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Archive of posts filed under the Entertainment category.

Cities of Denmark: Silkeborg

Posted by Daniela Lot on 4 December 2009, 4:13 pm
The Commichau & Co.'s clothes factory. This publicity drawing shows not only the new body suit fabric, but also the steam boat Hjejlen, the new judges house, the railway, Silkeborg Windmill, Frederiksberg´s district, Ameliagade street with horse cart and the rural surroundings. Source: http://www.silkeborgshistorie.dk

The Commichau & Co.'s clothes factory. This publicity drawing shows not only the new body suit fabric, but also the steam boat Hjejlen, the new judge´s house, the railway, Silkeborg Windmill, Frederiksberg´s district, Ameliagade street with horse cart and the rural surroundings. Source: http://www.silkeborgshistorie.dk

Silkeborg was a small town situated in a big piece of nature until 1845, when the arrival of the Drewsen paper dynasty from the north of Copenhagen to the city stimulated its modern development.

Silkeborg Commichau & Co factory, 2008

Silkeborg Commichau & Co factory, 2008

One of the reasons that made the family establish their new fabric in the town was, naturally, its location by the lake Silkeborg Langsø, which should be the energy source for their paper production.

In 1877, the clothes factory Commichau & Co was established in Silkeborg near the new Århus-Silkeborg railway. This gave new impulse to Silkeborg´s industry and to the development of the city.

It is also at the margin of the lake Silkeborg Langsø, between the cities Silkeborg and Ry, that it is located the peak that once was considered to be the highest in Denmark: The Himmelbjerg.

Himmelbjerg

Himmelbjerg

The place started to be popular in 1839, and in 1875 was there erected the Himmelbjerg Tower, which is open to the public during summertime. From both Ry and Silkeborg the visitor can take a sailing boat to the mountain – for more information, read “Himmelbjerg – the top of Denmark – almost“.

Back to Silkeborg, it is possible to visit the oldest building in town, the farm house from 1767, where is now the Silkeborg Museum. The permanent collection includes, for example, artefacts from the Stone Age early hunting societies, rock carvings of cup shapes and wheel symbols from the Bronze Age, artefacts and replicas from the Iron Age, including the

Tollund Man

Tollund Man

Tollund Man (which was preserved by staying in a bog for 2350 years, until its discover in 1950, 10km west of Silkeborg), and some finds from the Viking Age and the Medieval Times.

For more information, check the museum site.

Some of the other attractions in Silkeborg are the Aqua Freshwater Aquarium, the steam boat Hjejlen, Jysk Automobilmuseum, Silkeborg Museum of Art, Silkeborg Bunker Museum and a few churches and monasteries. Here you can find more on attractions, accomodations, places to eat and active holidays.

Filed under Entertainment, History, Tourism.
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Most visited places in Denmark: Den Gamle By

Posted by Daniela Lot on 26 July 2009, 6:00 am

Den Gamle By_entrance


It was 1914 when an open-air museum opened in the city of Århus. Back then, the so called The Old Mayor´s House consisted of a renaissance house, a small garden pavilion, a seven-stock renaissance house from Århus and a loghouse from the Kolding region. It was the beginning of the industrial society; the rapid growth of the cities and the need for more space lead to the demolition of old houses. To avoid the destruction of old Danish houses, the enthusiastic professor and translator Peter Holm worked at the creation of the open-air-museum. In 1923, Holm acquired eight houses from different periods that were about to be demolished in the city of Aalborg. He succeeded in taking those houses to Århus, where they were rebuilt. In 1926, five of those buildings were opened to the public and the name of the museum was changed to Den Gamle By (or The Old Town in English).
The Pharmacy

The Pharmacy

Nowadays, the 75 historic houses from 20 Danish market towns stand on paved streets and alleys – the atmosphere of the museum is of an old market town from the 19th century. Among the houses the visitor finds a post office, a school, a theater, a custom house, 5 historical gardens, shops and 34 workshops, all of them furnished with original interiors. There is also a small amusement park.

The shops

The merchant’s house is one of the shops to visit in Den Gamle By. It is furnished as it would have been in 1864. Some of the goods are part of the exhibition, but some are for sale, such as spices, potato sausages, copies of blue kitchenware, chewing tobacco and traditional handmade sweets, including the liquorice wood (sweet wooden stick).Den Gamle By_ice shop

The other shops are the museum shop, the bookshop, the ironmonger’s, the market garden, the baker’s, the tobacconist, the stalls and the post office – when it is opened, the visitor can stamp his or her letters with Den Gamle By‘s own postmark.

