Nyhavn

Nyhavn — "New Harbour" — is a short, straight cut of water that runs about 450 metres from Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen's grand royal square, to the Inner Harbour. King Christian V had it dug between 1670 and 1675, and the labour came from Danish soldiers and Swedish prisoners taken in the war of 1658–1660. The idea was practical: give ships a way from the open sea right up to the old city, where cargo and the day's fish could be unloaded at the square.

What makes the canal famous is its north quay, a row of narrow gabled townhouses painted ochre, red, blue and mustard, built of timber, brick and plaster between the late 17th and the 18th century. The oldest, No. 9, dates from 1681. Hans Christian Andersen lived on this side for years — at No. 67 from 1845 to 1864, where a plaque marks the house, and later at No. 18. The south bank is more formal, lined with larger mansions and anchored at the square end by Charlottenborg Palace. For most of its life the harbour had a rougher reputation than its colours suggest: it was a place of sailors, beer halls and brothels, and after the Second World War, when freight moved to the roads, it emptied of ships almost entirely.

The revival came from the Nyhavn Society, founded in the 1960s. In 1977 the inner basin became a veteran ship and museum harbour, and in 1980 the quay, used for years as a car park, was given back to pedestrians. Today the south side holds vessels in the care of the National Museum of Denmark, among them the lightship Gedser Rev of 1895, while the north side is moored with privately owned wooden schooners and galleasses that still sail. At the head of the canal stands the Memorial Anchor, an 1872 anchor from the frigate Fyn, set up in 1951 in memory of more than 1,700 Danish sailors and officers lost in the Second World War; a ceremony is held there every 5 May, the anniversary of Denmark's liberation.

The best view is from the Nyhavn footbridge, first built in wood in 1874 and replaced in 1912, looking down the line of masts toward the painted facades. The sunnier north quay is where the cafés and bars cluster, and canal boat tours leave from here.

Getting there

Nyhavn is in Indre By, the historic centre of Copenhagen, about 1 km from the centre of the district. Kongens Nytorv metro station, served by all four metro lines, is at the canal's head, and the harbour buses stop at the mouth of Nyhavn beside the Royal Playhouse. The Inner Harbour Bridge, a cycling and pedestrian bridge opened in 2016, links Nyhavn with Christianshavn across the water. Copenhagen Airport (CPH) at Kastrup is about 8 km away.