Assistens Kirkegård: the cemetery-park of Nørrebro where Andersen and Kierkegaard rest

In Nørrebro, Copenhagen's multi-ethnic and lively district, there's a large green rectangle of about 20 hectares that works at the same time as an active cemetery and a neighbourhood park. It's called Assistens Kirkegård and it almost always escapes tourists passing through: those visiting Copenhagen head for Nyhavn, the Tivoli Gardens or the Little Mermaid, while here you'll mostly find Copenhageners cycling along the avenues, reading on a bench or sitting on the grass on sunny days.

The history

The cemetery was born for a practical reason. Established by royal decree on 26 May 1757 and inaugurated on 6 November 1760, it was meant to relieve the overcrowded churchyards of the city centre and, initially, to take in the poorest. Over the course of the nineteenth century, during the so-called Danish Golden Age, it became instead a fashionable place: citizens came here to stroll and picnic, so much so that regulations were needed to limit food, drink and music among the graves. That double nature, burial ground and public space, has carried through to today.

Who rests here

The reason the detour is worth it are the names buried here. In Section A, the oldest part, lie the grave of the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and that of the painter Christen Købke. Not far away rests Hans Christian Andersen, the author of the fairy tales (his memorial stone was moved to Frederiksberg in 1914, but the burial remains here). There are also the physicist Niels Bohr with his family, the scientist Hans Christian Ørsted, the painter C.W. Eckersberg, and even two American jazz musicians who chose Copenhagen as home in the 1950s and 1960s, the saxophonist Ben Webster and the pianist Kenny Drew. It's a walk that lines up much of Danish culture, and a few unexpected stories.

The park

What you see, walking, are long, centuries-old tree-lined avenues, gravel paths crossing at right angles, mossy stone headstones and wide meadows where the grass is left to grow. In spring and summer the light filters through the canopies and the place fills with readers, families and the occasional person simply sunbathing. It's not a park in disguise: much of the grounds is still a working cemetery, with burials every week and relatives visiting. It's worth remembering, because in the central and more recent areas it's best not to camp out or picnic, behaviour that is tolerated instead in the more peripheral and older sections.

How to get there

Getting there is simple. The address is Kapelvej 2, 2200 København N. The M3 metro (the Cityring circular line) stops at Nørrebros Runddel, at the north-east corner of the cemetery; alternatively, bus 5C drops you right in front of the entrances on Nørrebrogade. Access is free. The hours are seasonal: from October to March 7 to 19, from April to September 7 to 22, when the long northern evenings make the visit particularly pleasant.

A practical tip: at the entrance and online there are maps marking where the most sought-after graves are, because between avenues and sections it's easy to wander in circles. Reckon on an hour or two, perhaps combining the visit with a tour of the streets of Nørrebro, among cafés, markets and vernacular architecture. It's one of the most honest ways to understand how Copenhageners really live the green side of their city.

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