A guide for us who are not easily frightened and offended
Just like most cities, Copenhagen also offers a lot of odd, tragic and obscure events. And more will be added as soon as I come across something suitable for the post.
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein’s Monster had her own idea of the town: Copenhagen is a spooky city with a dark history. The people are very superstitious, and they are always talking about ghosts and ghouls…
So now it’s time for you to see a quite different side of this great town!
Copenhagen is a spooky city with a dark history. The people are very superstitious, and they are always talking about ghosts and ghouls.
Mary Shelley
The smoking angels
Do angels smoke? Probably. On Strøget they do anyway. And here they have been smoking since about 1870! But how is this possible? In fact, they adorn the door to a former tobacco shop. Even more, this smoky location was started by the Hirschsprung brothers, who traded in tobacco. So the name Hirschprung is these days synonymous with the famous art collection.
Østergade 6
The old execution site
Just next to the road there are some larger rock outcroppings and a slab of concrete. It could have been anything but is an eerie place where executions took place between 1946-1950. In fact, this was one of the two places where the death sentences in the Danish court after the occupation were carried out.
Norddyssen 60
The death
It’s not so easily to spot this statue from the street. Because a tall bricked wall cover it well for all the happy people who pass outside. After all you can probably see there is a good reason for this. Because the statue is sooo sad and depressing. And the origin? It´s actually inspired by a fairy tale of HC Andersen, The Story of a Mother. Made by Niels Hansen Jacobsen.
Sankt Petri Church
Giertrud Bodenhoff
At the assistant’s cemetery, an obscure event happened to Giertrud Bodenhoff. Because she was buried alive under anesthesia in 1798, only to be awakened and murdered by grave robbers… Read more about the cemetery here.
Kapelvej 2
The Devil at Laksegade
In 1826, the house at Laksegade 15 was visited by the Devil himself. Suddenly, food waste, firewood and other things flew around with great force. Witnesses could also hear laughter, swearing and growling noises from inside the building. The police were called to the scene but could not find out what actually happened.
Laksegade 15
The old Titanic office
When it became widely known among the Danes that you could travel on the incomparable Titanic to New York, customers flocked… And since the shipping company, White Star Line had its own office in Nyhavn at number five, it was a simple matter. And apparently you should still be able to read out the remains of destinations on some protected windows there.
Nyhavn 5
The bestial murder at house 65
In the backyard, at number 65 in Nyhavn, a bestial murder took place in the 1930s. A young man named Petri decided to murder a wealthy gentleman using opium-flavored cookies while he was there for French lessons! However, he lost his patience and strangled his victim to death instead.
After spending large sums of money, he was captured in Lübeck and subsequently executed in Copenhagen.
Nyhavn 65
The Danish sin
Believe it or not but in Denmark there was perhaps the world’s largest company in “erotic material”, Color Climax. And it all started with two brothers and a bookstore at Studiestræde. At first it was a cat and mouse game with the police, but after the business was legalized (1969) here in Denmark, the company grew rapidly.
Studiestræde 17
Pater Noster, the elevator of death
At Axelborg in Copenhagen you can still try the somewhat unique Pater Noster-elevator. What makes it so special is that it never stops and you won’t find any security doors here. In fact, a ride here can be more breathtaking than at the adjacent amusement park!
Also, keep in mind that in 2015 there was a fatal accident here: “According to the police, the man had his head crushed in a Pater Noster elevator”.
Vesterbrogade 4
Assistens Cemetery
If you walk around Assisten’s cemetery, you soon notice that the variety of tombstones and their decor varies widely. Some have a more crass attitude to death…
Kapelvej 2
The place of execution at Ryvangen
The location in Ryvangen, which means “rye field”, was acquired in 1893 by the army for a barracks and exercise field. During WW2 the German army used the barracks at Ryvangen for themselves, part of the exercise field was used as an execution and burial site for members of the Danish resistance.
After the liberation the site was converted to a cemetery and memorial park for the resistance members who were executed there or were otherwise killed.
Tuborgvej 33
The man-eating troll at Glyptoteket
This is a very scary dude and now he´s in hunt for Christian blood. Indeed you will find this terrifying character in the small park just behind Glyptoteket. So with a little imagination you can for sure create a really terrifying selfie here…
Dantes Plads 7
Danish Order of Freemasons and the bullet holes
The lodge is a magnificent building of a whopping 80,000 square meters. During WW2 it became the headquarters of the Schalburg Corps, a Danish SS unit. A storming attempt 1944 was made by the Danish resistance movement, but this failed. As a reminder of this event, there are still three bullet holes in the wall.
Here is a map of all sabotage and weapon drop locations in Denmark during the war.
Blegdamsvej 23
The pole of shame on Nytorv
When you take a peaceful promenade along Strøget, you will also pass Gammeltorv and Nytorv.
From 1627 to 1780, Nytorv was the town’s “kag”, i.e. a pole of shame, to which thieves were chained before being whipped and branded. Previously, it stood on Gammeltorv.
By the way, the last execution at Nytorv took place in 1758, where two men who had forged documents to the value of 34,000 rigsdaler were hanged.
Nytorv
The swastikas on the facade of the Glyptotek
As most people know, the swastika was not a negative symbol before the Nazis took it over. So on the facade of the Glyptoteket there are several such. But those facing the street have been transformed into new symbols with some creativity.
Dantes Plads 7
The most haunted place in Copenhagen
Believe it or not, but it’s actually a place along Strøget that is the most haunted place in the town. Because here was a well known discotheque, Club Absalon, for many years. And its location was right above a very old cemetery! So when they were to expand on the basement level, quantities of skeletons were found, not least of children. You can imagine that many strange occurrences have been reported from here. The building has now been demolished and replaced by a modern one, but there is still said to be energy left in the ground from the old church…
Frederiksberggade 38
Mosaisk Nordre Begravelseplads
There is something slightly eerie but at the same time peaceful over this Jewish burial site. In the past, this location was quite a distance from the city and the area was both desolate and windswept. And after all the years that have passed, the place is today quite centrally located in the city. The first burial took place in 1693 and the last in 1967.
Oddly enough, there are also 6-8 English soldiers buried in this place. It was fought fighting here in 1807 in connection with the bombardment of Copenhagen. And those who did not make it to life were buried where they fell.
Guldbergsgade 8
Fugleøen, Bird Island
Now what is this? A tiny island in central Copenhagen that was liberated and declared independent from Denmark by a number of activists back in the 70s.
And nowadays? It is a colony of Cormorants that have taken over the island and live in the somewhat ghostly dead trees…
Sortedams Sø
Former Orient bar
This interesting place has been here for a long time. Actually around 120 years. It used to be called the Orient bar and it feels natural with the Asian style in mind.
And some locals even say it is Copenhagen’s oldest hooker bar. But that is probably more of a rumor than a truth.
Some of the oriental motifs, such as at least two of those adorning the front windows, were believed to have been present quite early in the bar’s history.
This is an active business today, Vela, so show respect if you wish to learn more on site.
Viktoriagade 2-4
