Københavns Belysningsvæsen
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Københavns Belysningsvæsen was a municipally owned company which supplied
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 ...
TÃ¥rnby TÃ¥rnby () is a town in Denmark, the seat of TÃ¥rnby Municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark. It is located approximately south of central Copenhagen on the island of Amager. Neighbouring settlements include the Copenhagen suburb of S ...
and
Dragør Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space ...
municipalities with first gas and later electricity and distant heating, It existed until 2001 when it was merged with Københavns Vand under the name Københavns Energi, a name it had already operated under since 1999. Its former headquarters is located on
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 ...
in central Copenhagen and now houses Københavns VUC, a school of secondary education.


History

Copenhagen's first gas works, Vestre Gasværk, opened in 1857 roughly where the Meat-Packing District lies today. It was followed by Østre Gasværk in 1878. Initially known as Københavns Gasværker (en. Gasworks of Copenhagen) the company changed its name to Københavns Belysningsvæsen in 1891. Gothergade Power Station, Copenhagen's as well as Denmark's first electricity plant, opened the following year at
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 ...
. Vestre Elbærk opened in 1898, Østre Elbærg in 1903 and H. C. Ørsted Power Station in 1920. In 1925 part of the production was converted into a combination of electricity and
district heating District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...
. Svanemølle Power Station was inaugurated in 1953 and
Amager Power Station Amager ( ), located in the Øresund, is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 216,000 inhabitants (January 2022). The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (including Kalvebod Fælled) makes up more than one-third of the ...
in 1971, both with combined production of electricity and district heating. In 1999 Københavns Belysningsvæsen changed its name to Københavns Energi and in 2001 it was merged with Copenhagen's local water supply company. In 2005 it was decided to sell the electricity-related activities with effect from 1 May 2006.


Head office

In 1909 the company launched a competition for the design of a new headquarters at
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 ...
. It was won by
Gustav Bartholin Hagen Gustav Bartholin Hagen (12 February 1873 – 10 May 1941) was a Denmark, Danish architect. He was the father of the architect Ole Hagen (1913-1984). Early life and education Gustav Bartholin Hagen was born in Copenhagen, the son of Sophus Ha ...
. He subsequently made the final design in collaboration with Rolf Schroeder who had taken 3rd prize, and the building was completed in 1913. It is built in
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style, in Denmark known as ''Skønvirke''. The portal around the main entrance, which faces Vognmagergade is inspired by the
Coat of arms of Copenhagen The coat of arms of Copenhagen was granted (under its current form) on 24 June 1661 by king Frederick III of Denmark in appraisal of Copenhagen's citizen's efforts in repelling the Swedish siege and attack in 1658–1659. An accompanying royal ...
.


See also

* Turbinehallerne


References


External links


Images
on Arkitekturbilleder.dk {{DEFAULTSORT:Kobenhavns Belysningsvaesen 1913 establishments in Denmark Art Nouveau architecture in Copenhagen Art Nouveau commercial buildings Commercial buildings completed in 1913 Electric power companies of Denmark