Learning on The Move – Copenhagen, Denmark

Denmark’s largest city is Copenhagen. The city has a lot of history and one of the oldest monarchies. Although a very friendly, forward-thinking city, it started out as a Viking fishing village. There are cobbled streets, old castles and palaces and lots of ancient ships to see.

The Vikings where famous sea travellers who explored foreign territories in Europe, Asia and even North America for 250 years from 800AD they were making their mark. However, in the UK, they are more famous for the pillaging and raiding of churches and towns.

At one point, the Danish Viking King Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Canute the Great were not only the ruling kings of Denmark but of Norway, Southern Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland, Orkney and parts of England.  

The town of Copenhagen was founded in 1167 by Bishop Absalson, when he built a castle off an islet of the coast. From 1376 to 1412 Demark was ruled by a queen by the name of Margret. She founded the Kalmar Union bring Norway, Sweden and Demark together under her rule. The University of Copenhagen dates back to 1479 and you can visit the old library building from 1861.

Copenhagen became the capital of the whole of Demark during the 15th century. It was often destroyed during the civil and religious conflicts during the 16th century and by the wars with Sweden.  

By the 17th century Copenhagen was prospering with the trade of herrings.

In 1807, sadly relations with the Scandinavians were not great with the UK and Lord Nelson and the British Navy bombed the city. Fearful that Napoleon’s defeat at the time of Russia and Prussia might lead to the French controlling the Baltic seas, the British acted ruthlessly to neutralise the Danish navy, which was allied to Napoleon.

During WW2, Denmark was attacked by Germany. There was sporadic fighting between the much smaller Danish and large German navy and armies. However, the government in Copenhagen decided that the German arm was too great to justify further resistance. The German leaders were happy with this and decided to let the government of Denmark continue to function normally.

Queen Margret II, in her annually New Year speech on December 31, 2023, announced that she would abdicate after 52 years of reign making her son King Frederik X of Denmark. 

History: You are somewhat spoilt for history in and around Copenhagen.

For those of you in KS2, Years 3 to Year 6 then the Museum of Copenhagen is a must. They have a brilliant Children’s Guide, made by children. You can follow a trail chosen by children who have previously visited and you will see what they thought was the best exhibitions for children.  

For those of you in KS3, Year 7 and above then the Museum of Danish Resistance is a great place to visit, as it a great storying telling skills in a creative, inventive and engaging way.

You will meet 5 historical person Musse Hartig, Jørgen Kieler, Thorkild Lund-Jensen, Karl Christensen and Henning Brøndum all of whom lived in Copenhagen during WW2. As you move through the exhibit you will find just how difficult it can be for individuals to make the right choice during war and why they make the choices they do. As an interactive museum you can have a go at printing illegal magazines, intercept phone calls and have a go at breaking the German’s Enigma code.

History linked with Culture: Visit the Amalienboug Museum, to see what it is like to take over the role of King in the modern world. The exhibition of Frederik X is an insight in to the modern monarchy of Denmark.

History linked with D and T: The Viking Ship Museum is an absolute a must. Here you will discover five original Viking ships. You learn about the construction of a Viking ship and experience the traditional crafts, explore reconstructed Viking ships and if you time your trip right (between May and September) you can even get to sail on one.

History linked with Religious Education: Take a journey back in time in Denmark’s royal funeral church and experience 1000 years of history as an architectural master piece. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site for a reason.

Design and Technology:  Denmark’s leading design museum (Designmuseum Denmark) explores new and classic design – form 1920 to today. There is a program of exhibition and so you won’t know until you go what you will see which adds to the visits.

S.T.E.M: The 3 floors and the roof top of Experimentarium is the place to go for hands on science for all the family so nobody should be board on a wet afternoon.

English: You can hardly go to Copenhagen and not read some Hans Christian Anderson. So take a copy of his fairy tales and read the ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘The Nightingale’, ‘The Steadfast Tin Solider’, ‘The Red Shoes’, ‘The Princess and the Pea’, ‘The Snow Queen’ ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and you must take the book with you and read it whilst sitting on the bench, in the park, right next to the statue of the “Little Mermaid’.  

Art: The children’s wing of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art are worth a visit. The museum has a wide range of modern art painting, sculptures and videos dating from WW2. The children’s wing is aptly named as it is focused on assessable art for children, without the worry that they might be exposed to anything too controversial. All around the city there are some fascinating statues, like this water feature.

Physical Exercise: Just like some of the other historic city centres, Copenhagen has a lot to see in a small space, that you can plan a walk around some great historic buildings and green spaces. Local maps have walks already marked out and you can explore Vesterbro a former working class area, which is now one of the hippest neighbourhoods, Norrebro a young and multicultural neighbourhood with great shopping or Osterbro which has broad boulevards, shops and green oases, a very family friendly neighbourhood.

Cycling is highly promoted; Copenhagen is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. It is very easy to hire bikes of all sizes. The cycle paths are mainly separated from the car traffic routes; the green bike paths are the perfect way to explore the city. However, we would advise that you make yourself familiar with the cycling protocols around hand signals and turning left at traffic lights. We would strongly suggest having a paper map with you as the use of handheld mobile phones while cycling is prohibited.

Now home-schooling can’t all be about learning, even when you are in school, there are some events that are just for the fun of it. So, we would suggest a trip to the Tivoli Gardens – just for the fun of it. This last photo was taken on the outside of the gardens because too much fun was had inside and the phone was put away while on the rides.