Halmtorvet ( English: The Haymarket) is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the Vesterbro district of

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 ...

. It is located next to

Copenhagen Central Station Copenhagen Central Station (, ; abbreviated ''København H'', colloquially usually referred to as ''Hovedbanegården'' or simply ''Hovedbanen'') is the Central station, main railway station in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the largest railway station ...

in front of the Meat District. The oblong square eventually turns into Sønder Boulevard, a broad street with a park strip in its central reserve, which continues to Enghavevej at Enghave station.

History

Copenhagen's haymarket was originally located just inside the Western City Gate where the City Hall Square lies today. It closed on 1 January 1888 and relocated to the area outside the new Livestock Market which had opened at the site in 1879. Market days were Wednesday and Saturday and up to several hundred loads of hay and straw were traded and distributed to cattle and horse stables around the city. Halmtorvet c

Up through the 20th century, with improved infrastructure, livestock moved out of the city and horses lost their role in transportation, and the haymarket finally closed. The area fell into despair and became associated with

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and drug dealing. The site was also dominated by through traffic, buses and goods transport. The area underwent gradual

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

up through the 1990s and Halmtorvet was thoroughly refurbished from 1999 to 2003 as part of a major programme for

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

in the Vesterbro area. The first stage was designed by the office of the City Architect and completed in 2000. The second and third stages were designed by the Park Office of the city and carried out in 2003. In order to obtain a coherent space in the area a large gas regulator in front of the Brown Meat District was removed.

Square layout

The square has an oblong shape. To make the space more attractive to urban life, the new layout introduced one-way traffic which is taken along a single lane on the south side of the square. A roundabout on the corner of the Brown Meat District, distributes traffic south and north of the Central Station. In the centre of the square, in front of Øksnehallen, there is an oval pool surrounded by large open spaces and playgrounds. Other areas have elevated lawns and flower beds with terraced sides. Other elements in the refurbishment include new paving and items of street furniture.

Buildings

The north side of the square is lined with residential buildings from the 1890s. The building between Lille Istedgade and Abel Cathrine Gade was built from 1897 to 1898 to the design of Emil Blichfeldt who has also designed the main entrance of

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli (), is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Kla ...

on the other side of the

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

. Built in 1961, ''Borgenhus'', at No. 20, is the only building in Inner Vesterbro under City Plan West, a municipal plan from 1958 for condemnations and

in the area. The south side of the square, from the roundabout up to the beginning of Sønder Boulevard, borders on the Meat Packing District. The original meat market was planned and designed by

Hans Jørgen Holm Hans Jørgen Holm (9 May 1835 – 22 July 1916) was a Danish architect. A pupil of Johan Daniel Herholdt, he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a leading Danish proponent of the National Romantic style. Biograp ...

in 1878 but over the years new buildings were added to the design of other architects, including Øksnehallen by

Ludvig Fenger Ludvig Peter Fenger (7 July 1833 – 9 March 1905) was a Danish architect. He was a proponent of the Historicist style, and from 1886 to 1904 he held the title of City Architect in Copenhagen. Among his works are several churches, the Centr ...

in 1901. The section closest to the Central Station is known as the Brown Meat District. It is the older part and generally dates from about 1900. The section closest to Sønder Boulevard is known as the White Meat District and was built in the first half of the 1930s to the design of City Architect . Halmtorvet 29 is the former headquarters of Alfred Benzon A/S.

Halmtorvet today

Halmtorvet is now lined on either side by cafés and restaurants. Part of the Brown Meat District, Øksnehallen at No. 11, a former market building, now serves as an exhibition venue which houses a broad variety of events, exhibitions and flea markets. Husets Teater is a small studio theatre based in another building of the Brown Meat District. , the modern building at No. 20, houses Station City, the police station for the city centre.

References

External links