Tivoli Gardens opened on August 15, 1843. The name refers to Jardin de Tivoli in Paris. It was originally placed just outside the fortications of the city. Because the park is so old, the buildings are whimsical in the original way you only find in complexes that truly are old and don’t just pretend to be.
I love water – especially on photos where you can freeze it. It’s fluid, it’s solid, it moves continously, it can’t be moved…
The first asignement I presented to myself was to shoot water – here the fountains I remember so well from my childhood.
In Denmark we boast of hosting the two oldest amusement parks in the world. I guess the Danes knows how to have a good time 🙂
Tivoli is the second oldest and more of an amusement garden. You don’t just go there for the rides. You go there for the ambience. Unfortunately the prices are so steep by now that I hardly ever come there. Except for this afternoon in September with my children along.
As a rule mixing family and photographic ambitions is a bad idea. Everyone knows that patience is one of the greatest virtues in photography and mostly you just don’t have the time to be patient if you bring the family. But that is an exercise too and sometimes they stand in line or go on rides – at least in Tivoli.
I present to you – Tivoli Gardens 2012.
Okay, no more hollyhocks with muted backgrounds to show he surroundings for this time. If it’s not raining when I’m back next Wednesday I might try to do the withered hollyhocks and the contrast in the fall weather.
I have no idea what’s going on in this picture. Someone who saw me photograph tole me it’s the big thing around the world – to knit things. I thought it was pretty cool and well in line with the general mood of Christinashavn – hippie goes restored warehouses.
I just landed in Dublin today on a five day break with my family. I did prepare my photos for this blog, but right now I’m a lot more excited about getting out and about (with my camera) in the morning than trying to remember what to say about Christianshavn. So here’s another qoute from Wikipedia:
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In 1612, Christian IV initiated an ambitious programme to fortify Copenhagen. During the period 1618-1623, he erected earthen embarkments with five bastions in the marshy area between Copenhagen and the island of Amager. At the same time the idea was hatched of creating a new merchant town in the area. In 1639 the little merchant and fortress town of Christianshavn was established. However, competition from Copenhagen soon proved too strong for the little town, and by 1674 it was incorporated into its larger neighbour.
The fortifications were further developed with six more bastions in the 1660s, and seven more bastions between 1682-1692. Additional reinforcements occurred between 1779–1791, and again in 1810-1813. Even though the fortifications around the Inner City were being dismantled in the late 19th century, Christianshavn’s fortifications continued in use into the 20th century. Some areas were opened up in the late 1910s-1920s, and the final areas were made public space in 1961.
The fortifications are a part of the total fortification system around the old part of Copenhagen, and are one of Denmark’s best preserved fortifications from the 17th century. Today the area around the fortifications is a park area.”
I used to live on the very tip of Amager, just across from Christianshavn. Often on Sundays Peter and I would catch a late brunch, walk around Christianshavn, stop for coffee at Café Wilders, walk some more and bring home pizza for dinner from the restaurant on the corner. Café Wilders is one of the oldest cafés in the Amager/Christianshavn, if not The oldest – a unique institution from 1984 when bars were as common as café are today.
“For much of the 20th century a working-class neighbourhood, Christianshavn developed a bohemian reputation in the 1970s and it is now a fashionable, diverse and lively part of the city with its own distinctive personality, with residents tending to see themselves first as Christianshavners and then as Copenhageners” – qoute from Wikipedia
Christianshavn was pretty slummy when I was a kid, but now all the old houses have been restored. For reasons unknown to me old houses in the Copenhagen area tend to be painted yellow.
As you may notice in the background most of the streets on Christianshavn are still cobbled stones – so consider your footwear when you visit!
On the day in early September I walked around Christianshavn with my camera, the hollyhocks were in full bloom. They grow freely on the streets against the old houses and in the back yards. I chose them to illustrate the unique feel of Christianshavn. This series has a hollyhock in focus in the foreground and together the shots add out of focus impressions of the city scape.
Karins Fotos 