The Copenhagen Harbour Baths ( Danish: Københavns Havnebade) are a system of

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

al bathing facilities along the waterfront of

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 ...

. There are currently four harbour baths, the first and best-known of which is located at

Islands Brygge Islands Brygge ( English: Iceland's Quay) is a harbourfront area in central Copenhagen, Denmark, located on the north-western coast of Amager. The neighbourhood is noted for its waterfront park Havneparken, which is one of the most popular area ...

. The harbour baths serve as a supplement to the beaches around the city, such as the extensive urban beach at

Amager Strandpark Amager Strandpark (Amager Beach Park) is a seaside public park in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located on the island of Amager and includes an artificial island and offers a total of of beaches. From the beach, the Middelgrunden wind farm can be s ...

. In 2010 the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

also established the temporary artificial Ophelia Beach on the Kvæsthusbroen pier next to the Royal Playhouse.

History

For the swimming season of 2002, the harbour bath at Islands Brygge opened as the first harbour bath in town. In 2003, the harbour bath was towed to the other side of the harbour and set up at Fisketorvet, while Islands Brygge got a new larger and permanent harbour bath designed by

PLOT Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the connected story elements of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 ...

. In 2010, the third harbour bath opened at the Svanemølle Bay after several delays and changes to the design.

Water quality

The water in the harbour today is as clean as that of

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...

. The harbour baths are a result of a consistent effort to improve the water quality in Copenhagen Harbour to an extent that allows for bathing to take place. The harbour baths are generally open all days of the week in the bathing season. In the event of unusually strong rains, sewage water may spill into the harbour and cause pollution with ''E. coli'' bacteria, closing the harbour baths temporarily. Such a closure normally lasts for a couple of days until tidal flux has changed all the water. Water quality is being monitored and reported on
dedicated web site

Individual venues

Islands Brygge

The harbour bath at Islands Brygge has a total of 5 pools and a capacity for 600 people. It is 7 meters deep. There are two pools dedicated to children, two 50-metre pools for swimming and a diving pool with three and five metre

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

s. The project was completed in 2003 by JDS Architects and

Bjarke Ingels Group Bjarke Ingels Group, often referred to as BIG, is a Copenhagen, New York City, London, Barcelona, Shanghai, Oslo, Los Angeles, Zurich, and Bhutan-based group of architects and designers operating within the fields of architecture, product, lands ...

Copencabana

Copencabana (the name being a portmanteau of '' Copacabana'' and ''Copenhagen''), or Harbour Bath Fisketorvet, lies next to the Fisketorvet Shopping Centre and Havneholmen in Vesterbro It is a 650-square-meter complex with three pools and springboards of 1 metre, 2 metres and 3 metres.

Svanemølle Beach

Svanemølle Beach is located in Svanemølle Bay in

Østerbro Østerbro () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located close to present-day ...

and was inaugurated on 20 June 2010. It provides 4,000 square metres of beach with family-friendly low waters, as well as a 130-metre-long pier providing direct access to deeper waters.

Sluseholmen

The newest venue, at

Sluseholmen Sluseholmen () is an artificial peninsula in the South Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name from Slusen, a lock immediately to the south, regulating water levels in the harbor. Previously the site of heavy industry and part of the S ...

in South Harbour was inaugurated on 16 December 2011.

Literature

References

External links

Check water quality
{{Copenhagen 2002 establishments in Denmark Bathing Bjarke Ingels buildings Harbour Baths Coastal construction Port of Copenhagen Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Denmark Swimming venues in Germany Harbour Baths