NYHAVN COPENHAGEN’S ICONIC QUAYSIDE
By Joe Wall
Regardless of the grandness of a city, it’s common for a single, iconic element to be its calling card. Think the Empire State Building and New York City, or the Eiffel Tower and Paris. Denmark’s capital city is most often portrayed with the image of brilliantly colored houses, meticulously preserved, with a parade of historic wooden sailing ships in the foreground. While Copenhagen is inarguably the epicenter of Scandinavian style and boasts a bevy of picturesque vistas, this quintessential photo may only be snapped in one beloved part of town: Nyhavn. Copenhagen’s most iconic landmark is more than picture-perfect. The storied quay is a bustling promenade of locals and visitors from around the world, thrumming with cafés, restaurants and a spirit of bonhomie you’ll feel throughout the city (and the whole of Denmark). Nyhavn’s history dates back to Denmark’s time as a world power, includes the presence of famous Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Anderson, sees the area decline into seediness and features a revival borne of civic pride, tourist popularity and the simple Dutch perfection of those candy-colored, 17th-century townhouses. GYLDENLØVES KANAL, H.C. ANDERSEN & REBIRTH Denmark’s port cities saw a great rise in trade during the 17th century. With limited dock space hampering ships from loading and unloading their cargo in Copenhagen’s main harbor, King Christian V ordered the creation of a new one in 1670. Danish soldiers and Swedish prisoners of war captured during the Dano- Swedish War (1658-1660) were employed to excavate and dredge the new waterway. The five-year task was completed in 1675, with a 1,480-foot-long canal providing sea access to Kongens Nytorv (King’s New Square). It was originally named Gyldenløves Kanal (Golden Lion’s Canal), but residents referred to it as Nyhavn, which translates to New Harbor. An inundation of sailors and merchants from around the world eventually made Nyhavn (which is pronounced nu-houn) notorious for rowdy alehouses and houses of ill-repute, a characterization that lasted throughout the port’s nearly three centuries of operation.
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