The Lur Blowers ( Danish: Lurblæserne) is a monument located next to

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

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 ...

, consisting of a bronze sculpture of two

lur A lur, also lure or lurr, is a long natural horn without finger holes that is played with a brass-type embouchure. Lurs can be straight or curved in various shapes. The purpose of the curves was to make long instruments easier to carry (e.g. ...

players mounted on top of a tall terracotta column. The monument was a gift to the City of Copenhagen from the

Carlsberg Foundation Carlsberg Foundation () is a not-for-profit organization that was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876, by allocating some of his shares in the Carlsberg Brewery to fund and operate the Carlsberg Laboratory and the Museum of National History at ...

and New Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the

centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

of the birth of

Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...

founder J. C. Jacobsen.

Design

The monument stands tall. The sculpture at the top of the column consists of two male figures standing very close together, wearing capes and helmets, each holding a raised

. The compactness of the composition is a result of a design change late in the process, since the original design featured only a single lur blower. The decision to change the design was based on the fact that lurs are always tuned in pairs. The two lurs are inverted, as is seen with the Brudevælte Lurs. The column is made of red brick and bears the inscription "J.C. JACOBSEN•CARLSBERG 1811•2•SEPTEMBER•1911". It incorporates a circular bench at its foot. The two columns of St. Mark and St. Thomas on the

Piazzetta di San Marco Piazza San Marco (; ), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). The Piazzetta ("little Piazza/Square") is an extension of the ...

were a source of inspiration.

History

Nyrop's 1901 mock-up

A monument featuring a lur blower on the new City Hall Square was first proposed by

Lorenz Frølich Lorenz Frølich (25 October 182025 October 1908) was a Denmark, Danish painter, illustrator, graphic artist and etcher. Early life and education Frølich was born into a wealthy bourgeouis family in Copenhagen. The son of Johan Jacob Frølich ( ...

in circa 1890.

Martin Nyrop Martin Nyrop (11 November 1849 18 May 1921) was a Danish architect. Early life and education Nyrop was born on 11 November 1849 at Holmsland Municipality, Holmsland, Ringkøbing, the son of parish priest Christopher Nyrop (1805–1879) and Helen ...

, who had designed the new

Copenhagen City Hall Copenhagen City Hall () is the headquarters of the Copenhagen City Council as well as the Lord mayor of the Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. The building is situated on City Hall Square in central Copenhagen. Architecture The current building ...

, adopted the idea and originally envisioned two columns flanking the entrance to the City Hall Square from

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 ...

, each topped by a

Heimdallr In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr; modern Icelandic language, Icelandic Heimdallur) is a Æsir, god. He is the son of Odin and nine mothers. Heimdall keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himi ...

figure with a

gjallarhorn In Norse mythology, Gjallarhorn (Old Norse: ; "hollering horn"Orchard (1997:57). or "the loud sounding horn"Simek (2007:110).) is a horn associated with the god Heimdallr and the wise being Mímir. The sound of Heimdallr's horn will herald the ...

. A

mock-up In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at le ...

of one column was installed in front of the Central Hotel in 1901. It consisted of a wooden column designed by Nyrop and a plaster model of the Heimdallr figure designed by Anders Bundgaard. The idea was later abandoned. Landsudstillingen aarhus carsberg

Carlsberg's 1909 victory column in Aarhus

At the 1909 Danish National Exhibition in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

, Carlsberg was represented both with a display in the Industry Hall and a

victory column A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a heroic commemoration, including victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned ...

. The latter revived the idea of a column carrying a sculpture of a lur blower. The victory column was designed by

Anton Rosen Anton Rosen (13 September 1859 – 2 July 1928) was a Danish architect, furniture designer, decorative artist and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In his architecture, he combined a free Historicist style with inspirati ...

, the leading architect of the exhibition, who also designed a triumphal arch for

Tuborg Tuborg is a Danish brewing company founded in 1873 on a harbour in Hellerup, to the north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 1970 it has been part of the Carlsberg Group. The brewery's flagship, the Tuborg pilsner, was brewed for the first time in ...

on an adjacent site. Both structures were built in white-painted wood. They were demolished after the exhibition.

Final monument

The Carlsberg Foundation and New Carlsberg Foundation later decided to donate a permanent lur-blower monument to the City of Copenhagen to mark the centenary of the birth of J. C. Jacobsen on 2 September 1911. The project was moved to the small plaza next to the City Hall. Rosen designed the column, and the sculptor

Siegfried Wagner Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930. Life Siegfried Wagner ...

was charged with the design of the sculpture group. The monument was inaugurated in 1914.

Cultural references

* In the 1968 Danish comedy film ''

Min søsters børn vælter byen ''Magic in Town'' () is a 1968 Danish comedy film directed by Annelise Reenberg and starring Jeanne Darville. Cast *Jeanne Darville as Else Berg *William Rosenberg (actor), William Rosenberg as Peter Berg *Pusle Helmuth as Pusle Berg *Jan Priis ...

'' (English title: ''Magic in Town''), Pusle ( Pusle Helmuth) uses her suddenly acquired magical powers to make the two lur blowers ( Bendt Reiner and Preben Basse) come alive in what eventually turns out to be a dream.

References

External links

{{coord, 55.67603, 12.57016, format=dms, type:landmark_region:DK, display=title 1914 establishments in Denmark 1914 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Copenhagen Monuments and memorials in Copenhagen Outdoor sculptures in Copenhagen Sculptures of musical instruments Sculptures of Norse mythology in Copenhagen Statues of men in Copenhagen Statues of musicians