Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Strøget
The American trio of Burger King, 7-Eleven, and KFC marks the start of this
otherwise charming pedestrian street. Finished in 1962, Copenhagen's exper-
imental, tremendously successful, and much-copied pedestrian shopping mall
is a string of lively (and individually named) streets and lovely squares that
bunny-hop through the old town from City Hall to the Nyhavn quarter, a
20-minute stroll away.
As you wander down this street, remember that the commercial focus of a
historicstreetliketheStrøgetdrivesupthelandvalue,whichgenerallytrashes
the charm and tears down the old buildings. Look above the modern window
displays and street-level advertising to discover bits of 19th-century character
that still survive. Though the Strøget has become hamburgerized, historic bits
and attractive pieces of old Copenhagen are just off this commercial cancan.
After one block (at Kattesundet), make a side-trip three blocks left into
Copenhagen'scolorful
universitydistrict.
Formerlytheoldbrothelneighbor-
hood, later the heart of Copenhagen's hippie community in the 1960s, today
this “Latin Quarter” is Soho chic. At Sankt Peders Stræde, turn right and walk
to the end of the street.
Along the way, look for large mansions that once circled expansive
court-
yards.
As the population grew, the city walls constricted Copenhagen's phys-
ical size. The courtyards were gradually filled with higgledy-piggledy second-
ary buildings. Today throughout the old center, you can step off a busy pedes-
trian mall and back in time into these characteristic half-timbered time warps.
Replace the parked car with a tired horse and the bikes with a line of out-
houses, and you're in 19th-century Copenhagen. If you see an open courtyard
door, you're welcome to discreetly wander in and look around.
You'll also pass funky shops, and the big brick
Sankt Peders
Church
—the old German merchant community's church, which still holds
services in German. Its crypt (filling a ground-floor building out back due to
the boggy nature of the soil) is filled with fancy German tombs (fee to enter).
• When Sankt Peders Stræde intersects with Nørregade, look right to find the
big, Neoclassical...
