Cultural capital
Aesthetes will love Copenhagen, writes Kaye Nicolson
Galleri Nørby
Danish Design Centre
One of the world's great design capitals, Copenhagen is sprouting dynamic, new buildings which are less about shape and more about fulfilling people's needs. At the same time, the city continues to hone traditional craftsmanship in silver, porcelain and glass.
Copenhagen's museums and galleries house impressive collections of classic and modern Danish and international art and design, and for those which are not within a short walk on one another, there's a very stylish metro to whisk you around.
ART
The Statens Museum for Kunst (National Art Museum) traces 700 years of art from the early Renaissance to today. The collection ranges from Titian and Rembrandt to Matisse and Picasso as well as masters from the Golden Age of Danish painting, such as Eckersberg and Hammershoj. The building itself is worth a closer look. The white modernist extension, which opened in 1998, is harmoniously linked with the 1896 museum building by a spacious, glass-roofed 'sculpture street'. Currently, the main attraction is the 'Royal Collection of Prints and Drawings' (until Aug 29), including over 240 works, while Bjørn Nørgaard's 'Re- Modelling the World” (Apr 16-Oct 24) is the first collective profile of multi-faceted work from the 1960s to 2010 by Danish art's enfant terrible. www.smk.dk/smk
The Glyptotek - or to give it its full name, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek - was founded by the brewer Carl Jacobsen, who created one of the largest private art collections of his era, primarily sculpture from the ancient Mediterranean region. Over the last hundred years or so, the museum has amassed a collection of Danish and European (mainly French) art, including many works by the Impressionists, Gauguin and Rodin. www.glyptoteket.dk
Arken, the city's museum for Danish and international art from the 1990s onward, seems to emerge from the ocean at its waterfront location just west of Copenhagen. A new extension has recently been completed to make room for a sculpture gallery and a children's workshop. www.arken.dk
Copenhagen's contemporary art galleries are relatively centralised in the city's financial district, making a one-day recce a distinct possibility for the intrepid art-lover, with time left to return to savour one or two exhibitions at leisure. Check out Gallery Susanne Højriis for minimalist, figurative Danish artists and Gallery Christian Dam, Gallery Birch, Gallery Nørby and Gallery Asbæk for more cutting edge work.
DESIGN
The Danish Design Centre hosts regularly changing exhibitions. The display cases in the museum are packed with 20th century Danish and international design icons, from vacuum cleaners and the Wonderbra to Lego bricks, Concorde, Nike trainers, the original Apple computer, rollerblades and the Coca- Cola bottle. www.ddc.dk
The Danish Museum of Art & Design is a major exhibition forum for Danish and international industrial design and decorative and applied arts. The museum's collections, library and archives are a central resource centre for the study of design and its history in Denmark. http://kunstindustrimuseet.dk/en
ARCHITECTURE
True to the Scandinavian aesthetic tradition, Copenhagen has in recent years seen a flood of new construction, including the metro system, a striking opera house and the world's most acoustically innovative music venue, the Konzerthuset (Concert Hall). Danish architects are winning international competitions with 'holistic' building designs aimed at creating sustainable, environmentally-friendly buildings.
If you've ever wondered what the cities of the future might look like, a visit to the Danish Architecture Centre will provide a few clues. Through 3D visualisations, models and photos visitors can discover a new way of designing buildings, and you can meet architects on Sunday guided tours. Until May 13: 'Mind your Behaviour'. Behind the scenes at the architectural firm 3XN, whose projects include the new Denmark Aquarium and the Danish Embassy in Berlin. www.dac.dk
Visitors can also admire the city's architecture through Copenhagen X, which provides information on urban development in the Danish capital through guided tours (free on Sundays), self-guided podwalks and bicycle tours along a number of mapped routes. www.copenhagenx.dk
CRAFTS
In the Stroget, Europe's longest pedestrian shopping street, you'll find several fine examples of some of Denmark's iconic crafts within a short walk of each other. The flagship store of Royal Copenhagen porcelain has three floors of what has been a Scandinavian 'must have' since 1775. www.royalcopenhagen.com Right next door you'll find George Jensen, where you can pick up exquisitely crafted Danish silver designs. www.georgjensen.com Next door again is the interior designer Illums Bolighus, where you can spot the latest trends in kitchenware, textiles and furniture to take home. www.illumsbolighus.dk In the same building is Holmegaard Glass, where just the way these masterpiece glass objects are lit and displayed is worth the visit. www.holmegaard.com
For a weekend in September some 50 galleries, museums and exhibition halls will open their doors to show the best of what Copenhagen's modern art scene has to offer. Copenhagen Contemporary takes place in a range of venues, from established galleries to new, experimental art spaces. The programme includes exhibitions, guided tours and artist talks. Copenhagen Contemporary, Sep 3-5, www.kopenhagencontemporary.com
HOW TO GET THERE
From Edinburgh there are flights on Cimber Sterling (www.cimber.com), Norwegian (www.norwegian.com) and BMI (www.flybmi.com). BMI also flies from Glasgow.
WHERE TO STAY
The five-star Hotel Skt. Petri was originally a popular department store built by Wilhelm Lauritzen in 1928 with all the beautiful architectural lines of functionalism. www.hotelsktpetri.com
Further info www.visitcopenhagen.com
