Art & culture

The thing about Copenhagen is it surprises me almost every day. I found this  surprise on a beautiful night after walking home from the Fisketorvet -cinema. This skinny,gray and simple biking/pedestrian bridge happens to be an exquisite “work of art” telling the Copenhageners and its visitors’ love stories.

On this bridge combining areas Islands Brygge and Kalvebod Brygge you will find hundreds of padlocks. The phenomenom behind is Love locks, also seen in other big cities of the world. The couples come and lock their padlocks (decorated with their names) to the wires of the bridge, then throw the keys to the water below as a sign of unbreakable love. 

Absolutely cute idea, and without a big effort, creates a beautiful story of romance and love in Copenhagen. Go see in the evening when its dark, the view from the bridge offers a lot to watch in the surroundings, too, with all the modern buildings being lit with pretty lights. An every romantic’s must-see -spot.

p.s. On the Kalvebod Brygge’s side, there is a very nice spot looking over the water  to sit and talk sweet with your “kæreste” f.ex. before going to see a film in Fisketorvet’s Cinemaxx

It is my honor to write this article about perhaps the greatest venue of culture in this city, Jazzhus Montmartre.

This “jazzhus” (jazzhouse) has long, thick roots in the soil of Copenhagen. The club was originally opened in 1959, and during its existence, to the year 1995, hosted all the amazing jazz artists’ concerts from Webster Gordon and Stan Getz to Dizzy Gillespie. The club stayed on Store Regnegade till the year 1976 and on Nørregade till 1995. Since then the admirers of the late club have been eager to re-establish the club, and in 2010, their dreams came true when the original house of the first Jazzhus Montmartre became vacant again. With the strength of the volunteers and CEO Rune Bech, Jazzhus Montmartre is in its previous glory, hosting as magnificent concerts as in its past.

Concerts are amazing, the small, intimate club’s feeling intense and the food and drinks offered by their restaurant: mouth-watering! The restaurant even got five stars from Politiken, one of Denmarks most appreciated newspaper. Unfortunately one cannot dine at Montmartre every day, just the concert nights, and usually it is wise to book the table in beforehand. Many people like to come for a dinner before the concert and continue the evening with the greatest jazz artists of today.

Usually it is just a hackneyed figure of speech when we say that a city has a heart. But Nørrebro actually has one. On a pedestal at Aksel Larsens Plads near Nørrebro Parken and directly opposite The Red Square there is a big red iron heart. It is engraved with the words ‘We want to live together’ in many languages. If you look closely at the heart, you will realize that it is made out of pieces of metal from different kinds of weapons.

Nørrebro has had its trouble in the past, and the heart stands as a symbol of the joint effort and desire to live peacefully and respectfully together. All the weapons used to make the sculpture have been either confiscated or submitted voluntarily to the Nørrebro police. The artist himself, Bjørn Nørgaard, was born in Nørrebro not too far from where the heart is located.

There are plenty of benches in the immediate vicinity of The Heart, so sit down and take a little break to enjoy this unusual sculpture.

Ørestad is a new addition to Copenhagen, it’s futuristic, innovative and, I think, beautiful. But if you don’t live there, there’s not much going on in the area.

So unless you know where to find this sculpture, or you happen to be staying at the Bella Sky Hotel, you will almost certainly miss it, because it’s located in an unlikely place: not at all where you would accidentally pass by, but I think that just makes it more interesting.

Hop on the metro in direction Vestamager, get off at Bella Center Station, and walk back a little by Ørestads Boulevard. If you have looked out the window of the train to the right side, you will have spotted it already.

A concrete bridge leads you to the island itself, and in the middle there is a granite pillar ornamented with female bodies over which water constantly flows down. Around the column, there are four pavilions with roofs of colored glass. It’s perfectly beautiful in daylight but I recommend you go see it in the evening when the lights are on.

The entire thing is created by the same man who is behind Nørrebros Heart, the artist Bjørn Nørgaard.

The area behind Lovers Island is part of Amager Fælled, a nature reserve, and that somehow adds to the experience, realizing that you are standing in the city and in the middle of nature at the same time.

In some cultures, graveyards are for one purpose only, to give the passed-away loved ones their final place to rest. In Copenhagen, this usually isn’t the whole story.

Assistens Kirkegård (Assistens Cemetery), a huge 25 acre graveyard in the middle of the neighborhood of Nørrebro, was established in 1760 to ease the crowded situation of the cemeteries within the city area. Originally the cemetery was meant for the poor, but later on became the burial place of many famous Danes, such as Søren Kierkegaard, H.C. Andersen and several others.  

Of course, Assistens Kirkegård was originally – and still is- a functioning cemetery, but it has also been a place for the citizens to escape the busy city life, to spend a moment or two relaxing in the nature. At the end of 1780′s the common Copenhageners also came to the cemetery with picnic -baskets and drinks, at some point even so much that all consumption of food and alcohol was prohibited for a while. Nowadays, especially on sunny days, the grass planes of the cemetery are more or less filled up with people enjoying the sun in the peace and quiet of the cemetery. 

There is a lot to see in the cemetery culture-wise, and guided tours are organized, especially during the summer. But personally, I have to say, the best thing about Assistens is the nature: an innumerable amount of different types of trees, flowers, plants and such create one of the most beautiful places in the city.