Damhus Lake ( or ') is a lake located just north of
Roskildevej, between
Rødovre
Rødovre () is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Capital Region of Denmark, Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a ...
,
Vanløse
Vanløse is one of the 10 official Districts of Copenhagen, districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It lies on the western border of the municipality. Vanløse covers an area of 6.69 km2, and has a population of 36,115, making Vanlø ...
and
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
, on the western outskirts of inner
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 ...
. Damhus Meadow (), once a part of the lake, is located on the north side of the lake.
History
Damhus Lake is an
artificial lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...
which was created some time during the Middle Ages when a dam was built on
Harrestrup River (Harrestrup Ã…). The first known reference to it is from 1561 when king
Frederick II gives it to the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
...
. From 1618, the lake played a role in Copenhagen's water supply. It was then known as Langevadsdam. The name referred to the "Lange vad" ("long
ford") to the south of the lake. The lake's current southern shoreline was defined in 1620–21 when an embankment was built across marshy stretch for the new
Roskilde Road. The aim of the embankment was not only to protect the road against flooding but also to secure a more stable supply of water to Copenhagen by raising the water level in the lake. The water drained into
St. Jørgen's Lake closer to the city through the artificial
Ladegård Canal.
The Roskilde Road was a
toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
until 1915.
A building at the southwestern corner of the lake, Langevadsdamhuset, colloquially known as Damhuset, served as
toll house
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge.
History
Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...
. The lake gradually got its contemporary name from this toll house around 1800.
In 1849, a new embankment was constructed across the lake, separating it in two. In the 1920s and 1930s, Harestrup Å caused frequent floodings and it had also become known for its unpleasant odour. In 1938 it was therefore decided to regulate it in connection with the city's establishment of the new public park Vigerslevparken. The stream was disconnected from the northern part of the lake, known as Bagsøen ("The Rear Lake"), which was drained and converted into present-day Damhusengen (Damhus Meadow). In 1941, both lake and meadow were given status as public park. They were protected by the Conservation Authority in 1966.
References
External links
Damhus Lake / Damhus Meadow at Københavnergrøn/Copenhagen Green
{{Rødovre Municipality
Parks and open spaces in Rødovre Municipality
Lakes of Copenhagen