Toldbodgade

{{Short description|Street in Copenhagen, Denmark}} [[Image:Toldbodgade - south end.jpg|thumb|300px|The southernmost part of Toldbodgade with Nyhavn in the background]] '''Toldbodgade''' ([[literal translation|lit.]] "Custom House Street") is a street in central [[Copenhagen]], [[Denmark]]. It extends north from [[Nyhavn]] at the Nyhavn Bridge, continuing [[Holberggade]], passes [[Sankt Annæ Plads]] after just one block, and continues straight until it reaches [[Vestindisk Pakhus|West India Warehouse]] where it makes a sharp left turn which connects it to [[Amaliegade]], its parallel street, at the rear of the [[Danish Museum of Art & Design|Design Museum]].

The east side of the street is lined by a series of 18th century warehouses whose other sides face the [[Larsens Plads]] waterfront, which was a major hub for emigration to [[United States of America|America]].

==History==

===Origins=== [[Image:Toldboden 1754.jpg|thumb|King Christian VI's Custom House in 1754]] [[Image:Ny Toldbodgade, c. 1745.jpg|thumb|Ny Toldbodgade painted by [[Carl Frederik Sørensen|C. F. Sørensen]] in circa 1845. The wall towards Amalienborg seen to the right.]] The street traces its history back to Axel Ulstrup's New Copenhagen masterplan which recommended a regulation of the coastline north of the city, between [[Gammelholm|Bremerholm]] and the [[Nordre Toldbod|Custom House]] which had been built in 1630. The name originally only referred to the southernmost section of the street while the section north of [[Sankt Annæ Plads]] was merely an embankment across the marshy terrain along the coast.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indenforvoldene.dk/toldbodgade.html|title=Toldbodgade|language=Danish|publisher=indenforvoldene.dk|accessdate=2012-01-02}}</ref>

From about 1708 the area was filled and in 1719 the street was paved and became known as Ny Toldbodgade (English: New Custom House Street), a name it kept until 1940. It was described as the "most regular and longest street in the city".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kobenhavnshistorie.dk/bog/khsd/1700/1719.html|title=1719|language=Danish|publisher=Selskabet for Københavns Historie|accessdate=2010-01-04}}</ref> The street led to King [[Christian VI of Denmark|Christian VI]]'s new custom house which was completed in 1734 to the design of [[Johan Cornelius Krieger (architect)|Johan Cornelius Krieger]].

===Place of contrasts=== When [[Frederiksstaden]] was founded in 1750, Ny Toldbodgade came to mark the boundary between the busy life in the port and the elegant new residential district with its [[Rococo architecture|Rococo]] mansions. In 1755, due to the risk of fires, it was decided to relocate the lumberyards which had previously dominated the area along the water to Greenland, an undeveloped site adjacent to [[Nyboder]], but the quay remained a very active part of the port.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kobenhavnshistorie.dk/bog/khsd/1700/1755.html|title=1755|language=Danish|publisher=Selskabet for Københavns Historie|accessdate=2012-01-02}}</ref> In the 1780s a row of warehouses was built along the east side of the street, where the lumberyards had once been, creating something of a barrier between the life of the port and that of Frederiksstaden.

===Shanty housing and America boats=== [[Image:P. Klæstrup ' Toldbodgade, c. 1860.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Shanty housing at Toldbodgade, drawing by [[Peter Klæstrup|P. Klæstrup]] ]] Up through the 19th century the street continued to be a place of contrasts as Frederiksstaden remained the most fashionable neighbourhood for Copenhagen's elite while the area along the street was settled by people who had been left homeless by the [[Copenhagen Fire of 1795]] and the British [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|Bombardment of 1807]]. They lived in interimistic, one-storey sheds which existed up until 1869 when the custom house was expanded.

[[Image:Larsens Plads - America boat (1850-1900).jpg|thumb|200px|An America boat at 8 Toldbodgade/Larsens Place]] In 1802, the site was acquired by a wealthy ship owner, Lars Larsen, who established a ship and lumber yard in the grounds which became known as [[Larsens Plads|Larsen's Place]] after its founder.<ref name=Portal>{{cite web|url=https://www.copenhagenet.dk/CPH-Map/CPH-Amaliehaven.asp|title=Amalie Garden - Amaliehaven|publisher=Copenhagen Portal|accessdate=2010-07-11}}</ref> Later in the century Larsen's Place became a hub for the America steamers which transported thousands of emigrants from all of [[Scandinavia]] to [[New York City|New York]] in search of a better future.

==Buildings== The most characteristic buildings along the street are the old warehouses along its east side. They were all designed by [[Caspar Frederik Harsdorff]] and include the [[Copenhagen Admiral Hotel|Double Warehouse]], the [[Det Blå Pakhus|Blue Warehouse]] and [[Vestindisk Pakhus|West India Warehouse]].

==Sculptory== [[Image:´Toldbodgade - Custom House relief.jpg|thumb|200px| relief from the pediment of King Christian VI's Custom House]] A relief from the pediment of King Christian VI's Custom House was saved when the building was demolished in 1891. It has now been installed on a wall, where it now serves as a ''point de vue'' at the north end of Toldbodgade, at the point where the street bends to join Amaliegade. It depicts the king flanked by [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] and [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], the [[Roman mythology|Roman]] Gods of seafaring and trade, holding a double edged trident and [[Caduceus]] respectively.

At the Amalie Garden stand two modern columns which flank the so-called [[Frederiksgade|Amalienborg Axis]] which bisects both Amalienborg Palace and Garden, offering views across the harbour to [[Copenhagen Opera House]] on one side and views across the central plaza of the palace to the [[Frederik's Church|Marble Church]] on the other. The columns were designed by [[Italy|Italian]] sculptor [[Arnaldo Pomodoro]] and installed in 1984 as part of the Amalie Garden.

==Toldbodgade today== Toldbodgade is centrally located between some of Copenhagen's most popular visitor attractions, including Nyhavn to the south, Amalienborg Palace and the design museum to the west and the [[Kastellet, Copenhagen|Citadel]] and [[Langelinie]] with [[The Little Mermaid (statue)|The Little Mermaid]], although most pedestrians opt for the waterfront promenade along Larsens Plads. The old warehouses have been converted for other uses. The West India Warehouses now house the [[Vestindisk Pakhus|Royal Cast Collection]], part of the [[Statens Museum for Kunst|National Gallery]], as well as an exhibition of costumes from the [[Royal Danish Theatre]], while the Double Warehouse has become the [[Copenhagen Admiral Hotel]].

==See also== {{Commons category|Toldbodgade (Copenhagen)}} * [[Kronprinsessegade]] *[[Borgergade]] * [[Dronningens Tværgade]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://slaegtsbibliotek.dk/2023/935761.pdf Edward Lehmann - English terrace]

[[Category:Streets in Copenhagen]]