Gammel Kongevej
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Gammel Kongevej (literally "Old King's Road) is the principal shopping street of
Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...
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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
. Running roughly parallel to
Frederiksberg Allé Frederiksberg Allé is a tree-lined avenue which runs through the southernmost part of the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Vesterbrogade at Værnedamsvej to Frederiksberg Runddel in front of the main entrance to Frederik ...
and
Vesterbrogade Vesterbrogade () is the main shopping street of the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.5 km long street runs from the City Hall Square in the east to Pile Allé in Frederiksberg in the west where it turns into Roskildevej. O ...
, it extends from
Vesterport station Vesterport Station () is a S-train station in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The station is located in the district of Indre By, and is named after the historic '' Vesterport'' city gate, although it is located quite a distance from the origin ...
at the southern end of The Lakes and continues for some 1.8 km west to Frederiksberg City Hall Square where it continues as Smallegade. In the opposite end, Jernbanegade connects it to Copenhagen City Hall Square.


History


17th and 18th century

Gammel Kongevej is one of the oldest road sections in Frederiksberg, originally providing a direct connection between Copenhagen's Western City Gate and the historic village of Solbjerg (no longer in existence). From there the road continued past the
Damhus Lake Damhus Lake ( da, Damhussøen or ') is a lake located just north of Roskildevej, between Rødovre, Vanløse and Frederiksberg, on the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Damhus Meadow ( da, Damhusengen, links=no), once a part of the la ...
towards
Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
, giving rise to the name Roskildegaden ("The Roskilde Street"), which is seen in some documents from the beginning of the 17th century. The road was improved by
Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 â€“ 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...
in the 1620s. The name Kongevejen (English: King's Road) emerged about a generation later when it became the principal road to Ny Amager (New Amager), as Frederiksberg was then called, where the king had several properties. The name of the road changed to Gammel Kongevej after a new ''Route de Roie'',
Frederiksberg Allé Frederiksberg Allé is a tree-lined avenue which runs through the southernmost part of the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It connects Vesterbrogade at Værnedamsvej to Frederiksberg Runddel in front of the main entrance to Frederik ...
, opened in 1705.


19th century

The road passed through open countryside with only a few scattered country houses until the mid-19th century when Copenhagen's fortifications were decommissioned and the city was allowed to develop freely. A number of new country houses were built along the road but most of them were replaced by multi-story apartment buildings with shops in the ground floors in the 1880s and 1890s.


20th century

P. Andersen opened the Svanholm Brewery at No. 64 in 1853. It was merged with several other breweries to form The United Breweries in 1891 and most of its buildings were replaced by a machine factory and iron factory. Part of the site was cleared in 1904–05 to make way for the new street Prinsesse Maries Allé. The rest of the industrial plant was replaced by the cinema complex Kinopalæet in 1918. Gammel Kongevej mainly catered to the middle and upper middle classes. The area next to the iron foundry was home to a small working-class neighbourhood with an infamous reputation. In the 1950s,
Jørn Utzon Jørn Oberg Utzon, , Hon. FAIA (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. He was most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia, completed in 1973. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon ...
, architect of the Sydney Opera House, drafted a project for the area which was never built. It consisted of tower blocks in a green space inspired by Japanese gardens.


Notable buildings and residents

The apartment building at Gammel Kongevej 25 hides the former buildings of Emil Messerschmidt's Tannery. The current buildings, a three-winged complex, were built after a fire in 1867. It is one of relative few examples of the many minor industrial enterprises that once dominated the courtyard of Copenhagen's Vesterbro and Nørrebro districts. Dating from the 1850s, No. 78 is one of the oldest apartment buildings along the street. It has a small front garden with a fence towards the street. The Catholic school Ansgarstiftelsen at No. 15 is decorated with a mural by Niels Macholm. Just off Gammel Kongevej, between the streets H.C. Ørsteds Vej and Bülowsvej, is a small enclave which has been described as Denmark's first urban neighbourhood of single-family detached homes. It consists of the side streets Uraniavej and Lindevej. The area around Sankt Jørgens Sø is home to a cluster of modern buildings which include the
Tycho Brahe Planetarium The Tycho Brahe Planetarium is located at the southern end of the lake Skt. Jørgens Sø in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was designed by MAA Knud Munk (1936-2016) and opened on November 1, 1989. It is named after astronomer Tycho Brahe. History Th ...
and two highrises, Copenhagen Scandic Hotel and the 18-storey Codan Building.


Gallery

Image:Funky funkis.jpg, "The Hot Iron"" at Image:Søerne - Gammel Kongevej.jpg, The beginning of the street at The Lakes


See also

*
Roskildevej Roskildevej is a road between Copenhagen and Roskilde in the Danish capital area. The direct continuation of Vesterbrogade, which begins at Copenhagen's City Hall Square, the road begins at Pile Allé and continues through Frederiksberg, Valby, Rà ...
* H. C. Ørstedsvej *
Albert Nicolai Schioldann Albert Nicolai Schioldann (21 January 1843 - 23 February 1917) was a Danish master mason, developer and philanthropist. Early life and education Schioldann was born on 21 January 1843 in Copenhagen, the son of architect and master mason J.N. Sch ...


References


External links


Source
{{coord, 55.6758, N, 12.5442, E, source:wikidata, display=title Streets in Frederiksberg Streets in Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave