Bellevue Beach (), often simply referred to as Bellevue, is a beach at Klampenborg on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. With up to 500,000 visitors a year,
Bellevue is a 700-metre-long sandy beach
History
In the 1930s, when the right to
vacation became
Labor rights, Denmark's coastline became the country's most popular holiday destination.
Gentofte Municipality made plans to develop a piece of coastline north of Copenhagen into a seaside resort complex combining an existing park designed by the landscape architect C.Th. Sørensen with beach facilities catering to some 15,000 paying visitors a day. Three architects were invited to submit plans for a Bellevue beach complex.
[ "Bellevue-Bellavista", Momoneco. Retrieved 20 October 2011.] The winner was the young architect
Arne Jacobsen, who had just opened his office. Characteristic of his approach to architecture and design—he was preoccupied with the concept of
Gesamtkunstwerk—Jacobsen designed everything from
beach hut, lifeguard towers and kiosks to tickets and uniforms for the staff.
The complex also included the Bellavista apartment buildings (1934), a restaurant and the
Bellevue Teatret (1936), all of which still stand today in the immediate vicinity of the beach.
The quest for recreation by the growing masses called for physical as well as social solutions and change. A political initiative provided the pre-requisites for creating a beach at Bellevue. In June 1932 the Bellevue beach was inaugurated by Danish Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning. It immediately became the most popular summer resort in Copenhagen. A direct return tram ticket from the city to Bellevue, including the beach entrance fee, was at the affordable price of 30 øre (less than five cents).[
]
In popular culture
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In the song Hot, the second track on their debut album Nik & Jay, Danish Hip-Hop/Pop music duo Nik & Jay describe a drive up the coast from Copenhagen and the amazing sunset from Bellevue. However, situated on an east-facing coast, there is no sunset to be seen at that particular location.
Image gallery
Image:Bellevue Beach (Copenhagen).jpg|
Image:Bellevue Beach cph.jpg|
