Pilestræde (
lit. English: Willow Alley) is a street in central
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. It is a side street to the pedestrianized shopping street
Strøget
Strøget () is a pedestrian, car-free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city ...
and commonly associated with the newspaper publishing house
, which has its headquarters in the street.
History
The street name refers to Pilegården, a farm which was located at the site in the Middle Ages. Pilegårde is first mentioned in 1419 and was divided into several smaller properties in 1579.
In the 16th century, Copenhagen's
stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...
(''Københavns Avlsgård''), where the city's bulls were stabled, was also located along the street. The stud farm was in 1671 sold to
Trinitatis Church
The Trinitatis Church (''Trinitatis Kirke'') is located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the 17th century Trinitatis Complex, which includes the Rundetårn astronomical observatory tower and the Copenhagen University Library, in ad ...
for use as a cemetery.
[ The northernmost part of Pilestræde was originally called Springergade with a reference to the bulls at the farm. Local residents found the name inappropriate and the street was therefore included in Pilestræde in 1881.][
In 1765, Berlingske's publishinghouse established in one of the yards on the east side of the street.
]
Notable buildings and residents
No. 32-34 was built for Berlingske Publishing House in 1930 to a design by Helweg-Møller. The building to the right of it is from 1741 and is part of the Berlingske complex. No. 26 was built in 1764 for mayor Peter Harloff Wieck.
No. 33 is from some time before 1745 and is listed. No. 37, 39, 44-45 are also listed.
The rectory of Trinity Church (No. 67) is from 1928 and was designed by Henning Hansen in collaboration with Thomas Havning.Norse Projects
Norse Projects is a clothing brand based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company designs and develops seasonal collections of men's and womenswear, blending influences from streetwear and classical workwear with high-end fashion. The creative director ...
have a flagship store at No. 41. The designer Julie Fagerholt has a flagship store at No. 45.
Cultural references
Pilestræde is used as a location at 0:08:04 in the 1977 ''Olsen Gang
The ''Olsen Gang'' (, ) is a Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual offender ...
'' film ''The Olsen Gang Outta Sight
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
''.
Gurther reading
*
Historien om en gade
'
References
External links
Pilestræde
at indenforvoldene.dk
Pilestræde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilestraede
Streets in Copenhagen