Department of Exercise and Sport Science

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When sport became a science

By Hans Bonde, Professor. dr. phil. (17 stories)

The Department of Exercise and Sport Science on Nørre Allé in Copenhagen was established in 1997 as a merger of several institutions of the University of Copenhagen. Its architectural gems include the King Frederik IX hall from 1999. The hall's curved glass facade, which opens up to the surrounding world, breaks with traditional rectangular sports halls. In 1919, the Gymnastikteoretisk Laboratorium opened. This made Denmark a leading international environment for sports physiology. The cooperation between Dr Johannes Lindhard and zoologist August Krogh led to a decisive breakthrough in human physiology in 1920. And that year August Krogh was awarded the Nobel Prize for mapping the capillaries of the human body.

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Football loving Bohr brothers

Story written by Hans Bonde

Time / Periode 1884 2009

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In 1924, the AB football club moved into its clubhouse near Tagensvej. This fine white building has recently been renovated and is now used by the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. It is still a beautiful landmark for academic sport in Denmark. The AB club was founded back in 1884 and marked the beginning of a long partnership between Danish academics and sport. Two of the first and most famous members of AB were Harald Bohr, who later became a maths professor, and his brother Niels Bohr, who later won the Nobel Prize for his model describing the structure of a slightly smaller ball – the atom. Harald Bohr had the honour of playing for the national team four times, while his brother Niels was a rather less ambitious goal keeper.