The Modern Town

Aiming to show the townscape and life from the 1920s until the 1970s, Den Gamle By has been working on two projects. One will recreate the period from 1870 up to 1940, using some of the already existing houses in the museum and adding some others from the beginning of the 20th century. The other project focuses on 1974, and it will be a separate town quarter outside Den Gamle By, but connected to it. To read more: The Modern Town Project at Den Gamle By.

***

For information on entrance fees, opening times and how to get there, click here.

(A list with the 50 most visited Danish attractions in 2008 can be found at visitdenmark.com)

Filed under Entertainment, History, Most Visited Places in Denmark, Tourism.
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Cities of Denmark: Skanderborg

Posted by Daniela Lot on 21 July 2009, 6:00 am

Situated 30 km south-west of Århus, Skanderborg, with its 13.864 inhabitants*, is a city with nice spots for a cultural and active holiday.

Skanderup Church

Skanderup Church

Near the train station the visitor can find one of Denmark´s oldest churches. Build of chalkstone around the year 1050, Skanderup Church has a horseshoe shaped apse,

Apse, Skanderup Church

Apse, Skanderup Church

which has an unique architecture in Danish church building because of its chamfered edges and round arch friezes, as shown in the picture.

The church remained as the only building on a slope until the beginning of the 20th century, when the city of Skanderborg grew to its direction. In the 1960ies, its restoration uncovered some Romanesque wall paintings from de 13th century – to read more about medieval churches in Denmark and Romanesque and Gothic wall paintings, click here.

Going down the slope, in the direction of the old part of the town, the visitor finds Skanderborg Museum, which is located in a house from 1888 that once was the local judge’s residence. Some parts of the house date back to the old bailiff’s house from 1750.

The permanent exhibition is small, but rich. It shows the history of the town and the region, including finds from the Early Stone Age, with its highly specialised hunter population; the weapons and spoils of war of the Roman Iron Age; the fortification and neighbouring monasteries from the Middle Ages; and the history of Skanderborg Castle, erected during the Renaissance and, unfortunately, sold in an auction and demolished in 1767 when the need for a Skanderborg army unit was not necessary anymore.

Skanderborg Chapel, entrance

Skanderborg Castle Chapel, entrance

The castle remains can be found at the end of the shopping street, a few hundred meters past the Skanderborg Museum. On the castle mound, the only building remaining is its Chapel, which has gone through several restorations, but preserves, for example, the wooden benches from the 16th century.

Located at the margin of Skanderborg Lake, the region is also attractive for its open-air activities, which include canoeing, golf, Denmark’s highest climbing point, cycling and boat tours. For more information, click here.

Skanderborg Lake

Skanderborg Lake

* January 2008, Statistics Denmark.

Filed under Culture, Entertainment, History, Tourism.
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Most visited places in Denmark: Legoland

Posted by Daniela Lot on 25 May 2009, 6:00 am

Miniland

Miniland

Legoland is located in the city of Billund, near the first Lego factory.  It is a themed amusement park, what means that the attractions are loosely based upon Lego´s bricks and sets.

Miniland is the world in miniature build of 20 million Lego bricks. It was the first attraction when the park was created in 1968.

The other rides and attractions are Legoredo Town, Imagination Zone, Adventure Land, Knights´ Kingdom, Duplo Land, Pirate Land and Lego City.

For a Park Map, click here.

On Legoland´s website you can find a good map with its opening hours, prices (where you can buy your ticket online) and how to get there. It is also possible to sleep at the park; check for its accommodations.

Lego History

The word Lego is the abbreviation for the Danish “play well” (leg godt), and it was created in 1934, a few years after the carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen started to manufacture miniature versions of his products – a way of minimalizing costs during the Great Depression in the beginning of the 20th century. From there came the inspiration to start producing toys, first made of wood, and later, in the 1940ies, of plastic. The Lego bricks resembled traditional wooden blocks that could be stacked upon one another, but the difference was that Ole Kirk´s plastic bricks could also be locked together.

The three generations: Ole Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (at Ole Kirk's 60th birthday 7th April 1951).

The three generations: Ole Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen and Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (at Ole Kirk's 60th birthday 7th April 1951).

