Gefion and Gylfe, situated at

Østbanegade Østbanegade is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Østerport Station on Oslo Plads and continues north along the west side of the railway tracks for about 2 kilometres to Aarhusgade where an underpass connects the street to the other ...

1921, between Stavangergade and Fridtjof Nansens Plads, is a pair of

National Romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

high-end apartment buildings attached to each other by an archway across Mandalsgade in the

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 ...

district 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. The symmetrical building complex was originally located in the axis of the Langelinie Bridge, an

Asger Ostenfeld Asger Skovgaard Ostenfeld (13 October 1866 – 23 September 1931) was a Danish civil engineer who specialized in the theory of steel and reinforced concrete structures. He is now considered to be the founding father of the theory of structures ...

-designed steel bridge spanning the railway tracks just north of

Østerport station The fortifications of Copenhagen underwent a comprehensive modernization and expansion in the 17th century. The project was commenced and was largely the masterplan of Christian IV in the early 17th century but was continued and completed by his s ...

, now replaced by a bicycle and footbridge. The two buildings were individually listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 2000. The Irish embassy is based in Gylfe (No. 21). In

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

Gefion Gefion is an alternative spelling for Gefjon of Norse mythology. It may also refer to: * Gefion Fountain, a fountain in Copenhagen, Denmark * Gefion family, a grouping of asteroids in the intermediate main belt ** 1272 Gefion, a main-belt aste ...

is the goddess who plouged

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

out of Sweden. Gylfe is the king who challenged her to do so.

History

The building complex stands on the former

glacis A glacis (, ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More generally, a glaci ...

in front of Kastellet. The layout of Østbanegade and its side streets was decided in connection with the plans for the new

Coast Line Coast Line may refer to: * Coast Line (California), a railroad line * Coast Line (Denmark), a railroad line * Coast Line (Sri Lanka), a railroad line See also * Coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea ...

in 1893. Østbanegade was named after ''Østbanegården'' (English: The East Station), now

, which opened in 1897. Most of the side streets were named after Norwegian towns. Mandalsgade (named after

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

) was originally called Frederikshaldsgade (after

Frederiksdal Narsarmijit, formerly Narsaq Kujalleq and Frederiksdal (Anglicised: Frederiksthal), is a list of cities in Greenland, settlement in southern Greenland. It is located in the Kujalleq municipalities of Greenland, municipality near Cape Thorvaldsen. ...

). The street was located opposite the no longer existing Langelinie Bridge. The bridge was constructed in 189092 to designs by

and was necessary due to the construction of the

Freeport of Copenhagen The Free Port of Copenhagen is a bonded area in the northern part of Port of Copenhagen of Copenhagen, Denmark. Created to consolidate Copenhagen's position as an important maritime hub in Northern Europe, it was established in the area just nor ...

. The plan was to connect Mandalsgade (Frederiksdalsgade) to Livjægergade to provide a direct connection between Østbanegade and Classensgade but the section from Kristianiagade to Kastelsvej was never realized. The Gefion and Gylfe building complex was constructed in 190002 to designs by

Philip Smidth Philip Smidth (3 May 1855 – 21 June 1938) was a prolific Danish architect in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His works included, commercial properties, high-end apartment buildings, hotels and hospitals. He worked in the Historicist styl ...

. The names Gefion and Gylfe were inspired by some of the local street names. Frithjof Nansens Plads was thus originally called Gylfesgade ( Gylfe Street). Gefionsgade (

Street) is the name of a small side street to Frithjof Nansens Plads. Gefion has also served as inspiration for the

Gefion Fountain The Gefion Fountain () is a large fountain on the harbour front in Copenhagen, Denmark. It features a large-scale group of oxen pulling a plow and being driven by the Norse goddess Gefjon. It is located in Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet ...

on the other side of the railway tracks. The building complex was at some point acquired by Harald Simonsen. His daughter resided in one of the apartments in Gylfe in the 1970s. The Langelinie Bridge was closed to traffic in 1987. It was dismantled and put on storage in 1992 but never reconstructed. The present bicycle and footbridge was opened in 2007.

Gallery

File:Langeliniebroen3.jpg, The Langelinie Bridge with Gefion and Gylfe in the background. File:Østbanegade set fra Langeliniebroen.jpg, Gefion and Gylfe photographed by Fritz Theodor Benzen in the 1900s. File:Gefion og Gylfe (1922).jpg, Gefion photographed by

Peter Elfelt Peter Elfelt (1 January 1866 – 18 February 1931) was a Danish photographer and film director known as the first movie pioneer in Denmark when he began making documentary films in 1897. Biography Peter Elfelt was born Peter Lars Petersen in ...

in 1922. File:Østbanegade 1922.jpg, Gylfe photographed by Petert Elfelt in 1922.

Architecture

Gegion and Gulfe are constructed to almost identical but mirrored National Romantic designs. The two buildings are both constructed in brick with four storeys over a walk-out basement and have a five-bays-long principal facade towards Østbanegade as well as a

chamfer A chamfer ( ) is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fur ...

ed corner with a central

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...

. A difference between the two buildings is that Gylfe (No. 21) has a just three-bays-long secondary facade towards Fridtjof Nansens Plads whereas Gefion (No. 19) has a five-bays-long secondary facade towards Stavangergade. The front side of the buildings are constructed in red brick, faced with granite rustication on the ground floor and the exposed part of the basement and with bands of granite and cement on the upper undressed part. The two main entrances are accented with decorative granite portals with an oval window and the house number written in gold on the keystone above the arched doorway. The double doors are executed in dark wood with rectangular windows and, topped by an arched

transom window In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary ...

. The roofs are clad in black-glazed tile and features two gabled wall dormers towards Østbanegade, a small domed tower towards Mandalsgade and a series of dormer windows with diminutive copper spires. The central archway consists of a large arch across the traffic lanes flaned by two smaller arches spanning the two pavements. The large central arch is topped by a dome-like roof surrounded by four pinackles. The interior of the arches have cross aulted white ceilings with red details. File:Langelinieruten 18.jpg, File:Gefion og Gylfe.JPG, File:Mandalsgade 1.jpg, The central archway

Today

The Irish embassy is based in Gylfe (No. 21). Simonsen og Levring A/S is also based at No. 21. The company was co-founded by Finn Harald Simonsen, a grandson of Harald Simonsen and a nephew of Erna Hamilton. Gefion is owned by Erna Hamiltons Legat for Videnskab og Kunst, a foundation created by Erna Gamilton.

Cultural references

Gefion (Østbanegade 19) was used as a location in the 1963 film '' Hvis lille pige er du?''.

References

External links

* https://resights.dk/ejendom/%C3%B8stbanegade-19-2100-k%C3%B8benhavn-%C3%B8/6034620 * http://www.nrpl.dk/owners-1919-k-1500.php * http://www.zerious.dk/humogen/family.php?tree_id=1&id=F936&main_person=I2830 * https://www.dr.dk/bonanza/serie/190/grevinden/52802/grevinden-paa-tredje-dr-dokumentar {{Østerbro 1902 establishments in Denmark Apartment buildings in Copenhagen Buildings and structures in Østerbro Listed residential buildings in Copenhagen National Romantic architecture in Copenhagen Renaissance Revival architecture in Copenhagen Residential buildings completed in 1902