In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish takes listeners on a personal tour of Copenhagen’s Northwest district. She describes the area’s working‑class heritage—streets named after trades like Brickmaker and Bookbinder—and its transformation from farms and factories into a trendy, mixed‑use neighborhood. Mellish highlights the seasonal draw of the cherry‑tree bloom, the rise of cafés and restaurants, and the shift from 1930s worker housing to contemporary architecture by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and the curvy Bispebjerg Bakke development. She recommends visiting the minimalist Grundtvig’s Church, noting its large organ and cultural quirks, and exploring the colorful murals and cafés on Rentemeistervei. The episode concludes with a walk or bike ride through the urban marshland Uroslav Moza, a preserved wildlife area with artificial lakes and islands. Throughout, Mellish offers practical visitor tips, cultural etiquette, and plugs her audiobooks and speaking services.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. It's springtime. And the cherry trees are about to bloom in Copenhagen Northwest, which is usually the only time people who live outside Northwest ever bother to go there. Northwest is a working-class neighborhood, so much so that the streets are named after working-class occupations. While other Copenhagen neighborhoods have streets named after kings and queens and generals, Northwest has Brickmaker Street. And Bookbinder Street. And Ropemaker Street. And Barrelmaker Street. There are other things to see in Northwest besides the cherry trees, which have become a bit of a crowd scene since they appeared on a national news network. Like many industrial districts in a post-industrial society, Northwest has become a bit of a trendy neighborhood. I live here, and when I first moved here 10 years ago, it was hard to find a café to meet up in. There are lots of cafés and restaurants now. Lots of young people. Lots of activity. The city of Copenhagen is 1,000 years old, but this neighborhood is fairly new. 100 years ago, it was mostly farms. There are still a few old farmhouses from that era, tucked between the factory buildings that came later. Most of these factories have now been converted into offices and living spaces and gyms run by Danish MMA fighters. Around the 1930s, building associations started putting up a lot of worker housing here. And it's all at human scale, about 4 or 5 stories tall, and has been kept in pretty good shape. Some of the apartment blocks have small nude images above the doors. A leftover from the Body Beautiful movement of the 1930s. And then in the past 10 or 20 years, chic upscale architects have begun to design for Northwest. You can check out the 5-story wood facade apartment building by celebrity architect Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG, or the very curvy Bispebjerg Bakke, sometimes called the Snake Building. an enormous housing development with no straight walls. Northwest is an interesting mix. If you're in Copenhagen Northwest to see the cherry trees and have some extra time, I can recommend crossing the street to see Grundtvigskirke, or Grundtvig's Church. This absolutely huge church— it has room for almost 2,000 people— is entirely white inside. It's surprising if you're used to elaborate churches with a lot of gold and pictures and statues. Inside, this church is very minimalist, with just simple straw chairs to sit on. As I often tell my followers, you're always welcome to come for a service in a Danish state church, as long as you sit quietly and don't start taking selfies in the middle of the sermon. Just go in and sit down. They won't make you pray or do anything you don't want to do. Grundtvig's Church also looks great from the outside, like a giant organ. There is actually a giant church organ inside. Personally, I'm not a fan of it. It makes everything sound like a vampire movie. When they have events for teenagers in the church, they insist on playing Justin Bieber songs on the giant organ, or the Pharrell Williams song Happy. Which is a very interesting sound, if not necessarily very good. Another thing you can do in Northwest is to head over to Rentemeistervei. One of the workers' housing developments has put up a lot of colorful murals from different local artists— very good for filling up your Instagram feed— and there are several cafés on the street where you can order a coffee while you sort through all your photos. If you still have time and it's a lovely day, I recommend finishing up your day at Uroslav Moza, which is a very large marshland which has somehow been kept intact inside a modern Western capital city. Lots of wildflowers and wild birds here. You can either walk around it or take your bike. Some of the lakes and islands you'll see are actually artificial and human-made, designed to give the birds a good place to nest. But that doesn't make the landscape any less pretty. Copenhagen Northwest is a nice place to live, but it's also a very nice place to visit. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Our audiobooks are now available on BookBeat, Amazon Audible, Mofibo Storytel, and Nextory. Or get links to buy the paperback versions of our books at books.howtoliveindenmark.com. You can invite me, Kay Xander Mellish, to speak to your corporate group or organization at events.howtoliveindenmark.com. See you next time.