In the 1950ies, Ole Kirk´s son, Godtfred, became the junior managing director of the company and in 1977 Godtfred´s son, Kjeld Kirk, also joined the Lego Group Management, at the time when his father was the president of the company.

It was Godtfred´s interaction with other countries that gave him the idea of the “Lego System of Play”, which was released for the first time in 1955 with 28 sets and 8 vehicles plus additional elements.

In the same year, Lego started exporting to Sweden – the first country outside Denmark to import the Lego toys; in 1956 the first foreign sales company was established in Germany.

Today Lego products are on sale in more than 130 countries and approx. 400 billion LEGO elements have been manufactured since 1949. For other facts, check the company profile on the Lego website.

It was in 1968 that the first Legoland Park opened in Billund.

You can find more information about Lego timeline on the Lego website.

If you can´t make it to Legoland in Billund, you can visit the other Lego themed parks: Legoland Windsor in England, Legoland Deutschland in Germany and Legoland California in the USA.

Lego

Lego

Leg godt!

Source of the pictures: Legoland Press Archieve.

(A list with the 50 most visited Danish attractions in 2008 can be found at visitdenmark.com)

Filed under Entertainment, Most Visited Places in Denmark, Tourism.
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Most visited places in Denmark: Tivoli

Posted by Daniela Lot on 15 May 2009, 6:00 am


tivoli-denmark_dl1

Tivoli Gardens, entrance

Created in 1843, Tivoli, also called Tivoli Gardens, is located in Copenhagen, right in front of Hovedbanegården (the central station). When it was created, Tivoli was not intended to be located in the middle of the city. Its 15 acres were outside Vestport (the west port), but due to the fast growth of Copenhagen since the end of the 19th century, it was only until 1850 that the park was situated outside the city.

Its first name was “Tivoli & Vauxhall” which alluded to the Jardin de Tivoli in Paris (this one being named after the city of Tivoli in Italy) and to the Vauxhall Gardens in London.

Tivoli is the second oldest operating amusement park in the world, the oldest being Dyrehavsbakken (the deer park hill), or simply Bakken (the hill), also located in Denmark.

tivoli gardens

Tivoli Gardens, source Wikipedia

Tivoli’s attractions include the rides, which are divided into “wild”, “fun” and “kids”. Click the link “all rides” to watch videos about them.

Tivoli also has Music & Entertainment,  including an Aquarium, a Concert Hall, a Glass Hall Theater, a Pantomime Theater and The Tivoli Boys Guards.

On the Tivoli website you can find information about food, prices and location & transportation.

For a map of the park, click here.

Tivoli Gardens became such a well-known and well-visited amusement park, that in Denmark the word “tivoli” is now often used for fairs, attractions and amusement parks. If you can´t make to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, you can visit Tivoli Friheden in Århus or Tivoli Karolinelund in Aalborg.

By the way, there are, of course, other amusement parks in the country, like: Legoland in Billund, Fårup Sommerland in Blokhus, BonBon-Land in Holme-Olstrup, Djurs Sommerland in Nimtofte, Givskud Zoo in Give, Knuthenborg Park & Safari in Bandholm, Sommerland Syd in Tinglev or Sommerland Sjælland in Nørre Asmindrup.

Have fun!

(A list with the 50 most visited Danish attractions in 2008 can be found at visitdenmark.com)

Filed under Entertainment, Most Visited Places in Denmark, Tourism.
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Brinck to the Eurovision Song Contest – The Danes can Believe Again.

Posted by Bart Westgeest on 4 February 2009, 6:00 am

I didn’t read yet what happened, but he won nevertheless: Niels Brinck- “Believe Again” won the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009. As one can see in the YouTube video there was a hiccup in the beginning, but the experienced singer stroke back and delivered a convincing performance.

The Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is the national contest that determines who is to represent Denmark on the Eurovision Song Contest that this year will take place in Russia in the month of May. Both the Danish and the European songfestival are immensely popular and their history goes all the way back to the 1950ties. The Eurovision Song Contest will be followed live on television throughout the world by appr. a 100 million people.

The Danish contest was staged as a little tournament where a jury and viewers voted for 4 songs to go to a semi-final. The 2 songs to go through to the final were then chosen solemnly by the viewers who also decided upon the winner.

The semi-final and final performance by Brinck were flawless and Denmark can look forward to a solid entry to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Links:

The page of Danmarks Radio of the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix

The site of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest

Filed under Entertainment, Events.
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