Nyboder
| Nyboder | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Copenhagen |
| Country | Denmark |
| Construction started | 1631 (1st stage) |
| Completed | 1795 (2nd stage) |
| Client | Christian IV |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger Philip de Lange |
Nyboder(English:New [small] Houses) is a historicrow housedistrict of formerNavalbarracksinCopenhagen,Denmark.It was planned and first built byChristian IVto accommodate a need for housing for the personnel of the rapidly growingRoyal Danish Navyand their families during that time. While the area is still commonly associated with the name of its founder as one of his numerous building projects around Copenhagen, the Nyboder seen today was in fact, except for a single row of houses inSankt Pauls Gade,built from 1757.
Nyboder is today very much associated with their yellow colour and "Nyboder yellow" is in Danish often used as ageneric termto refer to their exacthueof yellow.[1]However, the original colour of the development was red and white.
History
[edit]Christian IV's Nyboder
[edit]
Under Christian IV the Royal Danish Navy grew rapidly and there was an urgent need for suitable accommodation for its personnel and their families.Bremerholmalready offered similar housing fornaval officers,these were theoldhouses referred to by implication in Nyboder's name, so now the new barracks were to house common sailors and otherprivate personnel.The new development was planned on land outside Copenhagen previously acquired by the king with the intention to expand thefortified citynorthwards.[2]This had still not happened butSaint Anne's Post,later to develop intoKastellet,had already been constructed a little further north.
Construction of Nyboder was commenced in 1631. The area was laid out around two main streets radiating from a planned square which was never established. The rows were oriented perpendicularly to these streets. The architects assisting the King wereHans van Steenwinckel the Youngerand laterLeonhard Blasius.Christian IV's Nyboder was completed around 1641.[3]
Absorption by the city
[edit]In 1647, one year before Christian IV's death, Nyboder was definitively absorbed by the fortified city when theEastern City Gatewas moved, yet much of its surroundings still awaited redevelopment. Just north of Nyboder lay a piece of undeveloped land known asGreenland(Danish: Grønland).[2]
On 16 December 1658 agunpowder magazinejust north of Nyboder exploded, damaging or demolishing many houses and causing numerous casualties.
In 1668 Copenhagen'sgallowswere moved from its previous location, at the site whereKongens Nytorvwould be laid out a few years later, toGreenland.In 1677, Nyboder saw another bleak neighbour when theStocks Housewas built a little to the south.
Guard and jailhouse
[edit]
From its early days, the Nyboder area included a guardhouse which was replaced by a new building in the 1780s. It had an external bell which was used to gather people in the event of a military attack or fire. The building also houses the Nyboder barracks' own guard and contained a jail, where trouble-making residents were deposited.[4]
Expansion of the Nyboder
[edit]In 1695 a commission considered a proposal to move some of the naval personnel to the island ofMøn,due to lack of space in the crowded city which was still not allowed to develop beyond its fortifications but it never happened. When the Frederiksholm islet was created by a series of land reclamations the intention was to use it for new naval barracks but again the plans were not carried out.[5]
In the end it was decided to build new houses at Nyboder and the expansion would continue for the next 40 years. In 1756 24 two-storey houses designed byPhilip de Langewere built and while later extensions would be directed by other architects, it continued to be to his initial design. In 1771 some of Christian IV's original rows were extended with an extra storey byAnthonandHarsdorff.From 1781-96 another app. 150 houses were built. A guard house (1787) and five officer's houses were also added to the area during the same period.[3]
Between 1853 and 1878 half of Nyboder was sold off and demolished.[6]
Nyboder today
[edit]Nyboder still houses personnel of theDanish Navy,ArmyandAir Force,and priority is given to service members stationed in Copenhagen.
It has several times been proposed to sell the houses and use the proceeds for various purposes, including investments in improved infrastructure in Copenhagen, but so far it has been rejected.[7]In 2009 the A. P. Møller Foundation made a donation of DKK 50 million for a refurbishment of some of the houses.[8]
Nyboder's Church
[edit]
From 1872 to 1877St. Paul's Churchwas built to the design ofJohannes Emil Gnudtzmannin the middle of the Nyboder area and it is often referred to as Nyboder's Church. It is built in red brick and the masonry is decorated with blinds, arches, columns. andpinnacleson all corners.[9]
Nyboder's school
[edit]Nyboder School is located at 15 Øster Voldgade.
