Every year in October the doors to museums, government institutions open for the public. During this one night you can go to places that are usually not accessible for a “normal” person, get a guided tour and ask all the questions! In some places you are treated to some nice samples of food:D
This is a great event for both kids and adults. So next year, go to the culture night website and choose the events that might interest you.
Below I will descibe some of them that I took part in.
Børsen
Børsen is 17th century stock exchange located in the middle of Copenhagen. It is also the only building that was not consumed by fire. Apparently, it is thanks to the spire with tangled dragons on top of the building that is guarding the place. From what we were told when te stock exchange got built the neighbourhood looked totally different and the stock was built on the water. Really hard to imagine it now 😉
It served as stock exchange until 1974, now it is headquarters for the Danish Chamber of Commerce (Dansk Erhverv). As it is really old building so it is almost not possible to change anything inside or outside and all changes require government approval.
As I heard from my friends that it looks awesome inside I finally decided to queue up. Every single year I was skipping it due to that reason – 2 hours of waiting time. There are two queues: English and Danish one. The English one is way shorter but gets in less frequently. What I observed was that for every English one in there are two Danish groups that are allowed in. Still, I think English queue was faster.
Why is it such a popular place?
First of all, you can’t access it if you don’t work there. So it is the only opportunity to go and see it.
Second of all, you get a guided tour (~40 minutes) where you learn all those interesting things about the place.
Lastly, it looks awesome inside!! Just take a look yourself:
Miljø- og Fødevareministeriet
Swing by the ministry and get some food samples! Try frying the pancakes in the fire or get a pice of a deer (I think it was some kind of a deer). You can also saw a pice of wood and get help making it to a candle. Anyway, it is great place to go through while going from one place to another.
Thorvaldsens Museum
I’ve never been inside this building and there was 10 minutes queue, so I decided to pop in.
So what is this place?
Thorvaldsens Museum was the first public museum building in Denmark opened in 1848. It is single-artist museum dedicated to the art of Danish neoclassicistic sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Usually, the admission fee is 50 kr, but hey culture night – free access! If you want to know more, check their website.
Nytorvs Fængsel
It was another place that was recommended to me by my friend. It was an hour queue but I think it was really interesting experience worth the wait.
It is a daily prison, which means that prisoners are transported there only for a day (8-16), like when they need to appear in the court. Afterwards they come back to the other prison where they have more stuff than just a bunk bed. It is also used during riots in the city (not that there are many in here;p).
Upon entering we were offered a cup of prison soup 😀 We were also allowed to walk around and ask guards the questions. There were demonstrations as to how the ankle bracelet works or guards shield.
Københavns Byret
Next stop was Copenhagen City Court. It is the biggest out of 24 City Courts in Denmark. As there was no queue, I decided to pop by and take a look.
Københavns Rådhus
Copenhagen City Hall is the headquarters of the municipal council as well as the Lord mayor. You are free to take a tour inside and see how it looks. Go check out the wedding hall – it looks awesome!
Rundetårn
Rundetårn or The Round Tower is an astronomical observatory tower from 17th century. What makes it unusual is that there are no stairs leading up, instead there is a ramp. It allowed horses and carriages to go up to the library (that is also located there) and transport books and astronomical instruments. It is a great spot to look at the panorama of the city.
Those were all the places I have managed to see. Hope to see you there next year!
