Stepping back to the 17th century. I want to tell you about Nyboder. This is a historic district of row houses in Copenhagen. These houses were once naval barracks. King Christian IV planned and built Nyboder. He needed housing for his growing Royal Danish Navy.
Nyboder is still associated with Christian IV. But most of what we see today was built from 1757. Only one row of houses in Sankt Pauls Gade dates back to Christian IV’s time.
Under Christian IV, the Royal Danish Navy grew fast. There was a need for housing for personnel and their families. Bremerholm already had housing for naval officers. These were the old houses referenced in Nyboder’s name. Nyboder was for common sailors and other personnel.
The king acquired land outside Copenhagen to expand the fortified city northwards. Construction on Nyboder started in 1631. The area had two main streets from a planned square. This square was never built. Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger and Leonhard Blasius helped the King. Christian IV’s Nyboder was done around 1641.
In 1647, Nyboder was absorbed by the fortified city. The Eastern City Gate moved. Much of the surrounding area was still undeveloped. North of Nyboder was a piece of land called Greenland. In 1658, a gunpowder magazine exploded north of Nyboder. It damaged many houses and caused casualties.
In 1668, Copenhagen’s gallows moved to Greenland near Nyboder. In 1677, the Stocks House was built south of Nyboder. From its early days, Nyboder had a guardhouse. A new building replaced it in the 1780s. It had a bell to gather people for military attacks or fires. The building also had a jail for trouble-making residents.
In 1695, a commission considered moving naval personnel to Møn. This was due to a lack of space in Copenhagen. But this never happened. New houses were built at Nyboder. The expansion continued for 40 years. In 1756, Philip de Lange designed 24 two-story houses. Later extensions followed his design. In 1771, Anthon and Harsdorff added a story to Christian IV’s original rows. From 1781 to 1796, about 150 more houses were built. A guard house and five officer’s houses were also added.
Between 1853 and 1878, half of Nyboder was sold off and torn down.
Nyboder still houses enlisted personnel from the Danish Navy, Army, and Air Force. Since 2006, civilians can also live here. The yellow color of the houses is called “Nyboder yellow” in Danish. However, the original color was red and white.
Visitors can see St. Paul’s Church near Nyboder. It is often called Nyboder’s Church. They can also see monuments to Christian IV and Vice Admiral Edouard Suenson. Suenson commanded the Naval Fleet in the Battle of Helgoland in 1864.
Nyboder has been mentioned in literature. Søren Kierkegaard asked why he wasn’t born in Nyboder. He described the women of Nyboder as lively and bareheaded. Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Elder-Tree Mother” is set in Nyboder. Ludvig Holberg mocked early marriages and many children in Nyboder. Henrik Pontoppidan’s novel “Lykke-Per” features a character renting a room in Nyboder.
Even today, Nyboder stands as a testament to Copenhagen’s naval history. Its yellow houses and red roofs remain an iconic part of the city.