Monuments
[edit]
At Store Kongensgade, in front of Nyboder, there is a memorial to Vice AdmiralEdouard Suensonwho commanded the Danish ships in theBattle of Heligoland9 May 1864. The monument was designed byTheobald Steinand inaugurated on 9 May 1889.[10]
The monument consists of a bust of Suenson mounted on a high plinth decorated with alaurel wreathandprows.On its front side, it has the inscription: "VICE-ADMIRAL/EDOUARD SUENSON/Vorn 13 APRIL 1805/DIED 16 MAY 1887 The foot of the plinth is guarded by bronze lions which hold acoat of armswith the inscription "HELGOLAND/9 MAY/1864".
Christian IV statue
[edit]
On the corner of Kronprinsessegade and Øster Voldgade, there is a bronze statue of Christian IV, the founder of the area, standing on a granite plinth. The statue was designed byVilhelm Bissenand inaugurated in 1900.
Cultural references
[edit]- InEither/Or,existentialist Danish philosopherSøren Kierkegaardasks rhetorically: "Why was I not born in Nyboder, why did I not die as a baby?".[11]
- In Kierkegaard'sDiary of a seducer,the protagonist describes the female inhabitants of the area: "And now comes the select troops—the Nyboder girls, less tall, well rounded and filled out, delicate in complexion, merry, happy, quick, talkative, a bit coquettish, and, above all, bareheaded.".[12]
- InHans Christian Andersen's fairy taleThe Elder-Tree Mother,an old man tells a sick boy a story which opens "A great blooming tree just exactly like that stands in Nyboder. It grows in the corner of a poor little yard; and under that tree two old people sat one afternoon in the bright sunshine. It was an old sailor and his very old wife...".[13]Elder treeswere abundant in the area around Nyboder which gave rise to some superstition, compare theElder Mother.
- In his playDen Stundesløse,Ludvig Holbergmocks the tendency to get married young and have many children in Nyboder.
- In theNobel Prize-winning Danish authorHenrik Pontoppidan's partly autobiographical novelLykke-Per,the protagonist rents a room from a boatsman in the street Hjertensfrydsgade in Nyboder.
- Danish jazz musicianPapa Bueand hisViking Jazz Bandhave both made tracks calledPraise of Nyboder(1959) andNyboder's Pride.[14]
- In the 2015 drama filmThe Danish Girl,Lili Elbe(Eddie Redmayne) visits a male friend at Suensonsgade 8 in Nyboder.[15]
References
[edit]- ^"Tingbjerg Kirke".Tingbjerg Kirke. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-19.Retrieved2010-01-06.
- ^ab"Nyboder".Clara & Flemming Svendsens Hjemmeside.Retrieved2010-01-07.
- ^ab"Nyboder".Selskabet for Københavns Historie.Retrieved2010-01-07.
- ^"Nyboders vagt med Skt. Pauls Kirke i baggrunden,1880".Museum of Copenhagen. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-19.Retrieved2011-02-15.
- ^"Historie".NetCPHolmen. Archived fromthe originalon May 12, 2008.Retrieved2009-11-15.
- ^"Nyboder".Gyldendal.Retrieved2010-01-07.
- ^"K og DF: Sælg Nyboder og byg en havnetunnel".Berlingske.Retrieved2011-02-15.
- ^"Nyboder skal renoveres".Berlingske.Retrieved2011-02-15.
- ^"Skt. Pauls Kirke".Holmens Provsti. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-19.Retrieved2011-02-14.
- ^"Monument for Edouard Suenson".Dansk Center for Bt Historie.Retrieved2011-02-16.
- ^Either/Or.Søren Kierkegaard.Retrieved2010-01-07.
- ^The seducer's diary.Søren Kierkegaard.Retrieved2010-01-07.
- ^"The Elder-Tree MotherThe Elder-Tree Mother".AOK.Retrieved2010-01-06.
- ^"Diskografi:".gustavwinckler.dk.Retrieved2010-03-10.
- ^"Tour The Danish Girl locations".visitdenmark.dk.Retrieved9 October2017.
External links
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55°41′20″N12°35′15″E/ 55.6889°N 12.5875°E
