Skydebanehaven (in English, 'The Shooting Range Gardens') is a small

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

in the heart of the Vesterbro 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. Its name refers to the former shooting range of the Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society which used to be located on the site. The most distinctive feature of the park is the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

Shooting Range Wall which was constructed in 1887 to shield traffic on

Istedgade Istedgade (also called ''Strassen'') is a 1-kilometer straight street in the district of Vesterbro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It starts at Copenhagen Central Station and runs parallel to Vesterbrogade to Enghave Plads and Enghaveparken ...

from stray bullets. The other end of the park is bounded by the rear of the former headquarters of the Shooting Society, a Neoclassical mansion which has more recently housed the Museum of Copenhagen. Access to the park is either through a small gate in the Shooting Range Wall, through an unassuming gate next to Absalonsgade 14 (off Vesterbrogade), or a third gate at the northeastern and of Matthæusgade. The section of the park located closest to Istedgade is occupied by a public playground. The Vesterbrogade end of the park is dominated by lawns and flower beds.

History

The Shooting Society's shooting range

The Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society was originally based in Kompagnistræde. In the 1750s, it established a shooting range at a site outside the Western City Gate. In 1782 the society acquired a piece of land, stretching from present day

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 ...

to the beach just south of the city. The society also built a mansion, completed in 1787, which was to serve as a venue for its active social life. Skydebanehaven in the 1890s

When Vesterbro started to develop in the second half of the 19th century, after the city had been allowed to develop beyond its now decommissioned fortifications, the city expropriated much of the Shooting Society's grounds. In 1887 a tall wall was constructed to shield newly established

from stray bullets from the shooting range. The wall was designed by the architect

Ludvig Knudsen Ludvig Harald Knudsen (18 August 1843 – 16 March 1924) was a Historicist Danish architect. He mainly designed churches. Biography Ludvig Knudsen was born in Copenhagen. He was the son of Jens Christian Knudsen (1801-1856) and Johanne F. J ...

in a

style. Knudsen also modernized the interior of the Shooting Society's mansion in the 1890s and added a small new wing towards the gardens.

A municipal park

In 1949 the society moved to Sølyst Manor at

Klampenborg Klampenborg is a northern suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, Gentofte municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an ...

north of Copenhagen, while the city acquired the rest of the property on Vesterbrogade.

Buildings and structures

Shooting Range Wall

The Shooting Range Wall, designed by Ludvig Claussen, was built in red brick in a

style by

. The wall is flanked by two apartment buildings. The wall is supported by heavy

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es towards the park. The wall is topped by four small towers with conical spires and its central section is

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

. The design employs a number of other decorative elements, including a

Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to ...

, blinded arcades, decorative brickwork and two coats of arms. The complex was listed in the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1989.

Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society building

The Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society's former building is built to a Neoclassical design by Johan Henrich Brandemann (1736–1803). The building was expanded by Ludvig Claussen with a small new wing towards the gardens.

History

The Shooting Society's shooting range

A municipal park

Buildings and structures

Shooting Range Wall

Royal Copenhagen Shooting Society building

Skydebanehaven today

References

External links