Functions of Urban Greenspace

What functions does public urban greenspace perform in a city in general, and specifically in Copenhagen?

In a crowded city, or a large urban area there is always a debate on the need for a public urban greenspace or not. While some people believe the need for a public urban greenspace is unnecessary, there are plenty of reasons that go against that argument. While taking a tour of 5 of Copenhagen’s urban public greenspaces in class, many of the functions of these parks became clear and the need for the parks showed through.

Amaliehaven

Whether a pocket park, a botanical garden or a historic site turned park, a public greenspace, Copenhagen has a variety of different kinds of parks that serve different needs of the public. The first park we visited was Amaliehaven, which is a small park near the harbor that has a peaceful vibe and allows for a quiet setting just outside the Royal Palace. This particular park also offers a place to see a variety of different plants and flowers. On our next stop, we visited Kastellet, a military fortress that is now opened to the public as a place to relax, workout and see a part of Copenhagen’s history. With the unique star shape of the park and the current military presence, Kastellet is a place where people could enjoy the views of Copenhagen, the harbor and the military section of the park.

Kastellet

The third park we visited was Østre Anæg, which is different than either of the parks we previously looked at. This park was covered in trees, surrounding a lake with plenty of space for children to play. There was a small garden, a playground area for children, and a number of trails and paths, all of which would make you feel as one with nature. Even though the location of the park is in the middle of Copenhagen, the secluded feeling of the park represents a place where urbanites can get away and experience nature.

Østre Anlæg

The fourth park we visited was called Botanisk Have, a botanical garden. This botanical garden is in the center of the city and like many of the other parks, it makes its visitors feel at peace with nature. With a conservatory, a lake with a walking bridge, hills, flowers and an open space for Danes to picnic, sun tan, relax or enjoy the park, the botanical garden is a hotspot for Copenhagen’s citizens to enjoy themselves and experience all of the nature it has to offer.

Botanisk Have

The fifth and final park we saw on our tour was Ørstedsparken. This park is just a bit different that the others because it integrates the city and the park in one. The park is sunken into the ground, which cancels out some of the noises of the city while and separates a peaceful tranquil area from the hustle and bustle of the city. A man-made waterfall flows from a concrete park alongside the city to the greenspace that is Ørstedsparken. In addition to this park, I’ve also visited Rosenborg Castle Gardens. Rosenborg Castle is one of the most visited parks in Copenhagen due to its gardens and the historic site of the castle itself. Because King Christian IV once resided in the castle, it is a historic site that draws in many viewers. In the park, visitors can enjoy the gardens much like people have been doing for years. In this park, tourists, like myself, can see many Danes enjoying their days with friends and family, whether it’s on a picnic or taking in the nature that surrounds them. Rosenborg Castle Gardens, along with the other greenspaces I’ve mentioned is a great place for all of Copenhagen’s visitors to go and see the beauty and peacefulness nature has to offer without leaving Copenhagen itself.

Ørstedsparken

The ammenities offered by these parks show just how important parks are to a city, particularly Copenhagen. Copenhagen would be much different if it did not have all of the greenspaces that it does, and the greenspaces are just one of the factors that makes Copenhagen so great.

Land of Legends Tour in Lejre, Denmark

Based on your visit today to Lejre, summarize the impact that the Danish landscape has and on the Danish as a people, and vice versa.  

While on the grounds of Land of Legends in Lejre, our class was able to temporarily travel back in time and experience what life could’ve been like in years past. By looking at the residences and workplaces of the Danes of the past that were found through archeology, viewers today are able to understand different ways of life that the Danes had to endure. From the years of the Ice Age approximately 16,000 years ago, up until more recent years the Danes have evolved their ways of life. During the Ice Age, the primary way of life was to use a hunter-gatherer method of hunting, for means to survive and during the Ice Age, the land was covered by up to a kilometer of ice therefore not many animals could live and survive there.

Land of Legends shows the untouched land of Denmark and all of its natural features.

As the temperatures began to rise, and the ice started to melt, the water form the glaciers cut through the land and created valleys. Also, reindeer started to make their way to Denmark and travelled in these valleys, making them fairly easy targets to be hunted. While the temperatures continued to rise, and the reindeer continued to move north, a new animal became the focus of the hunters, the auroch. The auroch was much larger and therefore much harder to hunt, but the Danes adapted their strategies accordingly. As the Danes hunted the auroch more and more, they eventually went extinct and the Danes had to change their way of life. An important fact about this time period was the use of bogs. A bog is an area where the Danes would place all of the animal carcasses after they used all of the parts of the animals they could, to dispose of the waste in order to keep other predators away.

This bog shows the skulls of hunted animals as well as the skin, hanging in the background.

Because of this among other climatic factors, the Danes began to form settlements and live a more agricultural-based life, as farmers. To do this, the Danes had to burn down forests to make room for their farms and they started building houses made from the resources they had around them which include animal skin, wood, clay and straw, depending on the time period. By destroying forests and building houses, the land in Denmark began to change just a bit. Denmark as a whole went from an area of almost 100% forest to a much lower figure. Currently, Denmark consists of just 13% forest, which can be attributed to industrialization and urbanization. Although a large part of the forests were destroyed in more recent years, this destruction did begin thousands of years ago. The landscape of Denmark and the Danes themselves each impacted one another during these transitional periods, and that trend continues today. In a constantly changing modern-day Denmark, the Land of Legends tour allows its customers to step back and see the small portion of Danish land that has not been changed in recent years and experience the past in today’s time.

This is what archeologist assume small communities looked like in the Iron Age.