Cisternerne is an exhibition space for contemporary art in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

with one annual site-specific total experience - and a wide range of events during the year. Cisternerne is an integral part of the Frederiksberg Museums (''Frederiksbergmuseerne'') where the singularity of its architecture and atmosphere remains a core attraction. Located under Frederiksberg Hill in the heart of Søndermarken Park, Cisternerne is a cave underneath the city.

Cisternerne today

Today, Cisternerne is a part of the Frederiksberg Museums (''Frederiksbergmuseerne''). The old subterranean water reservoir of Søndermarken shows exhibitions of

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. The huge dripstone cave is sparsely lit, the climate is moist and cool. Every year, Cisternerne invites an internationally recognized artist or architect to create a large-scale exhibition particular to this underground space, interacting with and emphasizing the unique

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

, atmosphere and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of Cisternerne. The art projects that unfold at the Cisternerne are site-specific and cannot be built or rebuilt any other place in the world. File:CREDIT Tomás Saraceno Event Horizon 2020 FOTO Andreas Omvik.jpg, 2020-21: Event Horizon by Tomás Saraceno in Cisternerne File:Sambuichi The Water Cisternerne 2017.jpg, 2017: The Water by Hiroshi Sambuichi in Cisternerne

History

Cisternerne, an abandoned subterranean reservoir, once contained the supply of drinking water for the Danish capital and could hold as much as 16 million litres of clean water. Excavation began in 1856. Taking only three years to complete, the great structure quickly helped to alleviate many of the water supply problems of the day; but by 1933, the city’s cisterns ceased their function as a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

for drinking water, and they were finally drained in 1981. In 1996, during Copenhagen’s year as the designated European City of Culture (later known as European Capital of Culture), the underground water reservoir was put to use as an exhibition space. The expedition was a joint initiative between the City of Frederiksberg and gallery owner Max Seidenfaden, who continued to run Cisternerne as a museum of modern glass art from 2001 to 2013. From 2013, Cisternerne became a part of the Frederiksberg Museums (''Frederiksbergmuseerne'') and was turned into an exhibition space for contemporary art. File:Bassinet på Frederiksbergbakke set fra Søndermarkssiden.png, The water basin on the top of Frederiksberg Bakke File:Søndermarken - vandtårn.jpg, The water tower

Dripstone Cave

Cisternerne is the only real dripstone cave in Denmark. The formation of stalactites and stalagmites is a common phenomenon in concrete structures and can be seen in tunnels, at metro stations and in shelters around Copenhagen. Yet none anywhere can offer the sheer magnitude and diversity of those found here, for these dripstones have been allowed to grow for decades. The dripstones in Cisternerne are beautiful, fragile and fascinating and at the same time a sign of the slow decay of the building. The formation of the dripstones happens as water from Soendermarken seeps through the concrete ceiling, the water dissolves the basic calcareous minerals in the concrete. The dripstones in Cisternerne are a reminder of how nature slowly but certainly dominates what we build and believe we control. Cisternerne Rosenmunthe 06 0792.jpg

References

External links

Cisternerne websiteFrederiksbergmuseerne website
{{Frederiksberg, Copenhagen Art museums and galleries in Copenhagen Buildings and structures in Frederiksberg Municipality Water supply infrastructure in Denmark