Knippelsbro

A working bridge at the heart of the harbour

Knippelsbro is more than a scenic crossing: it is a vital hinge in Copenhagen’s inner harbour, carrying motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians between Slotsholmen and Christianshavn. The current steel bascule bridge, 115 meters long and about 27 meters wide, dates from 1937, when the city needed a wider, more robust structure to cope with growing traffic and industry on nearby Amager. As you stand on the deck, you feel the city flowing around you. Commuters sweep past in dense ribbons of bicycles, buses and cars rumble over the steel and asphalt, and beneath your feet the harbour channels boats, kayaks and small ships. It is one of only two road bridges across the inner harbour in central Copenhagen, which makes every crossing a small moment in the city’s daily choreography.

Four centuries of crossings and a changing name

The story of Knippelsbro begins in the early 17th century, when King Christian IV ordered a bridge to connect the walled city to his new town of Christianshavn. The first span, built around 1618–1620, was known as Store Amager Bro or the long bridge and quickly became essential for movement of people and goods between the city and Amager. Over the following centuries, the bridge was repeatedly rebuilt in wood and later as railway and road structures, reflecting shifts in technology and transport. Around 1700 it was often called Christianshavn’s Bridge. The modern name, Knippelsbro, traces back to Hans Knip, the bridge caretaker from the mid-17th century, whose house nearby gave rise to the local nickname Knippenshus that gradually passed to the bridge itself.

Functionalist lines and verdigris towers

The 1937 design combines engineering pragmatism with a restrained sense of style. Architect Kaj Gottlob worked with bridge engineers to give the structure clean horizontal lines and a clear rhythm of spans, suitable for an era fascinated by machines and efficiency. The main bascule leaves can tilt upward to let taller ships pass, counterweights hidden behind the hinge line. Most distinctive are the pair of copper-clad bridge towers whose surfaces have weathered to a soft green. These vertical markers help mariners and motorists orient themselves and are striking enough to appear on Denmark’s 200-kroner banknote. Their iron frames, prefabricated at a nearby shipyard, were lifted into place like ship superstructures, underscoring the close link between harbour industry and bridge construction.

Inside the towers: from control rooms to culture

For decades the five-storey towers housed bridge guards, engineers and the machinery needed to raise the bascules. Boiler rooms and operating spaces occupied the lower levels, while at the top a glazed balcony 13.5 meters above the water allowed the bridgemaster to monitor ship traffic and coordinate openings. Today the bridge is operated remotely, and the functional spaces inside are no longer needed for daily supervision. In recent years, one tower on the Christianshavn side has been carefully refurbished and reinvented as a small cultural venue. Behind the copper skin you now find an intimate setting for exhibitions, talks and events that play with the vantage point over the harbour. This adaptive reuse adds a contemporary layer to the bridge’s story, showing how infrastructure can become a social and cultural space without losing its primary function.

Harbour panoramas and everyday life

From the middle of Knippelsbro, Copenhagen opens up in all directions. To one side lie the historic facades of Slotsholmen, the stock exchange spire and government buildings; to the other, the canals and gables of Christianshavn stretch towards the island of Amager. The view changes constantly with the light, from misty mornings to gold-tinted sunsets and twinkling harbour lights after dark. The bridge is also a front-row seat on the city’s love of cycling. Dedicated bike lanes on both sides are rarely empty, and at rush hours streams of cyclists roll past in near-silent waves. Pausing briefly at the railings, you sense how seamlessly Copenhagen’s urban life blends water, movement and human scale on this modest yet emblematic structure.

Connecting old power and new neighbourhoods

Knippelsbro’s position makes it an everyday gateway between symbolic and lived-in parts of the city. On the Slotsholmen side, state institutions and historic landmarks cluster on former royal ground. Across the water, Christianshavn evolved from a fortified merchants’ town and harbour district into one of Copenhagen’s most atmospheric neighbourhoods. Crossing the bridge gives a tangible feeling of moving between these worlds: from formal facades and broad quays to cobbled streets, canals and converted warehouses. Over more than four centuries and through successive incarnations, Knippelsbro has helped bind these pieces of the city together, a modest but enduring landmark in Copenhagen’s urban fabric.