Kronprinsessegade (; ) is a street 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 ...

. Noted for its Neoclassical houses, it extends from

Gothersgade Gothersgade (; see #The name, below) is a major street in the Indre By, City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends from Kongens Nytorv to The Lakes, Copenhagen, Sortedam Lake, passing Rosenborg Castle and Rosenborg Castle Gardens, Gardens, Nø ...

and runs along the southern boundary of

Rosenborg Castle Garden Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: ''Kongens Have''; literally ''The King's Garden'') is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg ...

, passing

Sølvgade Sølvgade (; ) is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, extending north-west from Borgergade to The Lakes where Fredens Bro connects it to Fredensgade. The section from Kronprinsessegade to Øster Voldgade follows the walled north-eastern mar ...

and the

Nyboder Nyboder (English language, English: New

mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian zone * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Bromley), London, United Kingdom * The Mall (Patna), Bihar, India * The Mall (Sofia) ...

Houses) is a historic row house district of former Royal Danish Navy, Naval barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was planned and first built by Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV to accommodate a ...

district of old naval barracks before finally joining

Øster Voldgade Øster Voldgade ( lit. "East Rampart Street"), together with Vester Voldgade and Nørre Voldgade, forms a succession of large streets which arches around the central and oldest part of the Zealand side of Copenhagen, Denmark. It runs north-east ...

close to

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 ...

. The

David Collection The David Collection () is a museum of fine and applied art in Copenhagen, Denmark, built around the private collections of lawyer, businessman and art collector C. L. David. The building at Kronprinsessegade 30 which houses the museum used to be ...

, a museum which displays a large collection of

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...

as well as Danish and European fine and applied arts, is based at No. 30.

History

Origins

After the

Copenhagen Fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brand 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. As t ...

, which destroyed large parts of the city, there was an urgent need for new housing. Instigated by his consort, Crown Princess Marie Sophie, Crown Prince Frederik (VI) made an 89

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", an ...

(55.8 meter) strip along the southern boundary of

available for the establishment of a new street which was to connect Gothersgade to Sølvgade. The new street was named Kronprinsessegade in honour of Crown Princess Marie Sophie, who had first conceived the idea. At the same time, the name complied with the practice in the area of naming streets after Danish territorial possessions, royalty and the upper classes, including nobility, which originated in the 1649 plan for the

New Copenhagen New Copenhagen (Danish language, Danish: Ny København) or St. Ann's Town (Danish language, Danish: Sankt Annæ By) was a 17th-century expansion of fortified Copenhagen, Denmark. The original plan for the area, from 1649, was later abandoned. It ...

extension of the fortified city. City architect

Peter Meyn Peter Meyn (8 April 1749 - 11 April 1808) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Meyn was born in Copenhagen, the son of master joiner Anton (Anthoni) Christian Meyn (1712–82) and Helena Klefts (c. 1714–80). He studied at the Royal ...

(1749–1808) and

Jørgen Henrich Rawert Jørgen Henrich Rawert was a (16 August 1751 – 14 July 1823) was a Danish architect. He created the masterplan for the rebuilding of Copenhagen after the Great Fire of 1795 in his capacity of a city architect and was also involved in many ...

(1751–1823) were put in charge of the project which began in 1799. The row of houses along the south side of the street was completed over the next two decades. The architect

Johan Martin Quist Johan Martin Quist or Qvist (3 September 1755 – 25 April 1818) was a Danish architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with those of Andreas Hallander, his classically styled buildings form part of the ...

is one of the large contributors to this oldest section of Kronprinsessegade with No. 6 (1803–06), 8-10 (1803–04), 12-14 (1805–06), 16 (1806–07) and 18 (1807–13).

Andreas Hallander Andreas Hallander (13 November 1755 – 3 April 1828) was a Danish master carpenter and architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with the buildings of Johan Martin Quist, his classically styled apartment h ...

designed No. 20 (1805–06, with J. H. Rawert), 22, 24 (1807–08, with A. C. Wilcken) and Kronprinsessegades Barracks at No. 46 (extension 1805–07, with J. H. Rawert).

Wrought-iron grill and pavilions

Peter Meyn was also charged with the design of a barrier towards the royal garden along the north side of the new street. He had just returned from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he had been struck by the

Pont-Neuf The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, ...

with its iron grill and many small shops, and the street life which surrounded it. With this as an inspiration, he designed the new grill along the edge of the park with 12 small shop pavilions, each six ells wide, six ells deep and six ells tall. It was completed in 1806.

Architecture

The houses along the oldest section of the street, facing Rosenborg Castle Garden, are mostly built in a Neoclassical style typical of the construction boom during the decades after the Great Fire of 1795 and which still dominates in much of central Copenhagen. The architect, architectural writer and urban planner

Steen Eiler Rasmussen Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Hon. FAIA (9 January 1898 – 19 June 1990) was a Danish architect and urban planner who was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and a prolific writer of books and poetry. He was made a Royal Designer ...

has given the following characterisation of the street:

Commemorative plaques

A plaque on No. 36 commemorates that the composer

Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse Christoph(er) Ernst Friedrich Weyse (5 March 1774 – 8 October 1842) was a Danish composer during the Danish Golden Age. Biography Weyse was born at Altona in Holstein, which was in a personal union with Denmark. He gained much interest in ...

lived in the building from 1825.

History

Origins

Wrought-iron grill and pavilions

Architecture

Commemorative plaques

See also

Further reading

References

External links