Culture Tower on Knippels Bridge (Kulturtårnet på Knippelsbro)

From working bridge tower to cultural landmark

The Culture Tower occupies one of the iconic verdigris copper towers on Knippelsbro, the bascule bridge that links central Copenhagen with the canal district of Christianshavn. For decades these towers housed bridge officers, machinery rooms and lookout spaces used to raise the bridge for passing ships, sitting off-limits above the harbour traffic. In 2017, on the 80th anniversary of the current bridge, the southern tower on the Christianshavn side was painstakingly refurbished and opened as a compact cultural venue. The conversion kept the industrial bones of the structure – iron framework, tight stairwells and porthole-like windows – but reimagined the interior as a place for exhibitions, small concerts, talks and intimate dining experiences. This new life underlined Knippelsbro’s dual identity as both essential infrastructure and a piece of Copenhagen’s cultural fabric, even earning the tower a place on the country’s 200-kroner banknote as a symbol of the harbour city.

Architecture suspended above the harbour

Architecturally, the tower is a study in 1930s functionalism. The slim vertical volume rises directly from the concrete bridge pier, its copper cladding weathered to a distinctive teal that stands out against the grey of the roadway and the soft tones of the surrounding waterfront. Narrow windows stack up the façade like a vertical ribbon, hinting at the five levels within, culminating in a lookout floor roughly 13 metres above the water. Inside, the refurbishment favoured a stripped-back, maritime-inspired aesthetic. Simple timber floors, clean white surfaces and carefully placed lighting draw attention to the structural details of the former control rooms. The staircase threads its way through the tower’s core, leading to compact rooms where floor-to-ceiling glazing pulls Copenhagen’s skyline into the space, turning the harbour itself into a moving artwork.

Harbour panoramas and city-life theatre

One of the tower’s greatest luxuries is not size but perspective. From the upper levels you look along the axis of Knippelsbro, watching streams of cyclists, buses and pedestrians crossing between the historic centre and Christianshavn. Beyond, church spires punctuate the skyline and ferries glide through the Inner Harbour, while working ships and leisure boats pass beneath the bridge. On the outer deck you are suspended between water and traffic, with sea air, gulls and the low thrum of the city all around. Sunsets can wash the harbour in gold, while in winter the view tightens into a palette of steel blues and glowing windows. Even when no events were scheduled, simply being in the tower offered a vivid sense of how closely everyday life, industry and cultural experimentation intersect in Copenhagen.

Intimate events in Copenhagen’s “smallest cultural institution”

During its operating years, the Culture Tower hosted small-scale cultural programmes that matched its intimate footprint. Temporary art installations, listening sessions, radio experiments and themed dinners made inventive use of the tower’s stacked rooms. Two compact dining spaces were often configured for seasonal tasting menus or collaborations with local chefs, pairing harbour views with contemporary Nordic flavours. Because capacity was limited, experiences here felt closer to a salon than a conventional venue. Guests shared long tables, sat within arm’s length of artists or hosts, and could easily move between floors to see how the shifting height changed their relationship with the city outside. The tower’s minimal interior made every sound and view more acute, reinforcing the feeling of stepping into a concentrated pocket of culture hovering above the water.

A closed venue with a lasting presence

Although the Culture Tower is now permanently closed to the public, its presence still adds character to Knippelsbro and the broader harbourfront. The copper-clad silhouette marks the transition between the governmental island of Slotsholmen and the canals of Christianshavn, recalling the era when bridge keepers controlled maritime traffic from within its walls. As a case study in adaptive reuse, it also demonstrates how obsolete infrastructure can briefly become a testing ground for new cultural formats before the city moves on again. For visitors crossing Knippelsbro today, the tower is a visual landmark rather than a destination, but an evocative one. Knowing its layered history – from work tower to experimental cultural space – adds depth to any walk across the bridge, inviting you to imagine the views from inside and the many stories that have unfolded in this slender structure above Copenhagen’s busy harbour.