Vestergade ( lit. "West Street") is a 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 ...

, linking

Gammeltorv Gammeltorv (Old Market) is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its build ...

in the northeast with the City Hall Square in the southwest. The street defines the southern boundary of Copenhagen's

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

. Most of the buildings in the street date from the years after the

Copenhagen Fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brandes 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. A ...

History

The name Vestergade ("West Street") testifies Gammeltorv's original status as the most important square in Copenhagen. In the Middle Ages, Vestergade was Copenhagen's main street, linking the square with the Western City Gate at its western end. The north side of the street was lined with guesthouses. The city gate was moved a little further to the south in 1668 but Vestergade maintained its role as the principal entrance road for traffic coming from the west. The street was completely destroyed in the

Copenhagen Fire of 1728 The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 was the largest fire in the history of Copenhagen, Denmark. It began on the evening of 20 October 1728 and continued to burn until the morning of 23 October. It destroyed approximately 28% of the city (measured by coun ...

and again in the Fire of 1795. In 1865, Vestergade was home to a total of 17 inns and guesthouses. The number then began to decline, both as a result of the decommissioning of the city's fortifications, the increased importance of the railway and the large and modern hotels that opened on Vester Voldgade in the 1880s. In 1877, nine inns were left in the street and in 1888 the number had dropped to seven: Sjælland ("

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

"), Rosen ("The Rose"), Vinhuset ("The Wine House"), Tre Hjorter ("Three Deer"), Garvergården ("The Tannery"), Gardergården ("The (Royal) Guards' House") and Kronen ("The Crown"). In 1894 the number was down to five and by 1929 only Tre Hjorter was left. Both in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, it was proposed to widen the street and make it more straight but each time it was stopped by opposition from citizens and organisations.

Notable buildings and structures

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia is based at No. 7. No. 12 is the former guesthouse Tre Hjorter ("Three Deer"). Gardergården at No. 18 is another former guesthouse. It received its current name when it was rented out to the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

. The complex had room for 77 and was replaced by the new Royal Horse Guards Barracks at

Frederiksholms Kanal Frederiksholms Kanal is a canal in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs along the south-west side of Slotsholmen, together with Slotholmens Kanal separating the island from Zealand. The name also applies to the continuation of Rådhusstræde whi ...

in 1792 when it had become too small. The buildings were then again used as a guesthouse until the late 19th century. 14-year-old

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

stayed the first couple of weeks at Gardergården when he first arrived in Copenhagen. The Metropol department store (Vestergade 9/Kattesundet 3/Frederiksberggade 16) was built in 1906–08 to design by

Anton Rosen Anton Rosen (13 September 1859 – 2 July 1928) was a Danish architect, furniture designer, decorative artist and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In his architecture, he combined a free Historicist style with inspiration ...

. In 1924, the Jugendstil building was converted into a theatre by Viggo Jacobsen and Albert Oppenheim. The C. W Obel House at No. 2 was built as a combined inn and brewery in 1797. The property was acquired by the C.W. Obel tobacco manufacturing company in 1937. The company commissioned

Frits Schlegel Frits Schlegel (4 May 1896 - 5 March 1965) was a Functionalist Danish architect active during the transition from traditional craftsmanship to industrialized construction methods in the building industry. He was among the first architects in Denm ...

to design a five-storey warehouse and office building in the courtyard. The company, now the investment company of the C. W. Obel Family Foundation, is still based in the building. No. 5, which is also from the 1790s, was built for another leading tobacco manufacturer, Christian Augustinus, whose company was later merged with C. W. Obel. Politikens Hus (Vestergade 28/Rådhuspladsen 37) is the headquarters of the newspaper

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been independe ...

. The building is from 1896 and was designed by Philip Smidth. The building on the opposite corner (Vestergade 37 / Rådhuspladsen 45-47 / Frederiksberggade 40 ) is the former

Hotel Bristol The Hotel Bristol is the name of more than 200 hotels around the world. They range from grand European hotels, such as Hôtel Le Bristol Paris and the Hotel Bristol in Warsaw or Vienna to budget hotels, such as the SRO (single room occupancy) ...

, now also known as Absalons Gård.

Public art and memorials

On Vestergade 22 is a plaque commemorating

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...

. His sister lived at the site. She was married to

Hans Christian Ørsted Hans Christian Ørsted ( , ; often rendered Oersted in English; 14 August 17779 March 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricity ...

and their home on the first floor was used as a venue for literary salons.

Transport

The

Rådhuspladsen City Hall Square ( da, Rådhuspladsen, ) is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark, located in front of the Copenhagen City Hall. Its large size, central location, and affiliation with the city hall makes it a popular venue for a ...

City Circle Line The City Circle Line ( da, Cityringen) or M3 is a loop line of the Copenhagen Metro. It has been claimed by COWI A/S that the City Circle Line is the largest construction project to have taken place in Copenhagen during the last 400 years.

station is located at the southwestern end of the street.

Cultural references

* Vestergade features prominently in

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, ...

's comedy ''Ellevte jun'' (1723) and Yre Hjorter is also mentioned in his comedy ''Ulysses von Ithacia''. * The street is also featured as one of the two eponymous streets in

Thomas Overskou Thomas Overskou (11 October 1798 in Copenhagen– 7 November 1873 in Copenhagen) was a Danish actor, playwright and theater historian and a titular professor in 1852. His plays are preserved in the Dramatic Collection of the Royal Danish Library. ...

's comedy ''Østergade and Vestergade''- *

Tom Kristensen Tom Kristensen (born 7 July 1967) is a Danish former racing driver. He holds the record for the most wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with nine, six of which were consecutive (from 2000 to 2005). In 1997, he won the race with the Joest Racing te ...

's Expressionist poem ''Vestergade 1924'' the chaotic street, with its horses, carriages and sounds, is described as experienced by a narrator who has just fallen on his bicycle.

References

External links

Vestergade
at indenforvoldene.dk
Source

1801 census
{{coord, 55.6773, N, 12.5696, E, source:wikidata, display=title Streets in Copenhagen