The Composers' Quarter (Danish: Komponistkvarteret or Komponistbyen) or Strandvej Quarter (Danish: Strandvejskvarteret), confusingly also known as the Kildevæld Quarter, or the Svanemølle Quarter (Danish: Svanemøllekvarteret), is an enclave of

terraced house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

s located just west of Svanemøllen Station, between

Østerbrogade Østerbrogade is the principal shopping street and thoroughfare in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends from Lille Triangel at the north-eastern tip of The Lakes, passes Trianglen, and continues to Svanemøllen station fro ...

and Kildevækd Park, in the

Østerbro Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...

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 ...

. Most of the streets in the area are named after Danish or Nordic composers. The 393 townhouses were built by the Workers' Building Society (Danish: Arbejdernes Byggeforening) to provide affordable and healthy housing for working-class families, though latterly they have become very desirable middle-class homes.

History

The name Kildevæld Quarter refers to Kildevækrd, a country house and inn which had been located at the site since the eighteenth century. The house was located at the corner of Kildevækrdsgade and Østerbrogade. The site was acquired by

Arbejdernes Byggeforening Arbejdernes Byggeforening ( lit. "The Workers' Building Society") was a Danish building society founded in Copenhagen in 1865 to provide healthy homes for the city's workers, especially those from the Burmeister & Wain factory. At the time of its f ...

in the 1890s. The building society had already created a number of similar developments, including Kartoffelrækkerne while Humleby in Vesterbro was still under construction. The architect Frederik Bøttge was charged with designing the buildings. Construction took place between 1892 and 1903.

Layout and street names

The Composers' Quarter is surrounded by the streets Thomas Laubs Gade, Edvard Griegs Gade, Hornemangade, Østerbrogade and Landskronagade. The houses are built in yellow brick with bands of red brick. Properties with street-facing gables are mixed with more common houses featuring dormer windows to provide variation along the long, straight streets. The central thoroughfare of the area is Kildevældsgade, a 600 metre long street that runs from Østerbrogade in the east to Vennemindevej at Kildevæld Church in the east. After 190 metres, the street widens into a small square with a central garden complex, which features a memorial to Frederik Ferdinand Ulrik and Moses Melchior, two of the founders of

. The building society houses give way to taller apartment buildings just before Thomas Laubs Gade.

Street names

The other streets in the Composers' Quarter (apart from Kildevældsgade) are all named after Danish composers: * Berggreensgade, named after

Andreas Peter Berggreen Andreas Peter Berggreen (March 2, 1801 – November 8, 1880) was a Danish composer, organist, and pedagogue. Berggreen was born and died in Copenhagen. As a child Peter began composing songs and melodies for the flute. He initially studied law b ...

* Niels W Gades Gade, named after

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day, in the period known as ...

* Heisesgadem named after

Peter Arnold Heise Peter Heise (11 February 1830 – 12 September 1879) was a Danish composer, best known for the opera '' Drot og Marsk'' (''King and Marshal''). Heise's parents tried to press him into becoming a lawyer, but he scored highly in music at school, ...

* Hornemansgade, named after

Emil Horneman Johan Ole Emil Horneman (May 13, 1809 – May 29, 1870) was a Danish composer. He was born in Copenhagen, a son of miniature painter Christian Horneman. Despite his talent for drawing, Christian encouraged him to study music. He was taugh ...

* Kuhlausgade, named after

Friedrich Kuhlau Friedrich Daniel Rudolf Kuhlau (German; Danish sometimes ''Frederick Kulav'') (11 September 1786 – 12 March 1832) was a Danish pianist and composer during the late Classical and early Romantic periods. He was a central figure of the Danis ...

* Thomas Laubs Gade, named after

Thomas Laub Thomas Linnemann Laub (5 December 1852 – 4 February 1927) was a Denmark, Danish organist and composer. He was associated with the 20th century revival of religious music in the country. Biography Thomas Laub was born on 5 December 1852. W ...

* H. C. Lumbyes Gade, named after

Hans Christian Lumbye Hans Christian Lumbye (; 2 May 1810 – 20 March 1874) was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things. Beginnings As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet ...

* Weysesgade, named after

Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse Christoph(er) Ernst Friedrich Weyse (5 March 1774 – 8 October 1842) was a Danish composer during the Danish Golden Age. Biography Weyse was born at Altona in Holstein, which was in a personal union with Denmark. He gained much interest in ...

A couple of neighbouring streets are also named after Nordic composers: * Bellmansgade, named after

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet, and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as wel ...

* Edvard Griegs Gade, named after

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

* Sibeliusgade, named after

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

Notable residents

* Former prime minister

Helle Thorning-Schmidt Helle Thorning-Schmidt (; born 14 December 1966) is a Danish retired politician who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015, and Leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each p ...

lived at Kuhlausgade 40 from 2004 to 2017.

References

External links

Official website of the Strandvejskvarteret (Danish only)

Source
{{Østerbro Østerbro