Christianshavn - Christian IV's Merchant City - Self-Guided Walking Tour
Christianshavn is the hipster cool district of Copenhagen. It makes it perfect for a self-guided walking tour!
The neighbourhood – located just south of the city – was established in the 17th century by the infamous King Christian IV, who was heavily inspired by Dutch merchant towns such as Amsterdam. Christianshavn quickly became a rough sailors neighbourhood, and in the 1970s the hippies took over the Christiania commune and made it their town.
Today Christianshavn is becoming a high-end alternative neighbourhood in the heart of Copenhagen. It is still a great place to explore, thanks to its many preserved buildings.
In this article...
Downloadable Version of This Guide
I offer downloadable versions of my self-guided walks on our online store.
Online Guide
- Information about points of interest
- Images of each point of interest
- Historic overview of the neighbourhood
- Directions between points
- Historic photos
Downloadable Guide
- Information about points of interest
- Images of each point of interest
- Historic overview of the city
- Directions between points
- Historic photos
Christianshavn Self-Guided Walking Tour
This walk begins on the Christianshavn side of the Knippelsbro Bridge, which begins by Christiansborg Palace on its northern side.
Torvegade
This is the main thoroughfare through Christianshavn, and some of the buildings here are very historic.
Look at numbers 22, 24, 27 and 30. They are all from the 18th century and are listed buildings.
Strandgade
The street originally ran along the waterfront and is on the original plans of Christianshavn from 1617. The plots where not popular here, so the King had to give them away for free to wealthy citizens on the condition they build good commerce houses.
The Danish East India Company and the Danish West India Company established their headquarters here.
In 1738, Denmark’s first dry dock opened here.
Strandgade 44
This building is is Irgrens Gård. It was built on one of the original plots of land for Christianshavn and gets its name from Joachim Irgrens, who took over the property in 1664. Here there was the king’s copper works company, with the mining operations in Røros, Norway. The income was so great that at one point the company was able to lend the King money. The King did not pay Irgrens back, but instead gave him all of Northern Norway!
Wildersgade
This street is named after the merchant and shipyard owner, Carl Wilder, who in the 18th century ran a shipyard at Wilders Plads. This street was a slightly nicer street to be on than Strandgade, and many distinguished trading houses were here.
Sankt Annæ Gade
The street has been here since Christianshavn was founded and is named after Saint Anna, who was the mother of the Virgin Mary. There used to be a row of poor houses here, but they have since disappeared.
Dronningensgade
Dronningensgade has a number of interesting brick buildings.
Number 67 was a girls school. The school was established in 1799 but moved to this building in 1912. The girls school was for girls aged between five and twelve, and the aim was to “educate the girls minds and make them good at handicrafts”. The school admitted students from both noble and bourgeois families, but that the principle that no distinction was made. French was taught, but not English, which the school believed was something the parents themselves had to ensure that the children learned. The school also admitted boys from 1976 onwards.
The Church of Our Saviour
The church of Christianshavn was supposed to be a couple blocks further west at Christianshavns Torv, but that never happened. This church was completed in 1696. The architect was Lambert van Haven, who designed the church in the Dutch Baroque style. It is built in the shape of a cross, which is not common in Denmark.
Originally the church had no spire. Lambert died before the church was put into use, and the twisted spire was not part of his original plan. It was added to the church in 1750 and was designed by Laurids de Thurah. The spiral twist is probably inspired by the Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza church in Rome. It is said that Thurah threw himself from the tower because the spire twisted the wrong way in relation to the King’s wish, but that is just a myth.
For a small fee, you can take the stairs all the way to the top of the spire!
You can read more about visiting the Church of Our Saviour by clicking here.
Christiania
If you were to turn left at Prinsessegade, you would reach the free-town Christiania. Christiania is a neighbourhood lived in by Copenhagen’s hippy and artists. Since its establishment by squatters in 1971, the area has drawn non-conformists from across the globe, attracted by the concept of collective business, workshops and communal living. Unfortunately Christiania is best-known for Pusher Street, where hash is openly traded despite it being very illegal in Denmark. There have been recent attempts to shut down Pusher Street in 2024, and it’s not the best place to visit in Christiania. Explore the neighbourhood, beautiful park areas, and see the wonderful DIY homes. There’s also great and cheap eateries here as well as regular concerts.
Before its development, Christiania was an abandoned military camp. Some of the buildings in there are still standing 200-300 years later. Christiania also has some preserved ramparts. This walk is now going to go to some of the preserved ramparts out of the free town.
Amager Port
This was one of the four gates that brought you into Copenhagen. It is not known what the first gate looked like, but a gate was known from 1724 and it used to be closed at night. Next to the gate was a porter’s residence, which is the old building you can see.
Across the street is the street Amager Gade, which was part of Christianshavn’s working class. In 1867, 1,000 people lived on the street – or 7% of the entire population. The street used to be much longer, but has since been cut up with Ved Volden. A large part of the streets houses are old and represent tenement barracks in a rich contrast to the merchant farms you saw earlier.
Christianshavn's Ramparts
The rampart you see here is the best-preserved part of Copenhagen’s fortifications from the 17th century.
The facility was an integral part of the plan of the new district of Christianshavn. The ramparts were closed in 1909 and now it’s a park area.
Sofiegade
The street is named after Queen Sofie of Mecklenburg, who was Christian IV’s mother. There were many taverns on this street. Number 15 was Christianshavn Bathing Institution in 1909. It dates from a time when many residents did not have a bath in their apartment. There were separate entrances for men and women. Number 10 was a brandy distillery with cows on the first floor. The building is still a bathhouse today.
Christiania's Torv
This is the main square for Christianshavn. Originally the prison and Children’s house. The idea was to house people on the street and train them to be craftsmen to create a state production of cloth. Stray children were also taken in. It was described as a building for “deformed, disobedient and orphaned children”, but later also took thieves, beggars and women. It developed into something of a forced labour facility that produced clothing for the military.
Conditions for the inmates were poor. The food served was considered unfit for human consumption.
Children were no longer kept there from 1790 onwards, and it became more of a prison. In 1817, the prisoner’s rioted and burned down the building. It was rebuilt but demolished in 1928.
The bridge you’ll cross back to Copenhagen is called Børnehusbroen – the Children’s House Bridge – and commemorates this building. Follow Torvegade back to Christiansborg, or from here you can take the metro.
Christianshavn Self-Guided Walking Tour
Enjoy your walk around Christianshavn! If you want a self-guided walk with more details, be sure to buy my downloadable Christianshavn self-guided walking tour.
