Blågårds Plads

Blågårds Plads is a public square in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen. A broad walk bordered by mature trees circles the edge, while the centre sinks below pavement level. On one side, a church breaks the row of houses, set back and slightly raised. A double flight of steps climbs to its central door. Cafés, wine bars and music venues fill the surrounding streets. Blågårdsgade, the street leading in, is lined with vegetarian cafés and small shops. Summer Sundays bring a flea market selling vintage clothes, books and bicycle parts.

The story begins in 1706, when Prince Charles of Denmark built a single-storey house with a roof of blue glazed tiles. The property then kept changing purpose: a clothing factory from 1780, a teacher training institute from 1791. It served as a hospital during the bombardment of 1807, and from 1828 as Nørrebro's first theatre. Fire destroyed the house in 1833, and Copenhagen's growth filled the area with buildings. By the early twentieth century the quarter counted among the city's poorest working-class areas. Around 1912 a whole block of commercial buildings came down to make room for the square.

Twenty-two life-sized granite figures stand at intervals around the retaining wall of the sunken area. You meet men and women at their trades: a barrel maker, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a butcher wrestling with a ram. One man plays the accordion while children cling to the adults or crawl over them. At the corners, large rounded boulder groups show children playing alone with far more energy. By the church steps, two more groups of children play with rabbits and small owls. Most figures stay absorbed in their own tasks. Only two adults truly engage a child: one holds up a fish, and one breastfeeds.