Strøget is a famous pedestrian street in Inner City Copenhagen,
which leads from Rådhuspladsen to Kongens Nytorv and has a length of
approx. 1.1 km. Strøget is the collective term for the stretch that
includes the five streets Frederiksberggade, Nygade, Vimmelskaftet,
Amagertorv and Østergade.
The street is neither the first nor
the longest pedestrian street in the world; The Strøget was the
world's longest pedestrian street when it opened in 1962, but it has
since been overtaken, among others by Rue Sainte Catherine in
Bordeaux. But it is still one of Europe's longest pedestrian
streets.
The name Strøget comes from strøg, meaning stretch.
It was originally used for Østergade in summer revues in 1876 and
1883, but eventually came to cover the entire street between
Rådhuspladsen and Kongens Nytorv. Before then it was called the
Route or the Route. After 1962, the name Gågaden was used for a
time, but after other streets also became pedestrian streets, that
name slipped away.
The street consists of the following streets/squares:
Frederiksberggade – the newest of Strøget's streets laid out after the
town fire in 1728, where the previous Lille Sankt Clemensstræde, Hellig
Korsstræde and Store Sankt Clemensstræde disappeared. The name of the
street is due to the fact that it led to the then city gate Vesterport,
from where the road to Frederiksberg went.
Gammeltorv - the city's
oldest square known from the 14th century but which probably existed
already in the 12th century. The name is known from 1446 in the form
thet gamble marked (the old market) in contrast to the newer market on
Amagertorv and thus not in contrast to Nytorv, which was only built
later. The square's landmark is the fountain Caritasbrønden, which
bursts with golden apples on royal birthdays.
Nytorv - today a large
square together with Gammeltorv, but when it was built from 1606 it was
located as a new, separate square behind Copenhagen's then town hall,
which had a facade facing Gammeltorv. After the city fire in 1795, the
two squares were united, and a new town hall established at Nytorv in
the building that now houses Copenhagen's Courthouse. The old town hall
is marked with a stone in the square.
Nygade – the shortest street
built from 1685, after a fire made a street breakthrough possible
between Gammeltorv and Vimmelskaftet. Before then, traffic went along
Skoubogade and Skindergade. The name is because it was a new street in
an area where most other streets at the time already had several hundred
years behind them.
Vimmelskaftet - known from the 14th century. The
name is known from 1597 and alludes to the fact that the then street
course along Vimmelskaftet, Skoubogade and Skindergade had a shape
reminiscent of a vimmelskaft, a drill bend.
Amagertorv - known from
the 14th century. It starts as a street along the Halligåndshuset from
1470 but opens up and becomes a square that partly flows together with
the adjacent Højbro Plads. The name is known from 1448, and from at
least the 17th century, this is where the farmers from Amager had their
market. In the square stands the Storkespringvandet from 1894.
Østergade – the name is known from 1447 and is due to the fact that the
street led to the city gate Østerport, which was then located at
present-day Kongens Nytorv. In 1647, the city gate was moved to the area
by the present Østerport Station, when the adjacent Østervold was
rebuilt.
As can be seen above, the streets that make up Strøget have an age
difference of several hundred years. Gammeltorv, Vimmelskaftet,
Amagertorv and Østergade are thus known from the 14th century but
are presumably somewhat older, while Nytorv, Nygade and
Frederiksberggade only came into being in the 17th and 18th
centuries. At that time, the traffic went primarily from
Frederiksberggade to Amagertorv, where it turned onto the
now-disappeared Højbrostræde to the royal palace Christiansborg.
After this fire in 1794, however, the royal family moved to
Amalienborg, and Strøget then became the natural way there.
In the first half of the 19th century, Strøget had become the place
to stroll, and both known and unknown people typically came here
once a day both to see and be seen. It is said that in the 1840s you
could even announce an engagement just by walking with the girl
along Østergade or Vimmelskaftet one afternoon between 14 and 16. A
few decades later, from 1884 to 1912, the daily newspaper Politiken
was housed on the corner of Østergade and the now-disappeared
Integade (now part of Magasins Torv). Here there was an excellent
view of the many well-known Copenhageners who used to walk on
Strøget, and a journalist often just had to take a walk up and down
Strøget to get a few pieces of news for the next day's paper.
