Holmen Naval Base
Naval Station Holmen ( da, Flådestation Holmen) is one of several naval stations of the Royal Danish Navy, supplementing the two Danish naval bases in Frederikshavn and Korsør.
Founded in the late 17th century, it is also a visitor attractio ...
by the
Royal British Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...
on
21 October 1807. The gunboats were used in the last stage of the
English Wars, now known as the
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Nav ...
. The small gunboats were employed against the conventional Royal British Navy. Built to provide on-land protection for the gunboats when they were not in use, the sheds were mainly built in around 1830. Each shed could accommodate two gunboats.
When the gunboats were replaced by more modern vessels, the sheds remained in use for storing motor boats and other smaller vessels. They were listed in 1964 but had fallen into a state of neglect by the time the Navy left Holmen in 1996. They were sold in 1998 and in 1999 to Søtoftegård A/S and Keops A/S. The new owners undertook a thorough restoration and adapted the buildings for use as office space with the assistance of
PLH Architects PLH Architects is an architectural firm based in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1977 by Palle Leif Hansen.
Location
PLH Arkitekter is based in a former industrial complex situated in the Haraldsgade neighbourhood on the border between outer ...
.
On 18 August 2006 a fire destroyed five sheds in the middle of the row but they were subsequently rebuilt.
The Gunboat Sheds today
Since the renovation, the sheds have housed small businesses mainly in the creative sector, such as advertising agencies, media houses and architectural practises. The tenants include
KHR Arkitekter
KHR Architecture A/S, formerly known as KHRAS and KHR Arkitekter is a Danish architecture company founded as Krohn & Hartvig Rasmussen in 1946. The company was founded by Gunnar Krohn and E. Hartvig Rasmussen after winning an architectural compe ...
and the short-lived newspaper ''
Dagen'' was also based there. The street Kanonbådsvej is named after the sheds.
See also
*
Nyholm Central Guardhouse
References
External links
{{Commons category, Kanonbådsskurene
Holmen, Copenhagen
Listed office buildings in Copenhagen
Government buildings completed in 1850