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Københavns anden banegård 1864-1911 (Copenhagen's second railway station 1864-1911)
 

Københavns station (Copenhagen railway station), often referred to as Copenhagen's second railway station, was built in 1864 to replace the first station from 1847. With the rapidly growing importance of the railway in Denmark in the mid-19th century, there was a need for a larger and more modern station. Planning for the new station began during the 1850s and construction was completed in 1864. It was built on roughly the same site as the first one what is now the centre of Copenhagen close to the town hall square. The station was to connect the new lines to Klampenborg and the Nordbanen with the existing Roskilde line. The station consisted of two large buildings, each with 25 bays, connected by an impressive wooden arch structure, which was crowned with a large slate roof. Four tracks ran under the roof, and the building's characteristic round-arch shape was repeated in all its elements, from the large windows to the entrance area. The station was in many ways a pioneer for its time. The departures side was located at the current Axeltorv, and from here there was access to various facilities that served passengers. At one end of the building were offices, baggage handling and the waiting rooms, which at that time were still divided by class. Passengers in 1st and 2nd class had separate waiting rooms from those traveling on 3rd class tickets. Further in the building was the royal waiting room, which was reserved for members of the royal family and selected guests. The station also had facilities for handling goods. A separate goods dispatch building was added as traffic increased and the need to be able to handle large quantities of goods grew. Although Copenhagen's new station was considered an impressive building when it opened, traffic grew rapidly, both in the freight and passenger areas, and this made the station's capacity insufficient. Freight traffic had to pass through the station, which led to frequent blockages of the surrounding streets as the railway tracks crossed at level. The racks connection to the station became a bottleneck and created major traffic problems for both rail and road traffic. Copenhagen Station remained in operation until the opening of the current Copenhagen Central Station in 1911 and was then closed and demolished. In addition the government decided to build the underground Boulevard Line to connect the Roskilde line and the Klampenborg line and Nordbanen make the new Central Station a thoroughfare station. The Boulevard Line opened in 1917, after Copenhagen Central Station had been opened in 1911. The history of the Copenhagen station 1864-1911 is an important chapter in Danish railway history, and its importance for the development of the city's infrastructure cannot be underestimated.

January 12th 2025

 

 
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