On 1 October 1872, Frederiksberg Sporvejsselskab introduced horse
omnibuses and later special rail omnibuses on Strøget as part of a
line that continued along Gammel Kongevej. On Strøget, unlike Gammel
Kongevej, there were no tracks, but with the help of a special
construction, the track omnibuses could switch between running on
tracks and on ordinary streets. In 1898, the line became part of the
newly formed Frederiksberg Sporvejs- og Elektricitets Aktieselskab,
which the following year separated the route along Strøget as a
purely horse omnibus line. The horses continued until 5 November
1913, when they were replaced by new motor buses. In 1919, the
operation was taken over by Københavns Sporveje, which provided line
no. 11, and which in 1933 opened a further new line 19 ad i.a.
Ironed. However, the two lines had to be discontinued in 1940 as a
result of the occupation.
After the occupation, the two lines
were resumed with changed line numbers, as the original numbers had
meanwhile been taken over by two new tram lines. Line 19 thus
re-emerged as line 29 in 1946, but did not return to Strøget until
the year when line 11 similarly re-emerged as line 28. Now, however,
Strøget had been unidirectional in the direction of Rådhuspladsen,
so in the direction of Kongens Nytorv you had to drive along
parallel streets south of Strøget as Farvergade, Læderstræde and
Lille Kongensgade. In 1954, the two lines were joined by a new line
41. However, in 1962, as described below, Strøget became a
pedestrian street, and the three lines were therefore rerouted along
other parallel streets such as Vingårdstræde, Gammel Strand and
Vandkunsten. Later changes followed, so that the parallel streets
eventually also lost bus service. Finally, line 41, from 1990 line
27, was closed in 1996, line 28 in 2003 and line 29 in 2011.
The street was converted into a pedestrian street on 17 November
1962, when cars had begun to dominate Copenhagen's inner city.
Inspired by a series of new pedestrian streets created in Germany
after the war, the street was closed to traffic for a few days
before Christmas during the 1950s. The closure initially started a
temporary lawsuit, but the change was made permanent in 1964, and
the street has been closed to vehicular traffic ever since. The idea
was controversial, as some people believed that the Danes had no
sense of outdoor mentality when creating such a street. Many local
shopkeepers thought the idea would scare customers away. Alfred
Wassard, Copenhagen's urban planning mayor from 1962-78, and the
author of the amendment, received death threats. On the opening day,
police officers were present to protect him from physical assault.
Motorists honked their horns from side streets to show their
displeasure, although the event was well attended and marked by
dancing and music. Shops on the east side of the street were
particularly opposed to the change and tried to have the project
restricted to its west side, which was dominated by taverns and
cinemas at the time. But the project quickly proved to be a success.
The area soon boasted more customers, cafes and a renewed street
life.
More pedestrian streets were added in the following
years. Another street and a few more squares were cleared of cars in
1968, and further closures took place in 1973 and 1992. Amagertorv
was restored in 1993 and the square itself was composed in a pattern
of granite, designed by the artist Bjørn Nørgaard. Architect Jan
Gehl has been researching the effects of the new pedestrian street
since 1962. His influential reports and research findings on the
subject formed the basis for Copenhagen's subsequent policy shift to
promote pedestrians and bicycles. Gehl and Copenhagen's policies
have subsequently become famous throughout the world and have
encouraged cities such as Melbourne and New York to introduce
pedestrian streets in the same style.
Around 80,000 people
use Strøget every day in the summer, and around 48,000 do so on a
normal winter day. On the last Sunday before Christmas, as many as
120,000 can use Strøget. Jan Gehl believes that Strøget has now
reached its full capacity, with its width of 10-12 meters it
provides space for around 145 people per minute.