Fortification Ring, Copenhagen

The Fortification Ring (Danish: Fæstningsringen) in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a collective name used to refer to the grounds where the city's old 17th-century fortifications used to lie, now surrounding the City Centre.^[1] Since the fortifications were decommissioned in 1870, the Fortification Ring has been dominated by a number of parks and distinctive greenspaces and it is still maintained and developed as a green belt within the city limits, running between the city centre and the -bro districts.^[2] The ramparts, bastions and moats of the former fortifications are still clearly seen in the topography. At Christianshavn and the citadel Kastellet, the fortifications have been preserved and remain intact.

History

The decommissioning of Copenhagen's fortifications was a lengthy process. Though the four city gates were finally dismantled in 1858–60 to allow for traffic to pass more freely in and out of the city, work on the

A master plan for the area was approved in 1872 and ground work proceeded, first at the Northern Rampart. A revision of the master plan in 1885 increased the area to be laid out as parkland to 23.5 hectares.

The decommissioning of the Christianshavn Rampart finally followed in 1916.

The Fortification Ring today

Parks & greenspaces

Parks and other open or semi-open spaces located in the fortification ring, starting at Kastellet and proceeding anti-clockwise, include::

• Kastellet
• Churchill Parken
• Østre Anlæg
• Copenhagen Botanical Garden
• Ørstedsparken
• Tivoli Gardens
• Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Garden
• Christianshavn Rampart
• Freetown Christiania

Notable buildings

Notable buildings and institutions include:

• Copenhagen Municipal Hospital (1858–63)
• Østervold Observatory (1859–61)
• Copenhagen Central Fire Station (1889–92)
• National Gallery
  (1896)
• Copenhagen City Hall (1905)
• The Hirschsprung Collection
  (1911)
• Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

References