Langelinie (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Long Line) is a

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

promenade 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 ...

and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

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 ...

, and home of ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

'' statue. The area has for centuries been a popular destination for excursions and strolls in Copenhagen. Most

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s arriving in Copenhagen also berth at Langelinie Pier.

History

Military area and the first promenade

The name Langelinie goes back to the middle of the 17th century where it referred to an idyllic path along the

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

coast that rounded the citadel Kastellet and continued towards a

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...

north of the city. For a long time, the stretch was a military area where civilians were not granted unrestricted access. Under a

general order A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command. Its purpose is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to the unit's situatio ...

from 1819, soldiers were required to "throw water in the head and on the breast and to cool their feet in the water". Eventually a beach promenade and a park for the

Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

were made but with access only on the payment of a

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic) The road toll was a historical fee charged to travellers and ...

to keep the more common people out. Not until a public uprising in 1848 did the area become open to everybody.

Port area and the second promenade

The expansion of the city and the increasing

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

soon made it clear that the city's harbour was becoming too small and in the same time old plans to create a

free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which com ...

were revived. In a plan from 1862 it was decided to dig out the area to allow access for the largest ocean-going vessels and use the materials removed for land fills along the coast. A suggestion to make all of

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

into a duty-free zone was abolished and instead it was decided to create a free port in the area north of Kastellet at the site of the Langelinie promenade. The beginning of the work was prompted by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

's construction of the

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the N ...

that was begun in 1887 and threatened Copenhagen's position. In 1894 the work was completed and Copenhagen had got an entirely new harbourfront. The old beach promenade with

Bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s had turned into the heavily trafficated street Strandboullevarden located several hundred metres inland and the beach where the soldiers had been required to cool their feet had turned into harbour basins. Langelinie became now a pier on the other side of that harbour basin.

Langelinie Park

The Langelinie Park (Danish: Langelinieparken) stretches from Esplanaden in the south to Langelinie Marina and the base of the Langelinie Pier in the north. Formally, it includes Kastellet although this site is generally referred to under its own name. The park contains numerous

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

s, buildings, a marina,

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

s and a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

. Among these are the

Gefion Fountain The Gefion Fountain ( da, Gefionspringvandet) is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of oxen pulling a plow and being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod are ...

, the

Ivar Huitfeldt Column The Ivar Huitfeldt Column is a monument at Langelinie in Copenhagen, Denmark, built to commemorate the death of Admiral Ivar Huitfeldt and his men from HDMS Dannebroge, which exploded and sank in the Battle of Køge Bat during the Great Northern W ...

and ''

''.

Langelinie Marina

Langelinie Marina was established in the 1890s in connection with the foundation of the Free Port and the Langelinie Quat. Its purpose was to provide the workers from the construction site as well as those from the

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

shipyard on the other side of the harbour with a chance to have a small boat, enabling them to supplement their incomes with a bit of fishing. Copenhagen rowing clubs have for many years had their base at the marina. Today only B&Ws and DFDS' are left after ØK's passed their premises to Langelinie Marina's Boat Huild.

Langelinie Pier

The Langelinie Pier (Danish: Langeliniekajen) has a water depth allowing big ocean-going vessels to tie up. The area has a number of statues and memorials. These include a cast bronze sculpture polar bear with cubs and memorials for MS ''Jutlandia'',

Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen (15 January 1872 – 25 November 1907) was a Danish author, ethnologist, and explorer, from Ringkøbing. He was most notably an explorer of Greenland. Literary expedition With Count Harald Moltke and Knud Rasmussen Mylius-E ...

. The polar bear has some bullet holes at the head, which were made by a German soldier under the

Occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

Langelinie Pavilion

The

Langelinie Pavilion The Langelinie Pavilion (Danish language, Danish: Langeliniepavillonen) is a venue located at the Langelinie waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first Langelinie Pavilion was built in the 1880s but the current building is a Modernist structure ...

was designed by Nils and Rva Koppel. It is the third building of the name at the site.

References

External links

Langelinie Marina Boat Club
{{Copenhagen Tourist attractions in Copenhagen Port of Copenhagen Waterfronts