Axeltorv is a public square in central

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, located across the street from

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli (), is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Kla ...

' main entrance on

Vesterbrogade Vesterbrogade () is the main shopping street of the Vesterbro, Copenhagen, Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.5 km long street runs from the City Hall Square, Copenhagen, City Hall Square in the east to Pile Allé in Frederiksbe ...

History

Axeltorv was inaugurated on 8 November 1917. The grounds were formerly part of Farigmagsvej and used as a plaza in front of the main entrance to Copenhagen's second Central Station which had been built in 1864. The site had for decades been dominated by

National Scala National Scala was an entertainment venue opposite Tivoli Gardens on Vesterbrogade in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building was later converted into a shopping centre and demolished in 2013. History Background The building's history can be traced b ...

, an entertainment venue situated on the eastern corner of the street. On the opposite corner was a small round pavilion, Centralpavilionen, which sold lottery tickets. The square was established when the street was moved to its current location in connection with the opening of the

Boulevard Line The Boulevard Line () is a long partly underground railway between Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport Station in Copenhagen, Denmark. The quadruple track railway carries today one dual track for the Copenhagen S-train system and another d ...

. It takes its name after Bishop

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of De ...

, Copenhagen's founder, whose (little used) Danish name was Axel.

Notable buildings and residents

Axelborg Axelborg, located across the street from Tivoli Gardens on Vesterbrogade in Copenhagen, Denmark, is home to the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. DLG Group is also headquartered in the building. The building was built in 1920 and was originall ...

was completed in 1920. Originally a bank headquarters, it now houses the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. The Circus Building is from 1886. The

Palads Cinema Palads Teatret (the Palads Cinema), also known simply as the Palads, is a cinema operated by Nordisk Film in Copenhagen, Denmark. It offers a wide selection of films in its 17 auditoriums, more than in any other Danish cinema. History The Palad ...

opened in the former central station in 1912 but its current building is from 1917. The former

Copenhagen Waterworks Copenhagen Waterworks ( Danish: ) opened in 1859 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Located in Studiestræde, between Axeltorv and H. C. Andersens Boulevard, it was Denmark's first waterworks and continued operations until 1951. The complex was designated ...

, built on a site between the Boulevard Line and

Studiestræde Studiestræde is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, running from Bispetorv on Nørregade in the northeast to Axeltorv in the southwest. The oldest section of the street, between Nørregade and Vester Voldgade, is part of Copenhagen's Lati ...

, though barely visible from the square, also has its address on Axeltorv (No. 12).

The Scala Project

The Scala Building was demolished in 2012. An office complex designed by

Lundgaard & Tranberg Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter is a Danish architectural firm, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. History Lundgaard & Tranberg was founded in 1985 by Boje Lundgaard and Lene Tranberg. In the 1990s, the firm gained a reputation as designers of heat ...

consisting of five cylinders of varying height and interconnected by skyways, positioned on a one-storey

plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

, now stands on the site. The project has also proposed a renovation of the square that will enhance Fortification Ring's character of being a "

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

"surrounding the city centre.

Sculptures

A 12.5 metre long water basin with nine bronze

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

s was installed in the square in 1991. It was designed by Mogens Møller in collaboration with the architect Mogens Breyen and is called Zodiac.

Robert Jacobsen Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen (4 June 1912 – 26 January 1993) was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert Award is named in his honor. Biography In this period he created massive granite and sandstone structures which he called "M ...

's sculpture ''De Syv Aksler'' (1984) was installed in front of the Palads Cinema in 1987. It commemorates the escape of Jews from Denmark during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It consists of seven abstract iron sculptures on a star-shaped, cobbled plinth. Kai Nielsen's sculpture of ''Ursus and the Bull'' was positioned on the roof of the Palads Cinema in 1917 but was not gilded until 1949.

Gallery

File:Copenhagen 2nd central station2.jpg , Copenhagen's former central station File:National Scala 1910s.jpg , The site just before the square was built File:Copenhagen-Cirkusbygningen.jpg , The Circus Building File:Axeltorv 2 construction site.jpg , The construction site of the Scala Project File:Palads Copenhagen 2.jpg , Robert Jacobsen's sculpture in front of the Palads Cinema

References

External links

Source

{{coord, 55.6760, 12.5643, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title Squares in Copenhagen